Uhh, in the past 2 years Nick has played 25+ minutes in 7 games without fouling out in any of them. In fact, he has played 17 games over 20+ minutes and only fouled out in 1 of them. This whole he fouls out if he plays much narrative is really amusing and all, but what is it based off of?
NICK RICHARDS officially back (per his IG)
- Thread starter tjay11
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I love this kid..after watching him in the Lebron HBO special its hard not to pull for this guy
Now if EJ comes back, we will be in great shape!
Welcome home Nick. I’ve always liked you.
And yes, this season I’m sure I’ll scream “You’re killing me Nick!” morw than once.
Welcome home Nick. I’ve always liked you.
And yes, this season I’m sure I’ll scream “You’re killing me Nick!” morw than once.
Do people really think Nick Richards has been just sitting on his ass since he got to UK?
Just stop with the "now get in the gym" comments.
Just stop with the "now get in the gym" comments.
7 games of 25+ minutes over a two year span, 74 games, just proves my point. He’s played 25 minutes or more in less than 10% of his career games, in years where he was needed, and not some random bench warmer. Maybe he didn’t foul out but he was most likely in foul trouble or committed silly fouls to get put back on the bench.
His average of 2.1 fouls in a career average of 13.4 minutes per game isn’t some narrative. They’re facts on paper. I’m still extremely happy to have him back regardless.
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You can have an opinion. But if your opinion is so ludicrously off base and disrespectful of a Kentucky Wildcat as in 'Nick Richards needs to be introduced to the game of basketball' it is fair game to be criticized.
Ahhh. I see I’ve managed to trigger you one too many times in the past...
What does it mean then? Please, let a simpleton like me aware ):
I consider this news a sigh of relief and finally some good news for us. I like Nick and, unlike some others in this thread, feel this is a big boost to the roster. A junior Nick Richards could be a huge plus for us.
We wonder why players don’t want to come back. This type of fan response is part of the problem.
We scream when players who shouldn’t go pro decide to leave, then we bash the ones who return.
Good smart decision Nick, I haven't given up on him and I think he can do a lot better, Cauley Stein stayed 3 years and went pro. If he works hard keeps focus and keeps his nose to the grindstone he has a good chance make it to the NBA. He moves to well and he is 7 feet tall and jumps well, he has to much athletic ability to not get a look.
Actually he gets pulled because he is often out of position on Defense and has issues rebounding strongly with 2 hands the way Cal preaches. He also is too eager to leave his feet on pump fakes resulting in easy baskets for opposing teams.
He played bench minutes this year because we had Reid Travis who was a 3 year starter and PAC 12 player of the year, and a terrific rebounder, post scorer and team leader. Not to mention he also shared minutes with EJ. That likely had very little to nothing to do with Richards and foul trouble. Nice stretch though.
No, in only 2 of those 7 games did he even get 4 fouls. And what about the other 10 that he played 20+ minutes and only fouled out once? Well, he only had 4 fouls in 1 of those. In most of them he had 2 or less fouls. In fact, all you have managed to point out is that when he plays more he tends to foul less. Was that the point you were shooting for?
Your facts just don't mesh the way you believe they do. You also said you would have to see him play over 25 minutes without fouling out to believe he could. He has literally done it 7 times. Sounds to me like you can't or don't want to see it/believe it.
I don’t have a dog in the fight. But, Kenny Payne has repeatedly said stamina is big problem for NR and when he gets fatigued he loses defensive discipline and starts fouling.
I don’t interpret KP’s words as him being lazy or not working hard. Nick’s minutes are definitely related to foul problems, which are really related to stamina.
I like NR. He can shoot, which is always in high demand. I expect to see something similar to Willie’s jr year. NR probably will not be a top 15 pick next year, but I expect he’ll be a key cog for UK.
awesome, glad to have him back. he is a great kid.
i feel he has followed the typical trap of developing big men. not physical enough year 1, get beat a lot, lose confidence. year 2 trying to prove your toughness, resulting in foul trouble. hopefully another year, more basketball experience, he improves his feel for the game and can establish himself, provide more consistency.
i feel he has followed the typical trap of developing big men. not physical enough year 1, get beat a lot, lose confidence. year 2 trying to prove your toughness, resulting in foul trouble. hopefully another year, more basketball experience, he improves his feel for the game and can establish himself, provide more consistency.
If you don’t think his fouling is an issue, then you fundamentally don’t understand the way basketball works. 2 fouls per 13 minutes is a terrible statistic to have. My comment wasn’t mean to be taken so damn literally. I understand it’s possible for him to play 25+ minutes without fouling out. The stats as a whole don’t care about his 7 games where he didn’t foul out—the stats indicate his fouls are an issue, which was my larger point. It’s possible he can play all 40 minutes without getting a single foul, but the stats show it’s more than likely he will be in increasingly larger foul trouble the more he plays. That becomes a huge issue if he CONSISTENTLY plays 25+ minutes, which he may have to do next year. Not when he only reaches that number 7 times.
We absolutely needed him this year and last year. I don’t care what bigs were in front of him this year—the minutes were still there to be taken, and we sure as hell needed him 2017-18.
The thing is, if we don’t get added depth, Cal doesn’t have the luxury of pulling him if he’s out of position or doesn’t grab a rebound. His fouls will ensure he has to sit on the bench if he doesn’t improve that aspect of his game.
It’s not about being unable or refusing to believe something. It’s not that deep my man. It was a comment indicating his fouling is an issue. If that’s something you don’t recognize or acknowledge then it’s truly you who are refusing to believe something that is, without a doubt, a fact.
Fouling when you are fatigued is one thing and a likely issue, but that doesn't equal foul proned. Particularly when you look at the games he had played 20+ minutes to only fouling out 1 times and only reaching 4 fouls 2 other times. That's 14 games out of 17 that support the opposite.
He's had some impressive moments. He had a terrific game @ West Virginia when he was a freshman -- including the game-sealing dunk. He had 15 rebounds against Arkansas this year. He had 5-6 blocks against Kansas. I think he scored 14 against Vanderbilt. He has made individual plays at a very high level of athleticism in a number of games.
All that tells me he is capable with enough practice, focus and confidence.
All that tells me he is capable with enough practice, focus and confidence.
Fouls and fatigue will limit Richards to probably about 20 minutes per game most likely.
If we don't add anyone else, look for Richards and Sestina to split time at the 5 pretty evenly.
That's if we don't add another big.
If we don't add anyone else, look for Richards and Sestina to split time at the 5 pretty evenly.
That's if we don't add another big.
6 of those 17 games were against mid majors/blowout games, when the game was already decided early. At this point Richards may have to consistently play 20+ minutes no matter what the competition is. He has to prove he can consistently play high minutes against any competition without fouls being an issue.
I also don’t know if you understand that not fouling out and being in consistent foul trouble aren’t the same thing. He doesn’t have to foul out for the fouls to be a negative or an overall hinderance to one’s game.
You’re using 17 games to make a weak argument about him not being foul prone when there’s 74 total games that prove his foul averages are less than ideal. He’s averaging over 7 fouls for every 40 minutes he plays. If he cleans that up it would help him and the team IMMENSELY.
Richards have been a failure at UK. Close to bust status for his ranking. In hindsight another direction would have been better.
How it came about that Cal suddenly started having trouble landing big men I’ll never understand.
This would be his moment to get into the gym and bring his mattress with him. By next season, if he continues to be what he is, he will definitely be recruited over to a degree. Cals not gonna slow down and this isn’t usual.
Doesn’t appear that we are getting Blackshear, and EJ has a foot and a half out the door. Our front court is super thin.
It’s a situation where UK needs Richards and Richards needs the Kentucky effect more than ever. It’s the perfect match that I’ve really not seen in calipari’s tenure for a junior with NBA aspirations plus an NBA body.
I’m terrified that a championship might now rest on the shoulders of Sestina and Richards down low. Hopefully Richards gets serious.
How it came about that Cal suddenly started having trouble landing big men I’ll never understand.
This would be his moment to get into the gym and bring his mattress with him. By next season, if he continues to be what he is, he will definitely be recruited over to a degree. Cals not gonna slow down and this isn’t usual.
Doesn’t appear that we are getting Blackshear, and EJ has a foot and a half out the door. Our front court is super thin.
It’s a situation where UK needs Richards and Richards needs the Kentucky effect more than ever. It’s the perfect match that I’ve really not seen in calipari’s tenure for a junior with NBA aspirations plus an NBA body.
I’m terrified that a championship might now rest on the shoulders of Sestina and Richards down low. Hopefully Richards gets serious.
Richards didn’t perform well when the lights came on and he’s terrible against physical play. He’s soft, and lacks a motor. These are the most difficult transformations to obtain in an athlete. It’s not as simple as correcting a few fundamentals.
Nick does have a tendency to commit silly fouls and get in foul trouble That is a fact that can not be disputed. Making careless and silly mistakes is exactly why he did not get increased minutes when we really needed him in there.
Having said that, big men (especially the ones who just recently took up the game) most of the time take longer to mature. There have been several big men that blew up their JR. year. last years stats are just that, last year. With another year in the program and another year of maturity, there is no reason he can't improve his 4ppg and 3 rebounds. If he can just play great solid defense, rim protect, and rebound, we will be fine. Would not shock me at all to see him in the 7-8 ppg range and 5 rebounds a game. The third year is usually when the light comes on for big men.
Having said that, big men (especially the ones who just recently took up the game) most of the time take longer to mature. There have been several big men that blew up their JR. year. last years stats are just that, last year. With another year in the program and another year of maturity, there is no reason he can't improve his 4ppg and 3 rebounds. If he can just play great solid defense, rim protect, and rebound, we will be fine. Would not shock me at all to see him in the 7-8 ppg range and 5 rebounds a game. The third year is usually when the light comes on for big men.
After Briscoe, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Wenyen Gabriel I dont ask this question.
He's not soft he's just not developed yet. He's still fairly new to the game, give him time to develop. He put up better numbers than Sestina in both players first 2 years, Sestina developed and so can Nick.
The lights weren't on in a nationally televised game against West Virginia? Or in the Kansas game? I guess we'll see. He's still relatively new to the game of basketball. The idea that he has reached his ceiling strikes me as terribly misguided.
Your stating opinion and zero statistical support. You are entitled to having an incorrect opinion of course, but you can't pass it as fact. He gets in foul trouble in the games he gets yanked in and out continually because he can never gets established or in a rhythm. That is just fundamental basketball. You would think someone who thinks they have an astute understanding of basketball would know this.
Again, he has 7 games of 25+ minutes without ever fouling out and another 10+ games of 20+ minutes and only fouling out once, so can you provide some evidence as to why you believe he will be more foul prone the more minutes he gets. Do you think in 16 out of 17 games he just got lucky with the foul calls, or do you think maybe he was able to get into a good flow in those games that enabled him to play without fouling? Which do you think the facts and evidence supports?
We needed him in spurts this year and when injuries arose, other than that he was always just going to be a bench player. Washington and Travis were just better more experienced players. One was fringe frist rounder, the other was a Pac 12 POY grad transfer. Which would you have played less for Richards. Would you have given all of the bench minutes to him over EJ?
Unless it's a Cousins, AD, KAT type, being dependent on a freshman big who is known to be very raw and inexperienced is not a good thing. He was never going to be an immediate impact players, fouls or not. Anyone who knows shit about basketball knew that when we recruited him.
You keep focusing on just 7 games, but he has 17 games of over 20 minutes and in 2 of them he has reached 4 fouls, 2! In most of them he has 2 or less fouls, yet you have somehow pontificated in your mind that he is foul prone the more minutes he gets, with 0 facts or evidence to support. Your only support is that when he plays less minutes with less time to get acclimated he fouls more. Well no shit Sherlock. That would be common sense. How about breaking down the actual statistics and figuring out what they mean instead of just accepting some general narrative that has been repeated on here by people who have no clue what they actually mean or detail?
So far the guy is 100% at not fouling out when he plays 25+ min per game, and 90% when playing 20+, yet you think he going to be a detriment and no one should expect it from him until he proves it.....
I couldn't make that shit up if I tried.
Your stating opinion and zero statistical support. You are entitled to having an incorrect opinion of course, but you can't pass it as fact. He gets in foul trouble in the games he gets yanked in and out continually because he can never gets established or in a rhythm. That is just fundamental basketball. You would think someone who thinks they have an astute understanding of basketball would know this.
Again, he has 7 games of 25+ minutes without ever fouling out and another 10+ games of 20+ minutes and only fouling out once, so can you provide some evidence as to why you believe he will be more foul prone the more minutes he gets. Do you think in 16 out of 17 games he just got lucky with the foul calls, or do you think maybe he was able to get into a good flow in those games that enabled him to play without fouling? Which do you think the facts and evidence supports?
We needed him in spurts this year and when injuries arose, other than that he was always just going to be a bench player. Washington and Travis were just better more experienced players. One was fringe frist rounder, the other was a Pac 12 POY grad transfer. Which would you have played less for Richards. Would you have given all of the bench minutes to him over EJ?
Unless it's a Cousins, AD, KAT type, being dependent on a freshman big who is known to be very raw and inexperienced is not a good thing. He was never going to be an immediate impact players, fouls or not. Anyone who knows shit about basketball knew that when we recruited him.
You keep focusing on just 7 games, but he has 17 games of over 20 minutes and in 2 of them he has reached 4 fouls, 2! In most of them he has 2 or less fouls, yet you have somehow pontificated in your mind that he is foul prone the more minutes he gets, with 0 facts or evidence to support. Your only support is that when he plays less minutes with less time to get acclimated he fouls more. Well no shit Sherlock. That would be common sense. How about breaking down the actual statistics and figuring out what they mean instead of just accepting some general narrative that has been repeated on here by people who have no clue what they actually mean or detail?
So far the guy is 100% at not fouling out when he plays 25+ min per game, and 90% when playing 20+, yet you think he going to be a detriment and no one should expect it from him until he proves it.....
See my next response to one of your other posts. You clearly have some disconnect between understanding the idea that being in foul trouble and fouling out are NOT the same thing. Foul trouble is a negative. If I can’t get that point through your head then I don’t know what to tell ya partner. You just don’t understand.
But please, tell me more about how the player who fouls 7+ times for every 40 minutes of basketball that he plays isn’t foul prone... couldn’t make up that level of misunderstanding for a “basketball” fan if I tried.
LOL. I guarantee you Richards and Sestina won't constitute Kentucky's entire front court.
Where exactly was Richards gonna go the Jamaican semi pro league ? I guess this news is cause for celebration these days though
I assure you, sir it wasn’t meant in a bad way! He’s going to be the only center and needs to work on things to keep him on the court!
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