CHICAGO (July 20, 2018) – Ben Richardson (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest), who helped the Loyola University Chicago men's basketball team to a captivating run through the NCAA tournament in 2017-18, culminating with a trip to the Final Four, has signed a professional contract with MKS Dabrowa Gornicza in Poland, it was announced today. Last season, Dabrowa Gornicza went 17-18 overall in the highest-tier level of the Polish Basketball League.
 
During his four-year career with the Ramblers, Richardson led the program to 89 total wins, the most over a four-year period since freshmen became eligible in the 1970s. During the magical 2017-18 campaign, the 6-foot-3 guard contributed 6.9 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 40 percent (38-for-95) from three-point range, in 28 appearances. 
 
A stalwart on the defensive end of the floor his entire career, Richardson was hailed as the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2017-18 and also tabbed Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA South Regional after erupting for a career-high 23 points, hitting 6-of-7 shots from beyond the arc, while adding six rebounds and four assists, in Loyola's 78-62 victory over Kansas State in the Elite 8. 
 
Over his final three games of the NCAA tournament, Richardson averaged 11.7 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.7 apg and 1.0 spg, while shooting 61.9 percent (13-for-21) from the field and 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from three-point territory. With him in the lineup last season, Loyola posted a staggering 26-2 record.
 
Loyola finished the 2017-18 season ranked No. 7 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and won a school-record 32 games while reaching the Final Four for the first time since 1963.
 
Earlier this summer, Richardson's teammate at Loyola, Donte Ingram, signed a contract with the Chicago Bulls to play on their NBA Summer League squad. During the 2017-18 season, their former Rambler mate, Milton Doyle, became the first Loyola graduate to appear in a NBA contest since Andre Moore in 1987.