Patrick Richey was the consummate team player and winner who helped lead the Jayhawks to the 1991 and 1993 Final Four

Patrick Richey was the consummate role and team player at KU from 1990-94, persevering through severe back pain to make his mark. He was an impressive three-point shooter who led KU in three-point field goal percentage as a freshman (41.5) and sophomore (45.2). 

After coming off the bench his first three seasons, Richey started his senior year in 1993-94, averaging career highs with 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Above all, this Lee’s Summit, Mo., native was a winner. He helped lead KU to two Final Fours in 1991 and 1993 and a Sweet 16 in 1994.

A heavily recruited high school player, Richey chose KU over Missouri and Kentucky. The versatile 6-8 forward averaged 18.1 points, seven rebounds and five assists as a senior. He also had a single-game high of 37 points that season. Richey was first-team all-state as a senior and second team all-state selection as a junior. Lee’s Summit won district titles in 1987, 1988 and 1990.

Richey’s brother Brian graduated from KU in 1988, the Jayhawks’ national championship season. His cousin Bob Atha played basketball at Ohio State. And Richey’s most admired athlete is Jayhawk legend Danny Manning. Richey patterned his game after Manning growing up. "Danny was probably my favorite player when I was in high school," Richey told me. "I played point guard, I was the starting point guard. I was able to dribble down and pass it off, go post up type of deal. Depending on who was guarding me, determined what position I was playing. I always felt I had the versatility say of a Danny Manning, who could step out and shoot and play down low as well. My career never turned out as good as his did, but I always tried to mimic my game after his."... In the 1990-91 KU Media Guide (Richey's frosh season), it was reported that Richey "should blend in well with the Jayhawks' unselfish style of offense...Handles the ball well and is an excellent passer...Became Kansas' second player to sign during the early signing period, even though the Jayhawks were not allowed paid on -campus visits until the spring semester...Signed with the Jayhawks on the final day of the early signing period...A versatile player who can play either guard position or the small forward position."

Here, Richey talks about his recruitment to Kansas and how much Roy Williams meant to him. I also included my Where Are They Now? story I wrote on him for Jayhawk Insider in 2003.

"I remember KU, MU, and Kentucky as being the three that were real heavily recruiting me at the time. I had to narrow it down because the process had become so hectic. When you came home from school, there were so many phone calls every night that you didn’t have time to do anything but talk on the phone, eat dinner, and go to bed.  

"Of course, me being from Lee’s Summit, Mo, it was kind of expected that I would go to the University of Missouri being that I’m from the state of Missouri. But coach Williams came in and began recruited me as a junior, I really had a lot of trust in him, and just felt that he was the guy I wanted to play for. I had an older brother, that was at the University of Kansas at the time. He (Brian) kind of sold me on (the) school as well. I  grew up liking KU. I liked Missouri a little bit. I had the experiences (that) my brother went to KU, I was able to go to some KU games. I had a little more exposure to the University of Kansas than I did Missouri. I think I grew up more of a KU fan, but it wasn’t a big difference. I liked both schools.

”One of the things coach Williams taught me when I went to school there is the golden rule, treat people the way you want to be treated. I feel like he does that. When you leave high school and go to college, I guess you’re looking for a father figure so to speak. He certainly fills that role and makes everybody feel very comfortable. If you have any problems or basketball doesn’t always go well for you through the ups and downs, he’s always there to support you. I just believed in him. I thought he was real truthful and genuine. I think that’s one of the reasons I decided to go to KU.

“He did come came into (our) house a couple of times. I just remember him stating (to my parents) that if your kid comes to KU, I’m going to treat him like my own son. That’s basically what he did. They felt very comfortable with me going to KU, that he would treat me like his own son. I took visits to all three schools--KU, Missouri and Kentucky. I wanted to stay close to home. That’s one of the reasons I decided to go to either KU or MU. I really liked coach Williams. I really liked the tradition at KU. I always liked them. It’s a great university and a good academic program. All those things mixed into one; Missouri was a solid school as well. But I just felt more comfortable going with coach Williams. I’m only 50 minutes always. I’d been going going to games since I was a junior in high school, so I pretty much saw what I needed to see. Them not being able to pay for a visit (KU was on probation by violations under former head coach Larry Brown) really wasn't a factor with me because I was so close.”

By David Garfield (Jayhawk Insider)

Patrick Richey admits he felt some inherent pressure to attend Missouri. As a high school basketball sensation from Lee’s Summit, Mo., “it was kind of expected that I would go to the University of Missouri being that I’m from the state of Missouri.” However, Richey followed his heart instead and wound up choosing Kansas and Roy Williams.

Richey will never forget what Williams told his parents during his home recruiting visit.

“I just remember him stating that ‘if your kid comes to Kansas, I’m going to treat him like my own son,’” Richey said. “That’s basically what he did. They felt very comfortable with me going to KU, that he would treat me like his own son. … When you leave high school and go to college, I guess you’re looking for a father figure so to speak. He certainly fills that role and makes everybody feel comfortable.  If you have any problems or basketball doesn’t always go well for you, he’s always there to support you. I just believed in him. I thought he was real truthful and genuine. I think that’s one of the reasons I decided to come to KU.”

And Jayhawk fans are glad he did. A deadly 3-point shooter and versatile 6-8 forward, Richey was part of two Final Fours in 1991 and 1993. KU beat North Carolina before bowing to Duke in the ‘91 title game, while the Tar Heels defeated Kansas in the NCAA semifinals in 1993.

“Obviously, the two Final Fours will stick with me forever,” Richey said recently from his home in Lee’s Summit. “I feel real lucky and fortunate. If you look at some of the teams they’ve had the last six, five years, they’ve had more talent than we ever had, but they haven’t been able to catch some of the breaks we caught. I feel real fortunate to not only go to one, but to go to two.”

Richey had a great freshman season in 1991, but then hurt his back at the beginning of his sophomore campaign. Diagnosed with a degenerative disk, Richey was never the same athlete. He persevered through daily back pain and became a valuable complementary player off the bench during his sophomore and junior seasons. 

“My game was somewhat limited as far as my quickness and just being able to get up and down the court,” Richey said. “I just never got back to that high level as a freshman. I was never able to build each year and continue to get better. What I did do is become a smarter player, understand my limitations and realize my role on that team. I always tried to do the little things, whether it was set the screens or dive for a loose ball. I was kind of a blue collar type of player.”

Despite not being 100 percent, Richey earned a starting position and averaged 6.8 ppg in 24 minutes his senior year (1993-94). KU advanced to the Sweet 16.

“The best thing about starting is when you get tired, you get to take yourself out of the game and when you go out of the game, you get to put yourself in when you want  to,” Richey said. “You kind of come and go as you please, unless you’re screwing up.”

However, Richey maintains that starting and scoring a bunch of points never really mattered to him. All he cared about was winning games.

“I think if you asked coach Williams, he’d tell you I was one of the most competitive guys he’s ever coached,” Richey said.

After graduating with a journalism degree in 1995, Richey worked the next four years as a sales representative in Lawrence for a liquor distributor (Premier Beverage) based out of Lenexa. In 1999, he accepted a similar position with Burndy electrical manufacturing company. Richey sells connectors and grounding systems — “anything that connects power.”

“I enjoy the people I get to deal with on a daily basis,” Richey said. “Everybody is very professional. I get to deal with engineers, contractors, and distributors so I’m seeing new people every day. It doesn’t seem to get old. It’s a challenge every day learning the electrical industry. It’s a lot of fun to see how electricity works.”

As a former Jayhawk, Richey believes he has a leg up on his competition.

“In sales, you got something to talk about,” Richey said. “People like talking about basketball. There’s a lot of KU fans in the Kansas City area. It’s just a good ice breaker. People are extremely interested in coach Williams and the team, so they like to ask questions and I enjoy talking about it as well. I think sometimes it gives me a step up on other people in sales.”

Ever the father figure, Williams actually played a pivotal role in Richey landing his first job out of college with Premier Beverage.

“When I graduated from KU, coach Williams had called the president of the company I was interviewing for,” Richey said.  I didn’t even know he did this until after I already got the job and this gentleman told me that coach Williams had called and was saying a lot of good things about me and helping me get the job. That shows you right there that not only when you’re done playing, he doesn’t forget about you. He supports you no matter what. He just wants to see his players be successful, whether it’s in basketball or the working world.”

Richey, the Lee’s Summit native who spurned Missouri and the Antlers 12 years ago, accumulated 148 assists during his KU career. He’s forever grateful to Williams for the big assist his former coach gave him in 1995.

“When you’re trying to get your first job out of college, it’s difficult for everybody,” Richey said. “Obviously when a gentleman of that stature calls and says something good about you, that’s going to mean something to your employer. It’s important that someone would take time out of their day and do that. I’ve always appreciated that.”

A Closer Look at Patrick Richey:

Years at KU: 1991-94

Career Notables: Member of 1991 and ‘93 Final Four Teams...Led KU in 3-point field goal percentage in ‘91 and ‘92...Named to the UPI’s All-Big Eight Freshmen team and All-Big 8 Bench Team in 1990-91.

Family: Wife, Mary Ann.

Education: 1995, B.S. in Journalism.

Since Leaving KU: Richey worked as a sales representative for a liquor distributor for four years before accepting a similar position with Burndy electrical manufacturing company.

Currently: Richey lives in native Lee’s Summit, Mo., and works as a sales rep for Burndy.

Hobbies: Exercising and watching sports.

Favorite Memories: 1991 and 1993 Final Fours. “One of the things I remember is all the chaos. You go to the Final Four and everyone treats you very well. I remember getting an escort to a practice from our hotel. A cop was escorting our bus, and everybody on the highway was pulling over to let us through and all we were doing was going to practice. It was like the president was in the bus or something.”…Advancing to the NCAA title game in ‘91 after losing three out of the last six games.  “Mark Randall and Mike Maddox got up in the locker room (after KU lost to Nebraska in the Big Eight Tournament) and basically said, ‘Guys it doesn’t matter what’s happened throughout the season. We’re starting a whole new season now in the NCAA Tournament.’ One of the things Mark was saying, ‘Hey guys, if we execute our plays and do what coach has been telling us all year long, this stuff is going to work.' We just refocused and came together at the right time. … That’s one of the most unbelievable runs you can have.”

On the Jayhawks Today: “I’m extremely excited about this year’s team. I really like the three guards that coach Williams is playing. I like the quickness. I like the additions of the new guys. They all seem to have really positive attitudes, which I think is the big part of the success we’ve had so far.”