On April 18, 2001, Hofstra senior swingman Norm Richardson was named the Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award winner, giving the Pride back-to-back recipients of the top men's collegiate basketball player in the metro area, following Speedy Claxton's award in 2000. The 68th annual NIT/MBWA awards dinner was held at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, NJ.

Picking up where Claxton left off, Richardson led the Pride to a second straight NCAA appearance by averaging 16.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in earning America East player of the year honors. He had 22 points as Hofstra beat St. John's for the first time after 19 losses.

Following graduation, Richardson played professionally in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers during the 2001-02 season. He then embarked on an eight-year career in Europe, playing for teams in Italy, Serbia, France, Poland and Germany. He has also played in Argentina and in the NBA D-League.

From June 2012 until 2014 Richardson served as head coach of TSV Bietigheim, a professional club in Germany and he is currently an assistant coach in the NBA G-League.