Nick Richards
- Thread starter shutzhund
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I can't think of any players who were as terrible as Nick turning into factors at any point in their career under Cal. I don't remember Jorts ever being as bad as Nick was, so I can't think of anyone. Coaches like athletic players because of the supposed "ceiling", but Hami and Nick showed very little basketball ability last year.
A lot is up to him. He has a ton of potential. In order to realize that potential he has to put in the work during the off season.
The above is pure baseless stupidity!
Are there area Richards needs to improve? Definitely. But it wasn’t all bad. Makes 60% of his shots. Makes FTs. Rebounds well (especially considering he drops a couple every game). Blocks shots. Just look at his per 30 or 40 minute stats. They were pretty solid.
His defensive instincts were terrible. Just did not understand were to be on the floor. Got better as the year went along. Rebounded well at times. When he catches the ball and keeps it high he can put it in the hole. 6'4" strong athletes will take it from him every time he brings it down. Got better at shooting the little hook later in the year. Cal gave him plenty of opportunity to play and improve. Expect to reap the benefits from that this year. As most young kids has to learn to stay focused and control his emotions. Lot of that comes with getting older. Skill set just needs some polishing. I expect big things.
Going to have to respectfully disagree about him being "terrible". Raw? Most certainly, and as others have pointed out, he's only been playing hoops for 6 years.
He looked great against some of our weaker foes early on because that's the type of talent he'd been playing against in HS. Later on he began to see much better talent and the game suddenly got a lot faster. I think he got nervous and began to question himself a little; he got down on himself. It happens and he will improve.
It should also be noted that, sans Anthony Davis, Boogie, etc., true big men usually take a couple of years to make an impact, but Cal and the staff have proven over and over they are, without question, the very best at developing big guys.
Nick is athletic and has a good shot, all he needs to do now is learn the defensive side of the ball; the offense will come, I have no doubt.
No, he's FAR from "terrible".
Talk about being optimistic... That would be Cat's biggest achievement if that happens
Just expect more than what we got last year and everything will be ok, he didn’t do much of anything so it’s almost inevitable that there will be improvement. Expecting a big leap and then complaining about him all year if he doesn’t get there is a problem with the fan, not Richards.
It cracks me up how worked up people get on this board when they see something they don't agree with. LMAO!
Nick is one of us and I hope he dominates this year, but he was pretty terrible down the stretch last year. Seven footers usually don't bring the ball up the court so being able to catch passes and control rebounds is crucial to their success. Nick's hands were about as bad as you are ever going to see.
The kid is a stud athlete, just raw right now, believe me he will have breakout season.
You need someone who can get good looks around the basket. It doesn’t need to be a big. In fact they often make it more difficult.
I think that Nick's learning curve is much greater to him knowing he hasn't really played that long and how tall he is. I imagine he didn't have to fight for many rebounds in high school. Now he's playing with others that are just as big. I'm going to hold judgment on him after giving him a year in the system.
Neither will be playing under the basket. If they are it means EJ is a bust and Richards hasn’t improved
Gotta go u props mr bud there is hope for you yet. Richards has only been playing 4 years some need to give him a break. I can see him staying another 2-4 Year’s and I think if he continues to improve he will be a late first round pick if he stays all 4 Year’s. He has all the tools to be successful. Problem is out fan base is impatient and we want it now and not in a few years.
What an awful take. They’re ilk both be under the basket, who’s going to rebound? Kat and Davis were both better shooters than ej and they camped out under the basket. They will both do the same
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Nick wasn't ready last year but he wasn't supposed to be. The plan was for him to give Bamba a blow or spell him when he had foul trouble. This year was to be his coming out so to speak. So we will see.
I expect him to be improved and if he would stay 4 years, could be a force by his senior season. Glad he's a Cat.
I expect him to be improved and if he would stay 4 years, could be a force by his senior season. Glad he's a Cat.
I would like to see Richards make the normal Freshman to Sophomore progress, and then stay around for his Junior year and make more progress.
How come kids aren't patient anymore to the point that they work hard and progress over 3-4 years, get a degree, and then attempt to play professional ball?
They do this at other schools and we have had a few guys recently, but there should be more, IMHO.
How come kids aren't patient anymore to the point that they work hard and progress over 3-4 years, get a degree, and then attempt to play professional ball?
They do this at other schools and we have had a few guys recently, but there should be more, IMHO.
A 7 ft guy that runs like a gazelle. A lot to like about that. Not every kid is going to develop at the same pace.
I am in favor of showing patience, let him respond to coaching, and see where it goes. Plus he seems like a nice young man. Let's wait and see.
I am in favor of showing patience, let him respond to coaching, and see where it goes. Plus he seems like a nice young man. Let's wait and see.
I haven't seen any polls out there that say Travis to Nova over Travis to UK. I am not saying that Travis is a lock at Kentucky but there are 2 big variables and that is with PJ, EJ, and KJ in the front court and our back court loaded and if we add Travis we have a great shot at a National Championship and Travis knows once he is at UK you will see all the 2019 NBA Mock Draft boards and he will be listed in the 1st round of the draft.
My biggest problem with Richards and yes he was a freshman last year but his hands for a big man was terrible. How many easy baskets did Richards have underneath and he either lost the ball or the ball was stolen from him. Also, like the South Carolina game last year how many easy dunks or layups did Richards miss last year. In the Kansas State game to start the game in the first 5 minutes he had 2 or 3 passes to him underneath that he lost and had the ball stripped from him a couple of times. I believe Coach Cal knew once Vanderbilt and Gabriel stayed in the draft he had to land another big man in the front court. Last year that is what this team missed was a big man like BAM, KAT, Davis, TJones, Cuz, Noel, WCS, Randle, etc. Coach Cal has always had the big men in each of his 9 years here at Kentucky and last year that is what was missed for making that Final Four Run. We had 6-7 PJ in the last 11-12 games being the big man that the guards were feeding and PJ taking it to the basket for two.
We need that big man that can be a Double/Double machine that will also help to open it up from the outside for our guards to drain the outside shot or the 3 point shot. We have shooters like Green, Herro, Baker, and Quickley that can shoot from the outside and shoot from 3 next year and if we have that big man like Travis playing underneath he will be able to score easy underneath or feed it back outside to our shooters for an outside shot or 3 point shot. I am sure if Coach Cal didn't believe that if we wasn't getting Travis I would think we would be hearing that Coach Cal is looking for another big man for our Front Court next year. We only have PJ, EJ, KJ, and Richards in our front court next year and we have lost WG, JV, SKJ, and Wynyard and we don't know yet how Coach Cal will use Keldon Johnson next year. That would basically leave us with PJ, EJ, and Richards in our Front Court. I believe Coach Cal has a good idea that Travis is coming to UK or I believe we would be hearing now that Coach Cal has been looking at another big man either by grad transfer or by reclassifying to 2018. I believe right now we are a top 5 team and a possible final four run but with that 1 more piece of the puzzle with Reid Travis that has averaged approx. 20 and 10 the last 2 years at Stanford would make this Kentucky team a possible shot at a National Championship next year.
My biggest problem with Richards and yes he was a freshman last year but his hands for a big man was terrible. How many easy baskets did Richards have underneath and he either lost the ball or the ball was stolen from him. Also, like the South Carolina game last year how many easy dunks or layups did Richards miss last year. In the Kansas State game to start the game in the first 5 minutes he had 2 or 3 passes to him underneath that he lost and had the ball stripped from him a couple of times. I believe Coach Cal knew once Vanderbilt and Gabriel stayed in the draft he had to land another big man in the front court. Last year that is what this team missed was a big man like BAM, KAT, Davis, TJones, Cuz, Noel, WCS, Randle, etc. Coach Cal has always had the big men in each of his 9 years here at Kentucky and last year that is what was missed for making that Final Four Run. We had 6-7 PJ in the last 11-12 games being the big man that the guards were feeding and PJ taking it to the basket for two.
We need that big man that can be a Double/Double machine that will also help to open it up from the outside for our guards to drain the outside shot or the 3 point shot. We have shooters like Green, Herro, Baker, and Quickley that can shoot from the outside and shoot from 3 next year and if we have that big man like Travis playing underneath he will be able to score easy underneath or feed it back outside to our shooters for an outside shot or 3 point shot. I am sure if Coach Cal didn't believe that if we wasn't getting Travis I would think we would be hearing that Coach Cal is looking for another big man for our Front Court next year. We only have PJ, EJ, KJ, and Richards in our front court next year and we have lost WG, JV, SKJ, and Wynyard and we don't know yet how Coach Cal will use Keldon Johnson next year. That would basically leave us with PJ, EJ, and Richards in our Front Court. I believe Coach Cal has a good idea that Travis is coming to UK or I believe we would be hearing now that Coach Cal has been looking at another big man either by grad transfer or by reclassifying to 2018. I believe right now we are a top 5 team and a possible final four run but with that 1 more piece of the puzzle with Reid Travis that has averaged approx. 20 and 10 the last 2 years at Stanford would make this Kentucky team a possible shot at a National Championship next year.
![[cheers]](https://ct.yimg.com/mr/uploads/891/5628.gif "Cheers [cheers]")
Why even compare him to Boogie and AD? He wasn't a top 5 player coming in like they were. Was a high 4/low 5 star. He's more comparable to Willie Cauley-Stein, who didn't have a particularly memorable freshman year either and also was pretty new to basketball when he signed with UK. He turned out pretty well.
I don't know where people got the idea that Richards was going to come in and play like Boogie as a freshman. Or that because he didn't he is "terrible."
Have faith in the coaches that a) they knew what they were doing when they signed him, and b) they can improve his game this year.
Montgomery plays below the rim? First time I have read this. Just curious is this just your opinion or did you read it somewhere? I saw Montgomery's workout with Hagan. Looked pretty above the rim catching one handed Ally oops. Saw him throw down a couple dunks in the McDonalds game. Is he the second coming of Bam Adebayo? No but not many are.
You must have missed the Skal Labissiere year.
In fact thinking of Skal I think there’s a lot of similarities between him and Richards. Both come from Caribbean countries, took up basketball late, have excellent athletic talent, had some good games early versus weaker competition but struggled with better competition etc.
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It's just my opinion. I'm not impressed with Montgomery. I think he'll need a year before he's ready to have a major impact at this level.
Fair enough, I disagree as he is known as a strong finisher inside. Truthfully haven't seen him in any real competition. So you may be right. Just havent seen enough of him personally to say your right or wrong overall.
I think the best part I like about Richards is that he hasn't played basketball that long and new habits are easier to learn rather than getting rid of bad habits.
Other than that I refer to my Pawpaw's wisdom: "Dunk it when you can, son! Don't act like you're too big for your britches or too small for your shirt!"![[laughing]](http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/img/emoticons/classic/laugh.r191677.gif "Laughing [laughing]")
Other than that I refer to my Pawpaw's wisdom: "Dunk it when you can, son! Don't act like you're too big for your britches or too small for your shirt!"
Last year was probably the only quality coaching the kid has ever received.
His hand strength has to improve immensely for him to become a positive factor.I think the best part I like about Richards is that he hasn't played basketball that long and new habits are easier to learn rather than getting rid of bad habits.
Other than that I refer to my Pawpaw's wisdom: "Dunk it when you can, son! Don't act like you're too big for your britches or too small for your shirt!"
I don't think Richards is that far away from becoming a force. He had 7 double digit scoring games last year I believe and he never played more than 26 minutes in a single game. Even his his 25/15 game against Ft Wayne he only played 26 minutes.
Also he did have some decent games in sec play. Shot 62% from the field for the season and 72% from the ft line.
Richards is the type of kid that in the tubby or Pitino era we would have been excited about as a sophomore. We would have said he's poised for a breakout season. Just as we are for Quade and PJ.
Also he did have some decent games in sec play. Shot 62% from the field for the season and 72% from the ft line.
Richards is the type of kid that in the tubby or Pitino era we would have been excited about as a sophomore. We would have said he's poised for a breakout season. Just as we are for Quade and PJ.
Wich is he? Excellent Athleticism? Or Awkward and confused? You know the Answer.
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