From the moment he arrived on campus, Kentucky’s coaching staff has never wavered. They believed Nick Richards could be the best big man in the country.
In the midst of Richards’ star turn, the college basketball world is seeing why.
Richards has broken out in a big way as a junior, validating years of hard work and proving his coaches right in the process.
As the Kentucky Wildcats have rounded into form and established themselves as national championship contenders once more, Richards has been a standout. Averaging 14.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, Richards is a double-double threat every night and, at 6-foot-11, an elite rim protector. Richards is also one of the most efficient scorers in the game, ranking 39th nationally in offensive rating, 13th in effective field-goal percentage and eighth in true shooting percentage as UK’s regular season concluded.
A reliable scorer in the post and one of the best alley-oop finishers anywhere, Richards has stretched out his game to include a reliable mid-range jumper. And Richards can be on the floor in crunch time as one of the best foul-shooting bigs in the country. He is shooting 75.2% from the line on the season.
Still relatively new to the game, the Kingston, Jamaica, native didn’t start playing basketball until midway through his teenage years. Perhaps, then, it should be no surprise that the latest in a long line of star UK big men under John Calipari and Kenny Payne’s tutelage didn’t emerge until later in his career.
“Everybody has their own story,” Richards said in January. “Just because I go to a school that’s known for one-and-done doesn’t mean I have to be one-and-done. It took me time to develop over the past three years. I’ve had the best time of my life.”
His first two seasons in Lexington brought tantalizing moments of brilliance, but consistency escaped Richards. No longer is that the case. Richards has set career highs in nearly every relevant statistical category, tripling his scoring average and doubling his per-game rebounding and minutes played totals. Richards had one double-double in his first 74 college games. He recorded 10 this season alone in the regular season.
When Richards is at his best, so too is Kentucky. It’s a good thing for the Cats that Richards so often delivers.
UK is 22-2 this season when Richards scores in double figures and 10-0 when he reaches 10 rebounds. Since he scored seven straight points in overtime in a big win over Louisville to finish off a 13-point, 10-rebound outing, that level of output has become the norm.
Richards was dominant with 25 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks in a victory at Texas Tech. His career high in scoring – 27 points to go along with 11 rebounds – came in a matchup with fellow SEC Player of the Year contender in Mississippi State’s Reggie Perry, but it was a win over Vanderbilt when Richards’ importance was perhaps most on display.
In the first half of that game, Richards was hampered by foul trouble and had zero points and just one rebound at halftime. Not surprisingly, UK trailed by seven. In the second half alone, Richards had 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Kentucky to victory.
“What did you learn about my team?” Calipari said afterward. “You need Nick Richards.”
Richards gives Kentucky a shot blocker that has been a hallmark of Calipari’s best teams. He blocked multiple shots in 18 of 31 games in the regular season, altering many more along the way.
“We haven’t seen a rim protector as good as Nick Richards,” LSU’s Skylar Mays said after Richards blocked six shots in a road win over the Tigers. “He did a great job of controlling the paint and it made it tough for us. That’s kind of our bread and butter, and he definitely made it a lot harder for us today.”
Calipari never wavered in his belief in Richards and Richards never wavered in his work. As Richards now blossoms, the results are something to behold.