Former NBA player Pooh Richardson, pride of Ben Franklin High, will have his jersey retired on Saturday

Jerome “Pooh” Richardson can still drop dimes with the best.

The former Ben Franklin High School standout finished his stellar career at UCLA as the school’s all-time leader in assists before carving out a 10-year NBA career as a point guard.

On Saturday at 6:45 p.m., Richardson’s jersey will be retired at his alma mater as part of the All-City Classic High School Basketball Showcase, featuring teams from New York against teams from Philly. Franklin is hosting the event on Saturday.

The showcase begins Friday night at Bonner-Prendergast when Archbishop Carroll plays Brooklyn Collegiate at 6 p.m. followed by Bonner-Prendie against Thomas Jefferson.

Saturday’s games at Franklin begin at 4 p.m. with Neumann-Goretti playing Jefferson followed by Math, Civics, and Sciences against Eagles Academy and Archbishop Wood against South Shore.

Richardson, 57, won’t escape the spotlight this weekend, but, reached by phone this week, the South Philly native seemed more eager to pass praise to the people who shaped his life and career.

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“I’ve seen a lot of guys,” he said of memories that stand out, “but it was never the moments that I had. It was the moments that they had, because that’s when I started thinking, ‘Man, I can do that.’”

Public League players who came before him such as Franklin’s Thomas “Reggie” Faison, Frankford’s Kevin “Cat” Compton, Simon Gratz’s Terry Pittman, and Engineering and Science’s Mike Anderson came quickly to mind.

“You looked up to those guys,” Richardson said. “Those guys might not have been household names, but that’s where you learned it from. You took a little bit of what everybody showed you.”

In the Catholic League, Richardson referenced Roman Catholic’s Dallas Comegys, who played a few seasons in the NBA before playing about a decade overseas.

Richardson also praised coaches from Police Athletic Leagues and the Sonny Hill League who helped him become the player who eventually helped Franklin win the 1984 Public League title against Dobbins, which featured Bo Kimble and Hank Gathers.

“It really was like a village,” he said of his many coaches. “It didn’t matter, race, creed, or color. They were there for one purpose and that was to develop young men … not only in the sport, but in life.”

One such coach was James Flint, the father of former Drexel coach Bruiser Flint, who was a standout player at Episcopal Academy before starring at St. Joseph’s.

As a sixth grader, Richardson played against high schoolers.

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Guidance from both Flints, he said, helped him develop, though the experience was overwhelming at times.

“What made it overwhelming was you were almost thrust into this pool of talent and you know you’re not physically good enough,” he said. “You might know the right things to do and you might think the game the right way, but you don’t have the physical attributes to carry it out. So you have to keep going.”

These days, Richardson is on the coaching staff at the College of the Desert, a community college near Coachella, Calif. Ever the point guard, Richardson says his focus now is on passing what he’s learned along the way.

“My motivation and drive is to let the young people know that there is not a dream that can’t be accomplished if you’re focused and put yourself in position,” he said. “But you have to be all-in, and surround yourself with like-minded people.”