Jase Richardson is one of the best one-and-done prospects in this year's NBA Draft and one of the best to ever play for Tom Izzo, but he might be fighting an uphill battle after some measurements were made public from the Combine on Monday.
After being listed all season as a 6-foot-3 combo guard from Michigan State, he was measured barefoot at the Combine on Monday and the numbers were a little surprising.
Richardson stands just 6-foot-0.5 and he's slightly under 180 pounds.
Michigan State’s Jase Richardson’s official measurements from the NBA Draft Combine:
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 12, 2025
6’0 ½ barefoot, 178.4 lbs with a 6’6" wingspan and 8’2 ½" standing reach pic.twitter.com/uSrudWFBu6
Richardson does have a 6-foot-6 wingspan which isn't too bad for a guard his size, but to be 6-foot-0.5, there's no shot he's going to be playing much of the two-guard at the next level. NBA shooting guards range anywhere from 6-foot-4 to 6-foot-8, give or take an inch, and Richardson is barely above 6-foot.
After talking with some in the know when it comes to what NBA scouts look for, it sounds like this could be an issue come draft night, but he's been performing well enough at the Combine that his size can be overlooked just a bit.
Does this mean he probably should've played more point guard in East Lansing? Probably, but there just weren't enough minutes to go around with Jeremy Fears Jr. starting and Tre Holloman coming off the bench. The team had three legitimate point guards and we didn't know how valuable Richardson would be until a third of the way through the season. That's when his minutes increased.
There's still enough tape of him running the point and excelling as both a ball handler and distributor but some fans are hopeful he opts to return to show scouts how well he can run the point.
I don't think that's likely, but these measurements might just slide Richardson out of the lottery range.