This isn't the D.J. Richardson that won Big Ten Freshman of the Year, nor is it the senior who knocked off Hawaii with the buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
"Back then, you know, I was more of a one-dimensional player," he said. "I got away from that. I'm back to who I was in high school, and that's the biggest difference."
The new D.J. Richardson is being formed as we speak at the Landmark Recreation Center, where the Peoria native spends up to eight hours a day doing two-a-day sessions three to four times a week. There he dribbles, dunks, lifts -- and of course shoots his way into a new player.
"I'm way more aggressive than I was in college," he said, minutes after rattling off an around-the-world-style series of dunks. "I want to be more of a combo guard than I was, more point guard, kind of like (to) even it out within my career ... Within the next few years I want to be a legit combo guard instead of just a shooting guard."
Richardson still bleeds Illini Orange and Blue --- there's no doubt about that. But it's clear that he feels he has much more to accomplish that what he fit into his four years in Champaign.
A slew of awards in the Finnish pro league this past season helped in that regard. Richardson's team Kouvot Kouvola won the league title, he was named Finals MVP and he also took home Import of the Year honors. That was after posting averages of 16.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.
He cashed that success in, literally, by "leveling up" to Proximus Spirou, a Belgian team that plays in the Eurocup league. The Eurocup is the continent's second-to-highest tier. He signed on Wednesday, but the move was a long time coming thanks to his hours in the gym.
"D.J. has made some big steps," said Jason Lanzotti, a trainer at Landmark. "He's worked as hard as anyone I've ever seen. We have a long history of summer players that are playing overseas for the past 10 years. They all come through here, and D.J.'s been no exception, he's worked really hard."
But there's more than just a check that fuels Richardson's hometown workouts.
"My family, that's the most thing that I care about," he said. "When I think about them it motivates me, knowing that I have more things to accomplish for myself and a lot of people I don't want to let down, so that's more motivation to myself to want to do better, so that's all I think about when I workout."
