Good luck containing Kensington's Richardson

If a little brick and mortar couldn't contain Jerrell Richardson growing up, how well do you think opposing defenses can handle the Kensington senior on the basketball court?

On Thursday against visiting KIPP DuBois, Richardson poured in 41 points in a 85-57 landslide.

Before the 5-foot-11 guard wreaked havoc on the court, he did his share of raising Cain at home.

During a telephone interview last night, Richardson explained with his mother in the background.

"One day I was put on punishment. . ." he said.

"One day?" his mother, Tina Lawson said with incredulous laughter.

"I got put on punishment a lot," Richardson said, chuckling. "I used to go out the back window to [play basketball] when I was grounded. Then I would try to sneak back in the house and she would chase me and she always used to catch me."

Richardson said he was about seven years old when he would jump from the second-story window of the family's brick home near Schiller Street and Kensington Avenue.

Eventually, both said more issues with his "attitude," led to more discipline problems.

"I was a problem child," Richardson said.

"I had exhausted all options because Jerrell was incorrigible," Lawson said. "Nobody understood because we all saw him as a very kind, loving person."

Later she added: "I didn't want to lose him to the streets."

At around 11, Richardson was sent to live with a close family friend in New Jersey, where Lawson said he flourished at Asbury Park Middle School.

With significant progress made, Richardson went to Kensington freshman year. Now, he enjoys drama at the school where he can sing, dance and rap. He also hopes to become a police officer and follow his brother Johnny, who is in the Army, in a life of service.

"I'm active," Richardson said. "I'm into a lot of stuff."

Of course that includes basketball, where Richardson currently leads Public League Division D in scoring. He entered Thursday averaging 23.8 points per game.

Richardson hit seven three-pointers on Thursday and grabbed four rebounds.

"I feel like I'm on fire, like nobody can stop me," he said. "I feel like if I were to just shoot from anywhere on the court I would make it."

That wasn't the case early, he said.

"I struggled in the first half, so instead of jacking, I tried to find my teammates so we could take off," he said. "But when I felt like I got hot, my coach told me to keep shooting."

Teammate Charles Smith added 10 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Vernell Nelson also chipped in 10 points and five assists for Kensington (12-4, 11-1).

Jamir Coleman led KIPP (6-7, 6-5) with 22 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

But according to Richardson, the greatest assist came from someone special.

"My mom," he said. "Because even though she sent me away, she still wanted me to come back because she knows I'm a good kid."

It appears Lawson couldn't agree more.

"Whereas I didn't think he would get to where he's at today," she said, "I'm really proud of him and the changes he's made because he's calm today, deals with things rationally and has for some years. It took a lot of work, but he's a great kid today. God, he's such a great kid."