Will Richardson settling into role as Ducks' leader; "he just brings everybody together"

So much of what Will Richardson does on a basketball court comes naturally.

The 6-foot-5 senior guard possesses a smooth jumper and a well-rounded offensive game that makes scoring appear effortless when he is at his best. Richardson has been the second-best high-volume shooter in the Pac-12 this season, and only five players in the conference are scoring at a higher clip than him.

But being a vocal leader isn’t quite so simple for the Ducks’ soft-spoken star.

Now in his fourth season at Oregon, it isn’t something he had to worry about in the past.

Chris Duarte and Eugene Omoruyi ran the show last year. Before that, Payton Pritchard led from the front while turning in one of the best individual seasons in program history. When Richardson first arrived at Oregon, Paul White provided steady, senior leadership.

With a mix of veteran newcomers and talented young players forming the nucleus of the Ducks’ rotation, though, this year’s team was always supposed to be Richardson’s.

It has taken some time for Oregon to click, but after a slow start, the Ducks are suddenly one of the hottest teams in the nation. That is due in no small part to the presence of Richardson, who is settling into his role and proving that there is more than one way to lead.

“It’s not easy for him, because he is quiet,” Oregon coach Dana Altman said. “You know, for some people, it is easier. But Will has done a great job. You don’t have to say a lot — you have to make sure that the guys understand that this is the direction we’ve got to go. ‘I’m all in, you guys have to get all in.’

“I think what he’s done has brought everybody together in that regard. He kind of gave us that direction.”

From a purely statistical standpoint, Richardson is having his best season as a Duck. He leads the team with 14.4 points and 3.4 assists per game and is shooting 45 percent from three. That isn’t a small sample size, either; Richardson’s 82 three-point attempts are already a career-high.

In Oregon’s upset win at then-No. 5 USC, he poured in a career-high 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting.

Oregon has a roster chock-full of talented, experienced scorers. Because of the sheer depth, there was optimism early in the season that this could be Altman’s best, most versatile Oregon team yet.

But it has become increasingly clear that the Ducks are going to go as far as Richardson takes them. With the spotlight shining brightly over the weekend, he led the Ducks’ takedown of two top-five schools in Los Angeles and helped resuscitate their season.

Even with a veteran-filled roster, many of Altman’s most reliable players this season have spent the rest of their careers playing elsewhere. Richardson and Eric Williams Jr. are Oregon’s only rotation players who played significant roles on last year’s team.

As the Ducks get deeper into the conference schedule, Richardson’s experience navigating the Pac-12 gantlet will be crucial.

“Every game is going to be a fight, especially in the Pac-12, for all the new guys who came from other conferences,” Richardson said after Oregon’s Jan. 1 win over Utah. “(Winning) builds your confidence, your swagger. You walk along feeling like you belong here and you can compete in this league.”

Altman has constantly shouldered the blame for the Ducks’ poor performance early in the year. When speaking with reporters Wednesday, he did so again and didn’t pull any punches.

“I haven’t pushed them hard enough; we’re much better than this,” Altman said. “If you don’t look in the mirror yourself, you can’t get your players to look in the mirror. I told them, ‘Hey, I haven’t put the pieces together. It’s my job to make you a team, and we’re not a team. We’re not playing hard enough. You guys aren’t connected with each other and you’re definitely not connected with the staff.’

“All of us have to change this.”

While he didn’t go into detail if it was one specific moment or a series of events that have helped fuel Oregon’s rapid improvement, Altman said the team’s willingness to work hard and play as a team is much improved.

“It’s pretty simple with us,” Oregon guard De’Vion Harmon said after Saturday’s win at USC. “It’s the attitude, energy, and connection. We’ve been putting all three together.”

For so much of this season, Oregon looked like a team searching for an identity.

Through subtle, small acts, Richardson is helping them establish that identity and has brought new life to a season that is suddenly filled with potential.

“I think (Richardson) finally got a little frustrated with the way things are going and has really done a good job,” Altman said. “He’s just talking in the huddles, reinforcing what the coaches have to say. He just kind of brings everybody together.”