Kadary Richmond’s teammates and coaches made their belief known before Thursday’s Big East Tournament quarterfinals that their point guard had been robbed of an All-Big East First Team nod.
By the end of St. John’s rout of Butler to advance to Friday’s semifinals, Richmond had seemingly done more than enough to prove that his supporters have a point.
The graduate transfer from Seton Hall did it all against the Bulldogs and set the tone for the Red Storm, shooting 7-for-13 from the floor and finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists. Shortly after his near triple-double effort, Rick Pitino told reporters that he believes Richmond not only should have been recognized as the best guard in the conference, but the country.
“I told this to the team, and I'll repeat it to you guys, and I think I've said it before. A lot of our team was upset that Kadary wasn't First Team All-League,” Pitino said. “I understand it because it's getting tough to get in three guys.
I said, ‘Kadary, your teammates and coaching staff think you're top three guards in the nation. Maybe the best guard in the nation. So what does that matter? You've got the respect of every coach and every teammate. We think you're the best guard in the nation. So that's better than anything else.’”
Richmond’s teammates echoed that sentiment after Thursday’s lopsided victory, and while Richmond will have to settle for his entry onto the Big East second team, he is more focused on bringing a Big East Tournament crown back to St. John’s for the first time in a quarter of a century.
“It's special. You know, just having one more chance to play in this tournament, there's nothing like it,” Richmond said. “It's one of the best tournaments during Champ Week, so it's a great feeling.”
The Brooklyn native has experienced the Big East Tournament before, falling to the Red Storm last season when he was leading Seton Hall in scoring. Now, he is starring on the big stage for the city’s team as it undergoes an unprecedented renaissance under Pitino, and Richmond has been as pivotal in that turnaround as anyone. It didn’t result in the highest individual honor from a conference perspective, but the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist is more focused on bringing home a tournament championship in his own backyard.
Right now, Richmond is playing like he won’t be denied of that goal, as his balanced effort on Thursday followed the program’s first triple-double since 1999 in St. John’s regular season finale. Whether it be motivated by sending a message to those who snubbed him in All-Big East voting or a desire to win a conference tournament championship, Pitino believes Richmond is one of the best in the country, and he’s playing the part.
“He's been terrific. All of a sudden he wants to play for the Celtics with his three-point shooting,” Pitino joked. “I would like to see him cut back a little bit on that, but outside of that, he's playing brilliant basketball. He's a 6'5", 6'6" guard that has great body control, understands the game, owns up to everything he does wrong. He's coachable. He's got a great attitude. He's very humble. There aren't enough adjectives I can say about that young man.”