Nick Richards was a throwback. You remember, back to the time when a player would arrive on the UK campus labeled a "project." Over years, not months, we could follow the player learn, develop and improve to the point where he was no longer a "project."
Those are the type of players John Calipari supposedly doesn't produce. Not anymore. At UMass and Memphis, sure. Kentucky, different story. Under Calipari, Kentucky is one-and-dones, remember. Recruit a five-star. Play a five-star. Watch a five-star head to the NBA.
Richards was different. The 6-foot-11 junior center from Kingston, Jamaica, announced Tuesday he will enter this year's NBA Draft, forgo his final year of eligibility and sign with an agent. It's the end of a college journey that began with Richards having arrived at UK with that easy manner and sheepish grin, and a resume new to the sport.
He averaged just 5.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game as a freshman, a season in which Calipari had his friend and sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella work with the rookie to try and get Richards to relax. It was also the year Kentucky was upset by Kansas State in the NCAA Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Richards played eight minutes. Stat line: One point, one rebound.
Sophomore season, his minutes dipped to 12.1 per game, his points and rebounds to 4.0 and 3.3 per contest. When Kentucky lost to Auburn 77-71 in overtime in the 2019 Midwest Region finals, Richards played one minute. Stat line: One foul. That's it.
This past season, however, Richards' light came on. Hard work paid off. He averaged 14.0 points and 7.8 rebounds in 29.6 minutes per game. According to Chris Fisher of 247Sports, of the 28 multi-year players under Calipari at UK, only Tyler Ulis (+11.6) made a bigger jump in scoring average from one year to the next than did Richards (+10.0).
"Of all the kids we've coached who have elevated and benefited from the culture we've built here, I would say Nick Richards is at the top of the list," said Calipari in a Tuesday tweet. "Nick's ability to self-evaluate and block out the clutter for the last three seasons has shown incredible maturity."
This isn't a knock on Cal's one-and-dones. Gladly give me a year of watching John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Brandon Knight, Karl-Anthony Towns, De'Aaron Fox, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (plus many, many more) over not seeing them at all.
Still, it was satisfying to watch Richards progress from a tentative freshman to the player who in February was a candidate for SEC Player of the Year honors. (Teammate Immanuel Quickley won the coaches' award.) After producing one double-double his first two seasons, Richards produced 10 as a junior.
"You hate to lose games, but you love to see a young guy grow like that as a junior in college," Missouri Coach Cuonzo Martin said after Richards scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in UK's 71-59 win over the Tigers back in January. "I'm happy for him."
"He reminds me a little bit of Willie Cauley-Stein," UK assistant Kenny Payne said during the year.
Bingo. Cauley-Stein arrived as a "project." He'd played as much football as basketball. Three years later, the 6-11 forward had developed to the point he was the sixth player selected in the 2015 draft. As with Richards, Cauley-Stein became a fan favorite.
When the NBA Draft rolls around _ whenever that might be _ Richards' name will not be called as quickly as Cauley-Stein's was back then. Gurus project the ex-UK center as a second-round pick. Maybe even a late second-round pick.
That's OK. The last time we saw Richards was on the floor at Florida. His 19 points and seven rebounds helped the Cats dig out of an 18-point, second-half hole for a thrilling 71-70 win. Considering where Nick Richards started, it was a perfect way to go out. College project complete. Ready for the next.
