Proven winner, tenacious Team Alberta, St. FX guard Richardson joining Griffins
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Coming off a dream season in his final year of high school, the latest addition to the 2025 Griffins men's basketball recruiting class brings speed, tenacity and elite anticipation to the guard position.
Sam Richardson, who was born in Ethiopia, grew up in Brownfield, Alta., and now lives in Edmonton, helped lead St. Francis Xavier to both the city championship and 4A provincial title in 2025.
"Sam is very selfless and makes the right play all the time," said Griffins head coach David Kapinga. "He's known to be a thief defensively, so really great at stealing the ball from other teams and he's ambidextrous, finishing around the rim with either hand.
"I think as a freshman he'll be able to push our guards to prepare for the game until he's ready to take over."
The Genesis Basketball Club product was also part of Team Alberta squads that captured bronze medals nationally in both 2022 (U15) and 2024 (U17).
"Offensively, he's a pretty athletic guy when it comes to the speed – ripping the ball and getting to the rim pretty quickly," said Kapinga. "I think that's going to be a really good skill for us to have. Having guys that can catch the ball and just go – an advantage we've created from our plays and skill-sets – and then going down there and finishing or passing the ball."
The 6-foot-2 Richardson is set to contribute some minutes as a rookie in 2025-26, particularly with his strong defensive acumen.
"He has great anticipation," said Kapinga. "He knows where things are going and that's what makes him a really good defender. He can steal the ball from people because he knows what people want to do before they do it."
