TEMPE, Ariz. -- Sun Devil women's basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne handed Reili Richardson a tall task in Richardson's freshman season: run an offense that featured three accomplished seniors.
"It was fun for her to have a huge role in a top program but it would have been even nicer to have a veteran point guard ahead of her to show her the ropes and not be completely thrown into the fire," Turner Thorne said. "I thought she made big plays in big games. When she struggled, honestly it wasn't about her not being able to stack up or be tough enough. I think it was mostly fatigue because I had to play the freshmen guards -- her and Kiara Russell -- so many minutes and that caught up with us with the injury to Kelsey Moos."
Richardson started 25 games as a freshman and averaged 28.3 minutes per game, the second highest average on the team. She earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention honors by leading the team in assists per game (3.8) and finishing third in points per game (8.4). The Sun Devils advanced to the round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to eventual national champion South Carolina, 61-58. It was the closest game the Gamecocks played in the tournament.
To prepare for the grind that awaits her in her sophomore season, Richardson took on a couple of additional challenges in the offseason.
She made the roster for the USA Basketball Women's U19 Team and won a silver medal at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup in Italy. The tournament afforded her the chance to play against some of the world's best players, including some European pros.
"I think it just showed me what to expect by playing against the best of the best," said Richardson, who had only left the United State once before when the Sun Devils travelled to Costa Rica in August 2016. "International play was really different for me and something I had to get used to. The way they play off each other and are so good at playing together as whole taught me some things I think I can use."
It also boosted her confidence.
"The pool of players up for that team was incredible; the best players in the country at her age so she really got a sense of how good she is and can be," Turner Thorne said. "She tried to get everything she could out of that experience."
Playing in the World Cup meant Richardson missed a good chunk of the Sun Devils' offseason training program. She is determined to make up for that lost time, hitting the weight room almost daily.
As Richardson builds strength, Turner Thorne has also asked her not to defer to her teammates. That should be easier now that Moos, Quinn Dornstauder and Sophie Brunner have graduated.
"Just being a point guard, it's a position where you have to lead so that's something I will take on," she said. "As last year went on, I got more comfortable with that role and they really helped me. Last year really taught me how important it is to be an actual point guard on the floor calling everything, getting everyone set."
Richardson has worked diligently on her perimeter shot, reasoning that if she can knock that down with regularity, she will be harder to guard on dribble drives when defenders aren't sagging off of her.
"I don't think last year I really shot the greatest and it impacted parts of my game," said Richardson. "Once I get my shot down I know it will open up the court."
Despite all the offseason goals, Turner Thorne wants Richardson to remember her strength. That is the oil that will make the Sun Devils' other parts hum.
"Playmaking," Turner Thorne said. "She sees the game so well and she's such a great passer. That's the trade of every great point guard. She can score and you can't be a great playmaker if you can't score because nobody will guard you, but playmaking is her greatest strength and that's the skill that makes everybody better."
"It was fun for her to have a huge role in a top program but it would have been even nicer to have a veteran point guard ahead of her to show her the ropes and not be completely thrown into the fire," Turner Thorne said. "I thought she made big plays in big games. When she struggled, honestly it wasn't about her not being able to stack up or be tough enough. I think it was mostly fatigue because I had to play the freshmen guards -- her and Kiara Russell -- so many minutes and that caught up with us with the injury to Kelsey Moos."
Richardson started 25 games as a freshman and averaged 28.3 minutes per game, the second highest average on the team. She earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention honors by leading the team in assists per game (3.8) and finishing third in points per game (8.4). The Sun Devils advanced to the round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to eventual national champion South Carolina, 61-58. It was the closest game the Gamecocks played in the tournament.
To prepare for the grind that awaits her in her sophomore season, Richardson took on a couple of additional challenges in the offseason.
She made the roster for the USA Basketball Women's U19 Team and won a silver medal at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup in Italy. The tournament afforded her the chance to play against some of the world's best players, including some European pros.
"I think it just showed me what to expect by playing against the best of the best," said Richardson, who had only left the United State once before when the Sun Devils travelled to Costa Rica in August 2016. "International play was really different for me and something I had to get used to. The way they play off each other and are so good at playing together as whole taught me some things I think I can use."
It also boosted her confidence.
"The pool of players up for that team was incredible; the best players in the country at her age so she really got a sense of how good she is and can be," Turner Thorne said. "She tried to get everything she could out of that experience."
Playing in the World Cup meant Richardson missed a good chunk of the Sun Devils' offseason training program. She is determined to make up for that lost time, hitting the weight room almost daily.
As Richardson builds strength, Turner Thorne has also asked her not to defer to her teammates. That should be easier now that Moos, Quinn Dornstauder and Sophie Brunner have graduated.
"Just being a point guard, it's a position where you have to lead so that's something I will take on," she said. "As last year went on, I got more comfortable with that role and they really helped me. Last year really taught me how important it is to be an actual point guard on the floor calling everything, getting everyone set."
Richardson has worked diligently on her perimeter shot, reasoning that if she can knock that down with regularity, she will be harder to guard on dribble drives when defenders aren't sagging off of her.
"I don't think last year I really shot the greatest and it impacted parts of my game," said Richardson. "Once I get my shot down I know it will open up the court."
Despite all the offseason goals, Turner Thorne wants Richardson to remember her strength. That is the oil that will make the Sun Devils' other parts hum.
"Playmaking," Turner Thorne said. "She sees the game so well and she's such a great passer. That's the trade of every great point guard. She can score and you can't be a great playmaker if you can't score because nobody will guard you, but playmaking is her greatest strength and that's the skill that makes everybody better."