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Kadary Richmond looks to take next step in junior season
Seton Hall Pirates guard Kadary Richmond (0) dribbles up court against the Butler Bulldogs during the second half at Prudential Center. (Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports)

Kadary Richmond looks to take next step in junior season

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. (BVM) – Seton Hall is undergoing a change with Jared Rhoden, Bryce Aiken, and Myles Cale all graduating after the 2021-2022 season. The Pirates top remaining scorer is junior Kadary Richmond who is primed to take advantage of the extra touches. 

Richmond opened his collegiate career playing at Syracuse. During his opening tenure with the Orange, many around college basketball felt that he was underused at the program. After his freshman season, he entered the transfer portal joining Seton Hall for his sophomore campaign. 

With the Pirates, Richmond was given a boost in playing time, and he took full advantage. The 6-foot-5 guard saw improvement in his points, assists, rebounds and steals per game during the extra five minutes of rotation minutes. He also took a leap in his 3-point shooting and his free throw shooting. 

When Aiken, one of the Pirates lead guards, entered the concussion protocol, Richmond had to step up into a bigger role. Former Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard had high praise for his young player.

 “I think you’re starting to see the evolution of a really, really good player,” Willard said. 

Even before Aiken’s injury, Richmond had started to earn the trust of his head coach. In a Jan. 8 matchup against UConn, the sophomore guard scored 27 points to narrowly defeat the Huskies in a 90-87 overtime victory. He and Aiken combined for 49 of the Pirates 90 points in this matchup. 

One thing that is notable about Richmond is he likes to stuff the box score. In his sophomore season he had four rebounds and four assists to go along with his nine points per game. The balanced effort is something Richmond has focused on instead of keying in on one particular aspect of the game.

“Just balancing everything out, creating for myself, creating for other guys on the court and just trying to lead more, offensively and defensively.” Seton Hall’s up-and-coming playmaker said in an interview. 

One game that showed the true all-around talent of Richmond was during the team’s February matchup against Georgetown. He had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, helping the Pirates end a two game losing streak.

Kadary Richmond
Seton Hall Pirates guard Kadary Richmond (0) shoots the ball during practice before the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. (Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)

Of course, whenever a team gets a new coach, there’s questions about how the returning players will fit into the new system. Richmond will have to play in his third new system in three seasons, but this may just be the one that fully unleashes the potential of the former four-star recruit. 

Shaheen Holloway, the new Seton Hall basketball coach, became famous for his miracle run with the Saint Peter’s Peacocks during the 2022 NCAA Tournament. He led the team to upset victories against the No. 2-seeded Kentucky Wildcats and the No. 3-seeded Purdue Boilermakers. 

Clearly, Holloway can coach, but will he be able to get the most out of his new supporting cast at Seton Hall? 

The 2021-22 Saint Peter’s team featured senior forward KC Ndefo who plays a similar style to Richmond. Ndefo was second on the team in both rebounds and assists, clearly stuffing the stat sheet like the Pirates guard. Holloway may opt to use Richmond in a similar role in the upcoming season.

With a chance at featuring in a new way, everything is shaping up for Richmond to take a big step in his junior year and help the Pirates continue their winning ways. It’s not easy to have to learn three different systems in three seasons, but sometimes the best fit doesn’t always come easy.