UT Vols' Josh Richardson back in Raleigh with fond memories, confidence

Tennessee guard Josh Richardson (1) drives to the hoop around Santa Clara guard Denzel Johnson (20) during their game in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Nov. 27, 2014.
Tennessee guard Josh Richardson (1) drives to the hoop around Santa Clara guard Denzel Johnson (20) during their game in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Nov. 27, 2014.
photo Tennessee guard Josh Richardson (1) drives to the hoop around Santa Clara guard Denzel Johnson (20) during their game in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Nov. 27, 2014.

KNOXVILLE -- The memories are bound to begin flowing for Josh Richardson the moment he sees PNC Arena.

The nostalgia will continue as the Tennessee guard walks through its halls and locker rooms and onto the floor where he enjoyed both individual and team success about nine months ago.

The Volunteers, off two home wins against Kansas State and then-No. 15 Butler, returned to PNC Arena in Raleigh, where they handily beat Massachusetts and Mercer to advance to the Sweet 16 in last season's NCAA tournament, on Tuesday night and face 8-2 North Carolina State there tonight.

In those games in March, Richardson scored 15 and a career-high 26 points and shot 14-of-20 from the field.

"I'm definitely going in there with a lot of confidence knowing how well I played last time I was in that gym, but I just hope that confidence can carry over to the rest of our team," the senior said as the Vols left campus Tuesday evening. "I think we had a good week of practice after that last game. I think if we come out and play well in the first half we should be good."

Richardson has been better than good for Tennessee this season.

His personal 8-0 run spurred the team's spurt that erased Butler's 12-point second-half lead Sunday, as the preseason All-SEC pick scored 18 of his 20 points in a second half in which he made eight of 10 shots.

The performance carried him to SEC player of the week.

"I don't really into look into stuff like that, like awards and whatever, but it's a nice honor," Richardson said. "I think it's a testament to how our team played, too. If we don't get that win, then I probably don't get that award."

Richardson leads Tennessee and ranks fourth in the SEC with a 16.6-point scoring average, and he's led the inexperienced Vols in scoring in six of their seven games this season. He's the guy Tennessee needs to play well every game, but that hasn't forced Richardson into pressing or trying to do too much so far.

"I think obviously his confidence level is very high, and it should be," first-year coach Donnie Tyndall said. "He's a good player, and he's playing well.

"The one thing that you don't want to happen is even though he basically took that game over in the second half the other night, you don't want him to think all of a sudden he has to do that every play or every trip down the floor or every game. Let the game come to him.

"He's going to get his opportunities. He's going to be told to be aggressive for 40 minutes, but he doesn't have to carry the load by himself. He's got to make his teammates better, and he's so unselfish, he understands that."

Richardson and the Vols also will run into a former nemesis against the Wolfpack.

N.C. State is led in scoring by Alabama transfer Trevor Lacey, who averages nearly 17 points per game and has had games of 21, 22 and 26 points this season. In four meetings with Tennessee in his two seasons with the Crimson Tide in 2011-12 and 2012-13, Lacey averaged 12.5 points per game.

"I feel like he's done a lot of things to get better," Vols forward Armani Moore said. "I know at Alabama he was a very great player. I know that he can create his own shot off the dribble. We've just got to look into containing him."

Under former coach Cuonzo Martin, much of that would fall into Richardson's lap. The 2013-14 All-SEC defensive team selection often guarded the other team's best player. He won't have to do that in Tyndall's matchup zone defense.

It's Richardson's offense that has undergone an impressive transformation over the past year, and it largely began in last season's NCAA tournament, when the 6-foot-6 Oklahoma native averaged 19.3 points in four games.

Two of those came in the same building where he'll play tonight.

"Offensively we've tried to simplify some things to keep it simple where he's not thinking too much and let him play with freedom and let him be in attack mode," Tyndall said. "He's a senior, so he's used to playing in big games. He doesn't get rattled very often. He's a tough kid, he's strong with the ball and he's a senior, so he's battle-tested."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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