Leftover #2: Nick Richards
Junior Nick Richards. He is a man shrouded in mystery throughout his three years at Kentucky. Each year we know what he is capable of, yet fail to see it. At any moment, the cap could burst and he and his 7-foot frame could begin to live up to his monster potential. However, we have not seen this happen… until now.
In the game against Louisville, Nick Richards almost singlehandedly navigated the Wildcats to a victory, all with four fouls. Despite the zebras’ affliction with Richards, he proved his resiliency by drawing eleven – yes, ELEVEN – offensive fouls on Lousiville. He came up big on both ends of the court, with key defensive stops and buckets when Kentucky needed them.
His 13 points and 10 rebounds against UL were good for his first double-double against a ranked opponent. In the previous twenty games against ranked competition, Richards averaged only 3.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He also sealed a three-point play which led to his seven straight overtime points that kickstarted a Kentucky run that ultimately won the game. His performance was so valuable he was awarded both the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week and SEC Player of the Week honors.
Coach Barbee had lots of words about Richards in the pre-Missouri presser.
On Richards’ competitiveness: “We were high-fiving and hugging him is what we were doing. He’s such a beautiful kid. You want him to babysit your kids. He’s that kind of kid. Everybody on campus loves him. But I’ve always said that in this game you’ve got to have an alter ego. When you step on the court you can be whatever you want out on that floor, but it can’t be a nice guy. He decided not to be so nice this last game.”
On Richards’ confidence: “I keep saying a word – I think with Nick too – it’s been a confidence deal. It’s why he’s more reserved on the court, doesn’t want to step out, to put himself out there because now you’re accountable to do that every day. If we can get that Nick–and it wasn’t us throwing the ball to him every possession. He defended at a high level. He rebounded at a high level. Those offensive rebounds that he got in that game were huge. I think he felt that success which brought out that emotion. With performance comes reward, and we need more big performances like that from him.”
On Richards’ consistency: “He’s been good, but we need carryover,” Barbee said. “He’s done it in spots, but to be the kind of player that he wants to be, where he’s trying to take himself to, his game to, where he wants to go in this game, he’s got to be able to do it on an everyday basis. That’s not just game-to-game, that’s practice-to-practice, and that’s what brings it out. This week he’s been great, and I think his confidence is building off of what he did against a really good Louisville team and really good big men he did it against.”