Messiah Horton came to Richards this fall with a mission to bring his new school a taste of the kind of success he was able to witness up close at his old school.
Horton, a junior guard, spent his first two years at Phillips in Chicago. As a freshman on the junior varsity in 2023-24, he watched the Wildcats’ varsity win the Class 2A state championship.
“I’ve been thinking about that for the longest time,” Horton said. “I definitely want to do that over here. That’s what I’m trying to do now. We’re trying to go as far as we can.”
A championship is a long way off, but Horton’s addition has Richards headed in the right direction.
He poured in 25 points Thursday night to lift the visiting Bulldogs to a 71-51 South Suburban Red win over district rival Eisenhower in Blue Island.
Travon Gourdine finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for Richards (11-8, 5-3). Jordan Shaw scored 13 points, while Sammy Childs chipped in with seven points and Reginald Johnson pulled down seven rebounds.
Larnell Moore led Eisenhower (4-15, 1-7) with 18 points. Logan Costa scored nine points, while Luke Duzan contributed eight points and Logan Tasciotti tallied seven rebounds.
Horton, meanwhile, is fitting in just fine at Richards.
“It’s going good so far,” he said. “There are ups and downs, but that’s what comes with it. You lose some, win some. I’m happy that I’m here with this team.”
Horton was a key varsity contributor last season for Phillips, but he was surrounded by drama.
After the championship in 2023-24, the Wildcats were hurt by several transfers and the loss of coach Paris Martin, who sued Chicago Public Schools claiming he was never paid for coaching. That case finally wrapped up last July with a settlement.
Through it all, Horton just kept playing basketball. But he and his family decided it was time for a change before his junior year.
“It was hard,” Horton said. “I really didn’t want to leave, but I wanted to experience a new environment and meet new people.”
One of those new teammates is Gourdine, who was often a one-man show offensively last season for the Bulldogs.
Now he has help.
“I love this kid,” Gourdine said of Horton. “He brings the energy, the scoring, the facilitating. He brings everything I could ask for. He’s a three-level scorer. He takes a lot of weight off my shoulders.”
Richards has already nearly tripled its win total from last season, when the Bulldogs finished 4-27.
Richards coach Jamal Thompson knows Horton has been a big part of the turnaround.
“I feel like that boy can fit in anywhere,” Thompson said. “This group of guys accepted him. I knew he could be a player. He’s not selfish at all. He’s willing to pass the ball to open guys. That’s what we need.
“Travon and Messiah are a great one-two punch. A lot of people probably wouldn’t agree with this, but I feel like I can put that one-two punch up against anyone in the state.”
Horton was on from the start Thursday night, scoring 14 points in the first quarter as Richards raced to a 25-9 lead and never looked back.
Horton has carried with him lessons from his freshman year at Phillips. The star of the varsity that season was EJ Horton, who is now playing at North Texas.
Messiah and EJ are not family by blood, but EJ was certainly someone to look up to.
“We just have the same last name, but we’re not related,” Messiah said. “I call him my brother, though. I learned a lot from him and that team. They played hard. They knew how to win.
“That’s what I’m trying to bring here. I want us to win.”
