“Did you hear about Sugar?” the text message read.
At that moment … I knew what that message could mean.
I responded back. “Please don’t tell me he died.”
Even though I feared the answer.
But it was true. Micheal Ray Richardson, former NBA superstar who went from legend to drug addict to recovery to head coach … passed away yesterday at the age of 70.
This one hurts. As a longtime Albany Patroons fan, as well as working with various other professional basketball minor leagues, I worked with Micheal Ray Richardson throughout my journeys.
Other than seeing him play in Albany in 1988 (when the Patroons won their second title), my first true interaction with Micheal Ray Richardson was in 2005, when the Patroons returned to the Continental Basketball Association after a 12-year absence. Somehow he assembled a squad of New York City ballers and local talent, and the Patroons were at least semi-competitive that year. And if you heard him on the sidelines … you knew he had two settings. Angry and REALLY REALLY ANGRY.
But he would eventually find stronger talent in Jamario Moon and Marvin Phillips, and the Patroons made the playoffs. One year later, they were in the championship series. And you realized something about Coach Richardson. The anger he portrayed on the court was directed at how he wanted his mean to play – with consistency and dedication and passion. And there wasn’t a single referee that didn’t get a complete dressing-down from him over a blown call or a ticky-tack foul.
Coach Richardson would then take over the CBA team in Oklahoma, then known as the Cavalry. He would win a championship in 2008 with that team, his squad dominating their opponents like monsters.
In 2009, in the final CBA playoff championship ever, his Cavalry returned to the Armory for a three-game finals against the Patroons, which the Cavalry won 2-1. That was his first head coaching championship. He would later take the Cavalry to the Premier Basketball League, where I crossed paths with him many times. All in good spirits.
Trust me. He would fight tooth and nail for every single advantage on the court. And woe be it that anything was missed – you would know it in an instant.
In 2010, after the CBA folded, the Cavalry and several other teams joined the Premier Basketball League. Eventually that gave Richardson a chance to coach one of the squads at the All-Star Game in Halifax. He reunited with Patroons legend John Strickland, and I captured some candid moments between the two stars. It was fun. It felt great.
He would later take the London (Ont.) Lightning to the National Basketball League of Canada’s championship series, winning twice. He was still a firebrand to opposing teams’ fans, but all he had to do was show off a championship coaching ring or three to shut them up. If you’ve earned it, you’re a champion and no one can take that away.
But for all the outward energy and anger that Coach Richardson showed on the court … there were moments where he was caring and understanding and supportive. You didn’t need to ask. He just did it.
Because he was there for me in a moment of personal family crisis. What he did that day is a kindness I can never repay.
We stayed in touch over the years, but after his coaching career ended and he returned to Oklahoma to enjoy a well-deserved retirement, our conversations grew fewer and farther apart. The last time we spoke was in 2020, during the pandemic. Trust me. COVID-19 frightened the shit out of me. And I wanted to make sure that the people I cared about were okay. And I reached out to Coach Richardson and we talked. Some words about COVID, but also about life. And in the end, that’s all that matters.
People will remember Micheal Ray Richardson as a legendary NBA talent whose addictions cost him his playing career, and nearly cost him his life. I remember him as someone who went from the bottom and worked his way back to life.
May his memory and life be remembered as a blessing and a positive.
Rest in power, Coach.
Tell John Strickland I said hi.
Chuck The Writer 