<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">ALBANY - The uncoachable talent is now a grumpy head coach. [IMGr]http://www.nydailynews.com/ips_rich_content/832-michealrarichardson.JPG[/IMGr]Micheal Ray Richardson, the breakaway id, is not at all pleased with this lack of discipline he is witnessing in his first week on the job. He repeatedly halts open tryouts for the Albany Patroons at a local gym, frustrated that these professional wannabes can't manage to run a simple, five-man weave. "I won't have to cut you. You're going to cut yourselves," Richardson scolds this group. "Everybody wants to outjump and outrun everybody. Everybody thinks they're gonna be in the NBA." The irony of this scene seems lost on Richardson, though the mischievous smile is still lurking, poised for the next playful moment. Two decades ago, Richardson would drive coaches like Hubie Brown and Stan Albeck practically insane, just like this, and now he is telling these guys to stop the nonsense. "I was a coachable guy," insists the player known forever around here as Sugar. "People say Larry Brown is tough on his point guards, but he was the easiest coach to play for, if you played the game right. As long as you've giving me 100%, I got no problems." Richardson always gave 100% of what was left of him when the games started, until he was banished by NBA commissioner David Stern in 1986 for repeated drug violations. He threw away millions then, and like most of us, he can use them.</div> New York Daily News Didn't get to see much of him due to the fact I wasn't born around that time, but from the clips that I have seen, I know for sure if he wasn't banned, the Knicks could've gotten a championship around this time or some time in the 90's.
Micheal "Sugar" Ray Richardson is one of my favorite players. I've seen so many clips of him stealing the ball (Spike Lee's "What ever happened to Micheal Ray?" thing on TNT). He even was standing next to MJ in an ASG team picture. I agree, if he wasn't banned or involved with drugs, the Knicks sure would have gotten a championship. I like the way he is coaching with the line "I'm not gonna have to cut you, you're going to cut yourselves." I'd like to see him coach a high school in NYC or a college somewhere and instill his experience to young basketball prospects. Any prospect can learn a lot from Micheal Ray's experiences.
