St. John’s coach Rick Pitino urged caution about injured star guard Kadary Richmond after his team completed a regular-season sweep of UConn and inched closer to its first outright Big East title in 40 years.
Richmond, the No. 1 player in the transfer portal last spring, has emerged as a Big East Player of the Year candidate despite struggling with injuries. He played through pain against UConn on Sunday, scoring 18 points but spending long stretches on the bench.
Pitino called Richmond “more injured than any player I’ve coached” and said he needs time off to recover from double groin pulls and other issues. However, Richmond showed up to play despite his injury, and his performance was praised by Pitino.
Richmond has averaged 17.4 points over his past nine games, with improved statistics in each contest. Despite the challenges, Pitino believes Richmond is a fully mature player now, capable of leading the team to success.
The Red Storm’s defense and offensive rebounding have been key to their success this season, but Pitino warned that they need to improve their 3-point shooting if they hope to maintain their title push. With three games remaining, St. John’s holds a two-game lead in the Big East standings, with Richmond potentially playing only one more game due to his injuries.
Source: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/43985200/ailing-kadary-richmond-leads-st-john-win-uconn