Even though J.J. Richardson came to Pitt with hopes of being a big-time contributor, that didn't work out. Still, it's good to know that J.J. has no hard feelings towards Pitt:
Richardson, who transferred to UH this week, said he has no regrets though. He believes that everything happens for a reason and said he has no ill feelings or regrets about going to Pittsburgh, where he received only limited playing time the last two seasons.
"If that’s the school you choose, you shouldn’t have any regrets about it," Richardson said. "Everything happens for a reason. I don’t think me being there was nothing negative. I got nothing but positive things out there and it really helped me mature. You just follow your gut feeling on where you want to go and not what somebody’s telling you."
I'll be honest, even though Richardson said it was his decision to leave, I essentially said that it was at least fair to think he could have been nudged out.
I still hold to that and while I'm not even coming close to guaranteeing that was the case, I think it's at least possible that coaches told him his future might not include all that much playing time.J.J. also had great things to say about the Pitt program and Jamie Dixon:
"It was a high-powered basketball program," Richardson said. "The coaching staff and the players were the biggest thing for me, plus how close everyone was. The tradition they had and hard workers were something that I was attracted to."
...
"Just the IQ of the game; Jamie Dixon is an excellent coach," Richardson said. "Every day in practice he taught us so many aspects of the game. I can really take that and contribute in a major way, whether it be my first year in practice (at UH) and getting them better or making me better."