Eugene Richardson had an outstanding career playing basketball at Moultrie High, Bethune-Cookman College and professionally in Europe.

But he became a successful high school coach almost by accident.

After playing in Finland, Holland and Belgium for seven years, Richardson returned to Florida determined to do what he had wanted do since he was a student at Bethune-Cookman several years before.

Richardson wanted to use his degree in physical education and become a teacher.

And it was while teaching at Everglades Middle School in 1990 that he was asked to take over the boys basketball team there.

In three years as the head coach at Everglades, the school won three middle school championships.

But when he was asked to become the head coach at Coconut Creek High School in 1995, he hesitated and asked his wife Mae about it.

“You’re always gone anyway,” Richardson remembers his wife saying. “You might as well.”

And so began one of Florida’s finest high school boys basketball coaching careers.

After coaching six seasons at Coconut Grove, Richardson took over the program at Boyd Anderson High School in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.

Over the last six seasons, the Cobras have not won fewer than 15 games. His 2007-2008 team went 31-2 and finished No. 1 in Florida and No. 28 nationally.

Since then, his teams have gone 25-3, 24-7 and 15-8.

Not bad for the kid who learned to play basketball on the outdoor courts in Moultrie some 45 years ago.

Richardson will return to Moultrie next week to attend the Oct. 6 Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame banquet at which he will be one of the nine inductees.

He also will be honored with the other inductees on the field before the next evening’s Tift County-Colquitt County football game at Tom White Field at Mack Tharpe Stadium.

In a county that prides itself in producing outstanding football players, Richardson is part of one of its foremost basketball families.

Nettie and Elijah Richardson had 11 children and Eugene was the middle child. Older brother Elijah, better known as Tunk, was outstanding in football and basketball at William Bryant High and also is member of the Sports Hall of Fame.

Brothers Calvin and Leroy were fine players, as was his sister, Angela.

Gwen Richardson, his niece, was once the Region Player of the Year and her son Jamey was fine player at Colquitt County and went on to play collegiately.

The product of a loving family that taught him respect as well as basketball, Richardson learned the game on the outdoor courts and then played basketball at Moultrie High for Roy Saturday, a man, Richardson says, who was a master at teaching the game’s fundamentals.

During his 1972-1973 senior season for the Packers, he could be counted on to score around 20 points. There were 26 and 22 against Thomasville, 21 against Tift County, 22 against Albany in the region tournament, 19 against both Lowndes and Fitzgerald.

His most memorable games were against the Crisp County team led by future Atlanta Hawk Wayne “Tree” Rollins.

On Jan. 13, 1973, Crisp defeated the Packers 61-44, but Richardson scored 20 points and with the help of Ray Goff and Charles Benton, held Rollins, who was averaging 25 points, 18 rebounds and seven blocked shots a game, to just nine points.

The two squared off again in the region tournament a month later and the Cougars again won, 68-48.

But again Richardson outscored Rollins, putting in 20 points. Rollins had 18.

“He tried to block everything,” Richardson remembers of his games against the 7-foot Rollins. “But I think I was a little quicker than he was.”

Richardson also went up against a pair of outstanding Valdosta High players during his Moultrie High days: Stan and Roger Rome.

The Packers finished the season with an 11-14 record and Richardson went on to Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach, Fla.

At Bethune-Cookman, the 6-foot-7, 215-pound Richardson played for the legendary Jack “Cy” McClairen, a former tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who coached the Wildcats for 31 years.

“He was an unbelievable coach,” Richardson said McClairen, who is still the school’s golf coach.

And the 6-foot-6 McClairen was a disciplinarian.

“Oh, he would get right up on you,” he said.

Richardson remembers some tough nights against Charles and Major Jones, then playing for Albany State, but he had a stellar career in Daytona Beach. He currently stands at No. 8 on the school’s all-time scoring list with 1,454 points from 1973 to 1977.

And Richardson says there might be some games he played that are not included in that total.

He was named to the SIAC All-Tournament team in 1977.

After graduating from Bethune-Cookman, Richardson was drafted by the Phoenix Suns. He also went to camp with the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers.

In 1979-1980, Richardson played in Finland’s Len League and averaged 30.7 points and 11 rebounds.

In the playoffs the next season, he averaged 29.4 points. In 1981-1982, playing for Holland Nashun, he averaged 26.5 points and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player.

Richardson took what he learned from his coaches along the way and has applied them during his 16 years as a head coach.

Among the players he has coached are his three sons, Eugene II, Maurice and Michael, all of whom went on to play athletics at college level. His oldest son played football.

Richardson also has coached AAU basketball and has played “masters” basketball himself.

Now he is preparing his 10th Boyd Anderson team for the 2011-2012 season.

And Cobras should be strong again.

Among his players is the highly recruited 6-foot-8 Andre Horne, ranked No. 7 in the country at his position, Richardson said. Josh Williams also will play at the next level.

“I think we’ll be OK,” Richardson says with a laugh.

And as much as the victories – and he has had plenty of them – are important, Richardson says his greatest pleasure has been seeing his players having the opportunity to get a college education.

“And so many of them come back and call on me,” he says. “They get off the plane and come right over here and say, ‘I just had to come and see you.’

“I love that.”