Brandy Richardson, a former Oahu Interscholastic Association athlete that is locally referred to as “the premier player in the history of Hawaii girls high school basketball,” has a new role in life. Richardson is currently enjoying success as the Junior Varsity boys basketball coach at Radford.

During her playing days at Kalaheo, Richardson performed brilliantly both offensively and defensively. Her efforts landed her a spot on the all-state team for each of her four seasons in addition to being named Ms. Basketball Hawaii on three occasions.

In addition, her Kalaheo team finished with a 49-0 record in OIA play and four league titles. In her senior year, Richardson averaged 19 points per game and 12 rebounds per outing.

“She’s just been a monster player from the get-go,” then-Kalaheo coach Chico Furtado said at the end of her senior year. “Our run in the OIA and how successful we’ve been is directly attributed to her.”

After her collegiate playing days at UC-Santa Barbara, Richardson returned back to Hawaii and soon after landed a basketball coaching job at Radford. This is her third season in this position.

“I wanted to return back home to help give back to the community. Hawaii has done a lot for me so I thought it was my turn and my duty to give back.” Richardson said.

“I know how valuable it was for me to receive encouragement and guidance from coaches which eventually helped me to reach my goals. Through the mentoring and opportunities which coaches provided me during my high school days I was able to be pointed in the right direction. And that has led to me living a productive life,” Richardson added.

When asked why she decided to coach boys basketball instead of coaching girls, Richardson said : “Basketball is basketball. I was searching for an opportunity and a coaching job happened to be available at Radford. I didn’t worry if it was coaching boys or girls. I saw this as a great opportunity to learn from a knowledgeable coaching staff about how to teach the fundamentals of basketball.”

Richardson played the guard and forward positions in college and feels that her personal experience in playing those positions has helped her in explaining the game to her players.

“Hawaii doesn’t have a lot of tall players. At the same time every player regardless of size needs to learn how to handle the basketball with care,” Richardson said.

“I think that you are influenced by any coach you have had in the past. I had Chico Furtado whose coaching style is up-in-your-face. Then I went off to California to play under Mark French who showed me how basketball can be used as a vehicle for life-long opportunities,” Richardson stated.

Richardson welcomes the challenge to teach the principles of life.

“The opportunity to coach basketball goes beyond the X’s and O’s. I have the opportunity to teach these young men how to be better people,” Richardson said.