Buzz

Get your Weight Up

Published by CROWN staff on April 22, 2009

Toronto, ON via Weston, Florida

Remember him? Probably not. Richard “Richy” Peters, a former freshman at Jean Vanier took the Southern Route out to Florida last year to resume his high school basketball career at Sagemont Upper School. Peters also suits up in the summer for his AAU squad, Canada Team Take Over.

Clearly, this move has paid dividends for the 16 year old as he was recently selected to the Jordan Brand Classic, played in the historical, Madison Square Garden.

“My experience at the Jordan Brand Classic was amazing I did a lot of networking, got a lot of exposure, did a lot of interviews and signed a lot of autographs,” said Peters.

He will continue the same trend in the upcoming summer as he was also selected to the Nike Junior All-American Camp.

A testament to his recent success is apparent with his several scholarship offers from top programs in the NCAA.

Connecticut, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, Pittsburgh, and Oklahoma are all in the hunt for this 6’10, 265 Lbs Sophomore with tremendous upside.

This solid frame however, did not come natural as he catapulted his weight class; gaining 2 inches and 78 pounds of sheer muscle in just over a year.

“I left Canada at 6’8, 187. I’m currently 6’10, 265.”

It was a transformation fuelled by a combination of desire and frustration. If Peters wanted to play big, he had to be big.

“I had to gain weight to play at the next level. I was getting bullied around at first when I came down to Florida, but I got together with my coaches and talked about what I needed to do to get the size I needed.”

Now, standing at 6’10, Peters has the ability to mix up his game; either using his size and power to overwhelm opponents or surprising some with his perimeter shooting.

“The post is my strong point but I’m not really a back to the basket type of guy, I like to face up a lot,” said Peters.

With such versatility, Peters seems to draw some resemblance to Raptors’ all-star forward.

“Richards game is somewhat like Chris Bosh in that they are both lefty’s and prefer to face up to the basket and at this point they are relatively the same size,” says AAU Coach, Kevin Scarlett.

But carrying 265 pounds around with you at the age of 16 isn’t an easy task; it’ll take some time to adjust.

“The aspect of my game that needs to improve the most is my conditioning. I have the skill, it’s just getting up and down on a constant basis to show it,” Peters admits.

Expect Richy to cause a lot of the havoc down low, but be sure to keep a hand up on the mid-range, he’ll sink it.

“I like to shoot the 15-18 foot shot when I’m open and most of the time I hit them,” he said confidently.

When you got Michael Jordan himself uttering words of wisdom, it’s tough to stand humble.

“Jordan approached me and told me that I did a great job at the all star game and he hopes to see me again at the Jordan Brand All-American national All-star game next year.”

We’ll be waiting.

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