Indiana State head basketball coach Greg Lansing announced today (June 17) that he has hired Kareem Richardson as the program’s assistant coach. Richardson is returning to Terre Haute and Sycamore Basketball where he helped lead the Sycamores to success from 1999-02 including back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2000 and 2001.
“We are really excited about welcoming Kareem back to Terre Haute and the Sycamore Family,” coach Lansing said. “He has been a good friend for a long time and we’re fortunate to have him back. He played fo and has coached with outstanding coaches like Coach Royce Waltman. Those experiences along with being a successful head coach will bring tremendous versatility to our program. Brett and TP continue to do an outstanding job and Kareem will be a great fit with them. Kareem wants to be here and is fired up about the talented team we have.”
Richardson comes back home again to Indiana after spending the last six seasons as the head coach of the Missouri-Kansas City basketball program from 2013-2019.
“I am extremely excited to be back at Indiana State,” Richardson said earlier this week. “I am very thankful for the opportunity that Coach Lansing has given me. I am truly looking forward to working with the players and the rest of the staff.”
No stranger to the Wabash Valley, Richardson helped Indiana State enjoy success. In 2000, he guided the Sycamores to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the Larry Bird era in the late 1970s. A year later in 2001, Indiana State topped No. 4 seed Oklahoma to advance to the second round of the NCAAs. In 2000, the Sycamores won the Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season crown and then in 2001 they won the MVC Tournament Championship.
At ISU, he coached a trio of Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame members including 2000 Missouri Valley Conference Larry Bird Player of the Year Nate Green, as well as two-time All-MVC honorees Michael Menser and Matt Renn. All told, he tutored nine different All-MVC honorees as 12 student-athletes who were named to the MVC All-Academic Team.
Richardson guided the 2016-17 UMKC squad to the second-most victories in a season (18) in school history. The Roos were selected for a postseason tournament for the first time in the program’s 30-year Division I history, which included a victory over Green Bay in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational. In 2016-17, UMKC set program records for points (2,691), field goals (911), rebounds (1,213), defensive rebounds (860), 3-pointers (315) and free throws (554). The Roos finished second in team history in assists (451) and third in steals (236). UMKC posted the longest winning streak for the program in 12 years from Jan. 31 – Feb. 18, 2017. The Roos got off to the program’s best start in 15 years and advanced to the semifinals of the WAC Tournament for the third straight year.
Senior guard LaVell “Pep” Boyd was named first-team All-WAC after becoming the first 2-year junior college transfer in program history to join the 1,000-Point Club. Boyd also earned second-team all-district recognition from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
The 2015-16 team started the season with their best nonconference performances since 2010-11, winning seven games, including a home victory over Mississippi State and against NCAA Tournament participant South Dakota State. Boyd added a scoring punch to the lineup, being named to the WAC All-Newcomer Team, hitting 81 threes. The Roos won a quarterfinal game for the second year in a row in the WAC Tournament, the first time since 2003 and 2004 that UMKC has done it in back to back seasons.
His second season in Kansas City as the head coach was another step in the right direction in 2014-15, and generated several program firsts. The 8-6 WAC record was the first above .500 at UMKC since 2005-06, and its second place finish matched the highest ever in league play. UMKC finished with a 6-1 WAC home record, the best in school history in league play. The ‘Roos picked up a win in the WAC Tournament, the first for UMKC in the postseason since 2007. The Roos also played 33 games, the most in school history.
In his first year with the Roos in 2013-14, he led the team to a fifth place finish in the WAC, and the fourth seed in the conference tournament, both of which were the highest since 2006 at UMKC. The attendance increased 36 percent from the previous year, while overall winning percentage was an improvement from the last two years as well.
Richardson has been ranked as one of the top assistants in college basketball according to the basketball website Collegeinsider.com. He earned a reputation as a top-level recruiter during his time at Drake, serving as recruiting coordinator and helping head coach Mark Phelps secure the top-rated recruited class in the Missouri Valley Conference in two of his three years there. In his first year as assistant coach at Drake, Richardson helped lead the Bulldogs to post-season play during the 2008-09 season, in the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
Prior to Drake, Richardson was the top assistant with the UMKC men’s basketball program for the 2007-08 season. Richardson served as an assistant coach at his alma mater Evansville from 2003-07, one season (2002-03) at Wright State, as well as the stint at Indiana State (1999-2002). Richardson’s coaching career began at the University of Indianapolis from 1997-99.
Prior to his arrival at UMKC, Richardson served as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville. He helped the Cardinals to the Big East tournament crown and the NCAA Tournament No. 1 overall seed, on the way to the 2012-13 National Championship.
Prior to his year at Louisville, Richardson made the most of one season at Xavier, helping the Musketeers reach the NCAA Sweet 16 and the finals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament that season while posting a 23-12 record. He helped the Musketeers land a Top 20 recruiting class in 2011.
As a player, Richardson played in an NCAA Tournament as a freshman at East Carolina University. He then transferred to Evansville in 1995 and quickly established himself as the Purple Aces’ top point guard. Richardson, who was a team captain two years, was selected to the Missouri Valley Conference all-academic team in both 1996 and 1997. In 1996, he received notoriety on the MVC all-underrated team. He was a first team all-state selection at Rantoul (Ill.) Township High School in 1992 and was twice named conference player of the year.
Richardson, who was born in Tacoma, Wash., graduated from Evansville with a bachelor’s degree in telecommunication and interpersonal communication in 1997 and received his MBA from the University of Indianapolis in 1999.
He is joined by his three children, Jasmiyn, Amari and Andre.
Kareem Richardson Returning To Indiana State As Assistant Basketball Coach
