Introducing Quinn Richards

Editor’s note: We’re excited to announce that we’ve hired a new writer, Quinn Richards, to the Inside the Hall staff. Quinn is a senior at Indiana University at the Media School. His work will begin appearing on Inside the Hall this month.

Standing at a towering 4-foot-11, I shined in the coveted sixth-man role on the Sacred Heart Catholic School eighth-grade basketball team. My banked-in right-handed floater in the closing seconds powered the Shamrocks to a hard-fought win in our first-round playoff matchup. It was a team destined for greatness.

We lost by 50 points in the second round, and with that, our season — and my short-lived basketball career — quickly came to a close. Still, I never lost interest in the sport.

I was raised an Ohio State fan, despite growing up in Detroit. Aaron Craft’s pesky defense and routine dives to the hardwood were the foundation for my love of basketball. But as all Buckeyes know, football is king.

That is, until you come to Indiana. There’s that saying, “In 49 other states it’s just basketball, but this is Indiana.” As a wide-eyed freshman in Bloomington, I quickly learned its truth.

My first memory of Indiana basketball was its 77-65 win over a ranked North Carolina squad in 2022. I watched — or rather squinted at — Trayce Jackson-Davis’ 21-point double-double from the overflow student section in the highest row of the balcony, nearly eye-level with Assembly Hall’s rafters.

The ringing in my ears the next morning assured me Indiana was different. Basketball reigned supreme.

I enrolled at IU with aspirations of becoming a sports broadcaster. While that goal remains unchanged, my sophomore year sent me down a different path. My first chance to cover sports came as the women’s soccer beat reporter for the Indiana Daily Student. I selflessly attribute the team’s only NCAA tournament appearance in the last decade to my presence in the press box.

Later that year, I hit the portal and transferred to the women’s basketball beat. In what I still consider the best Assembly Hall environment during my tenure at IU, I covered Sara Scalia outshining Caitlin Clark in front of a record-setting crowd.

I switched gears and covered the men’s team last year, where I highlighted Dusty May’s return to Bloomington and helped break the news of Mike Woodson stepping down. Despite the abrupt end to the Hoosiers’ season, I continued to grow as a writer and sought out previously untold stories.

Even as a senior, I still push myself to find unique perspectives. Earlier this year — as the football columnist for the IDS — I trudged through the Memorial Stadium student section to talk with the handful of undergraduates who opted to stay through the entirety of Indiana’s 73-0 win over Indiana State.

Many of them, unsurprisingly, had vested interests in the game’s final point total.

Now, my sports writing journey brings me here. I was thrilled when I received the offer to follow in the footsteps of Matt Press and Will Foley as the newest member of the IDS to Inside the Hall pipeline. I’m beyond excited to cover both men’s and women’s basketball, a pair of programs with endless new stories to tell.

I tend to keep things lighthearted and write with a heavy dose of humor — something I credit to my three years in an improv and sketch comedy group. That’s not to say I won’t shy away from a deserving critique or serious tone when called for.

Either way, every story I put my name on will be written with the same passion that earned me that premier sixth-man role in the eighth grade.

A vivid memory remains etched in my mind. In January of 2016, I begrudgingly went with my mom on a trip to Sam’s Club. I watched in awe — on the display televisions set to CBS — as Yogi Ferrell and Troy Williams dismantled my Buckeyes in a packed Assembly Hall. The surround-sound speakers, which did an exceptional job advertising their use, made me feel like I was in the front row of one of college basketball’s most historic venues.

Now, almost 10 years later, I’m actually there — just a few rows back, in press row.

Follow Quinn on X (formerly Twitter) at @Quinn_richa.

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