Basketball
Favorite athlete: Michael Jordan
Favorite team: All Philadelphia teams (Eagles, Sixers, Flyers, Phillies)
Favorite memory competing in sports: My first varsity home game when I went 5-for-5 from the field.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: One of the times I went for a dunk, just before I was about to jump, I slipped and fell. Everyone, including me, was laughing.
Music on iPod: Hip-Hop/R&B/Pop/Rock
Future plans: Play basketball at the collegiate level and graduate with a degree in business and financing
Words to live by: “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” – Kevin Durant
One goal before turning 30: Make my first million
One thing people don’t know about me: My dad passing is what motivates me to be successful. I don’t want me or my family to have to live through the struggle any longer; I owe it to him to take care of the family, and that’s what drives me.
By GORDON GLANTZ
When North Penn basketball coach John Conrad told then incoming junior Joe Richards that he projected as a deep reserve behind a core group of seniors returning to a team that had just tied for a league title, he was being honest.
And when Richards responded, his level of veracity was evident as well.
“Before Joe’s junior year, we met and I told him that he was going to be the 9-10th man on the varsity level and that playing time was going to be scarce,” recalled Conrad. “We had eight seniors back from a team that had just tied for the conference championship. He very politely asked if that was set in stone because they were seniors. I said no, it wasn’t. His response was ‘Well, then if it’s ok with you coach, I’m going to make you change your mind and take someone’s starting spot.’ He started 21 games for us that season.”
Recently removed from his scholastic playing career, the versatile Richards – at 6-6 – finds himself at the precipice of achieving his goal of playing at the next level and getting an education, and he says that moment when he refused to accept his role was more than just the turning point.
It may be, to date, his proudest moment.
“I worked my way into a starting spot,” he said. “I was confident. After the work I put in, I felt it was something nobody could take away from me. I knew that if I worked hard, he would have to put me into the starting lineup. A couple of games in, he did.
“And I did well. In the games I didn’t start, I was the sixth man and came in and gave us a lift. As a team, we tied for the league championship.”
Fast forward to this season, there was no doubt about Richards and his role. He and longtime friend and teammate Cordell Lord were the clear-cut leaders.
“We had more young guys,” he said. “The year before, Cordell and myself were the only juniors.”
Getting to the Point
And when Lord went down with an injury during the season and again in the playoffs against favored Abington, Richards slid over to play Lord’s point guard spot.
“When we lost our point guard for three games in the middle of the season, Joe volunteered to move from the 2-guard to the point,” said Conrad. “With Joe at the point, we beat Perkiomen Valley and then Methacton (who was 18-3) on back-to-back nights. Then (Lord) missed the district game against Abington and Joe again volunteered to play the point. He had one of his best games of the season and we almost upset Abington, falling short 59-58.”
Said Richards: “It worked. I was comfortable handling the ball. I just had to get the rest of the team involved. I was just trying to put us in the best position to win.”
And now that the season and his high school career are over, he remains in a winning position.
Among the schools seeking his yet-untapped potential and fierce determination to improve are Delaware State (Division I), Nyack College (Division II) in New York State and McDaniel College (Division III) in Westminster, MD.
“I want to put myself in the best situation – where I can thrive, both athletically and academically,” said Richards, who plans to major in business and finance, adding that math with “real numbers” is not his thing.
“I need the facts,” he added.
Richards has put himself in position to play at the next level with more than just basketball skill. He has the academics to match, boasting a 3.2 grade-point average.
“Definitely,” he said. “Being able to play and have good grades, it makes it easy to market yourself.”
Setting the Standard
A driving force behind Richards’ quest is a vow he made to himself to make a better life for himself and his mother, JoMarie Barnes, who raised him as a single parent in Lansdale after Richards’ father died before he was born.
“His mom has worked incredibly hard to raise a responsible, hard-working, well-mannered young man and I think her influence is a big reason behind Joe’s success,” said Conrad. “He has a ‘no-excuses’ mentality that he employs both on and off the court. As a captain, Joe leads by example.
“He is a great citizen and teammate – an easy going, positive kid who has battled through a lot of adversity.”
Richards feels like his intensity level and competitive spirit, whethere during a game or at practice, are generally enough to light a fire under his teammates.
“I’m not the most vocal leader,” he said. “I’m more of a leader by example. The way I see it, most people respect my game. How my attitude is will affect the rest of the team”
Watching his mother sacrifice, and work multiple jobs while obtaining a master’s degree in biochemistry at West Chester University, set the bar high at home.
“I’ve always been a good student,” said Richards, who often had help from friends and neighbors while his mother was working or at school. “She’s just the hardest worker I have ever seen. She sets the standard, set the tone with her work ethic. I just try to have her best character traits.”
“My mom’s expectations are always high, so I worked hard (at school) while progressing at my craft.”
And his craft was hoops.
Richards played football and ran track, and those sports came easier to him, but basketball was his chosen passion.
“It is the one I had to work the hardest at,” he explained. “I guess I like a challenge. It meant clocking in a lot of hours, missing out on parties and missing out on hanging out with friends.
“It has pretty much been school, basketball – come back home and do schoolwork. Even after the season, basketball never stops. It’s still the same routine.
“But my angle was always to get a scholarship. Me and mom didn’t have much for a long time, and I want to change that. My dad passed away before I was born. We have always been kind of struggling. I don’t to live like that. I don’t want her to have to live like that.”
In many ways, though, the relationship was a rich one.
“She did things most mothers wouldn’t do,” said Richards, who has played alone in many playgrounds until dark and in gyms until the lights were shut out. “When no one else was around, she would be in there, in the gym, grabbing my rebounds.
“And she put food on the table, working two and three jobs at a time.”
There have been many others who have helped shape Richards into the complete package he has become. That group includes Jay Jameson, Nathan Ingram and Corey Lord – Cordell’s father and founder of the CAL Sports Academy in Harleysville.
The Lord’s home was like a second home for Richards, particularly in the offseason, when he and Cordell worked to better themselves.
“I have spent a lot of nights there,” said Richards. “Getting up at 6 a.m., going on our five-mile runs, jumping in the pool to cool off. We are competitive, pushing each other to get better. We got each other better over the years.
“Cordell is one of my closest friends. We always played basketball together. We always talked about our senior year, and what it was going to be like. It was a big deal for us.”
Lessons Learned
Disappointed in how it ended, with Lord sidelined and a point short against Abington?
Yes and no.
Richards is wired to win, but life’s lessons have taught him realism.
“I can’t say I wasn’t satisfied,” he said. “Every game, we went out and gave 100 percent. You win some and you lose some, and you can draw wins from your losses.”
An example was the broken foot he suffered in 10th grade, an injury that may have led to his initial projection as a deep reserve as a junior but a rehab that made him more varsity-ready and determined.
“I bounced back better than I was before,” said Richards, who grew, incrementally, from 6-1 to 6-4 to 6-6 each year but has always struggled to put weight onto his frame and currently checks in at 160 pounds despite a veracious appetite and protein shakes. “I knew the work I put in. I wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“Right after tryouts, (Conrad) called us in, one by one, and told us where he saw us fitting in,” he continued. “Individually, I went back into his office. He told me I was going to be ninth off the bench, but I knew the work I put in. And, no offense to the seniors, I knew I could start ahead of some of them. I knew if he saw improvement in my play that it was going to be hard not give me a starting spot. I said to myself, ‘I’m here to take spots.’ Every practice, I tried to dominate.
And when he had proven himself worthy, no slam dunk could match the feeling.
“It felt good,” said Richards, who compares his game to that of Kevin Durant. “I worked hard.
“I really didn’t start getting recognized until last year. I guess I was under the radar. I was a late bloomer, I guess you could say.”
