Richmond Pleased with his Play to Start off the Season
Syracuse’s Freshmen guard Kadary Richmond has been off to a fast start to his collegiate career. Through the first four games of the season Richmond has averaged 8.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 5 rebounds in 28 minutes of action.
On Thursday Richmond sat down with the media to discuss his performance to start the season and what it has meant to him to be able to play in a Syracuse uniform.
“It means a lot because people from my area don’t get opportunities like this, so I’m not going to waste any moment of it. I’m going to go out there every night and compete.”
What has really stood out about Richmond’s game is his defense and willingness to guard any player on the opposing team. Richmond is currently leading the team in steals with 13, averaging about 3.3 per game. He is also tied for the team lead in blocks with 4, averaging about 1 per game.
Following Syracuse’s first loss of the season against Rutgers on Tuesday, Head Coach Jim Boeheim discussed how Richmond has made some big strides through the first four games.
“It’s been a good experience for Kadary to get a lot of playing time. He’s not quite ready to play 37 minutes, he gets tired, but I think these games have really helped him. I think it’s put him in a good position.”
The larger role that Richmond has been given has put him in situations to simply play basketball and to compete every single game.
“I just go out there and compete to win every night. There is nothing better than winning, but you can’t win them all, so I just compete every time I get a chance,” Richmond said.
Richmond has been in the starting lineup ever since Buddy Boeheim was exposed to COVID-19 contact tracing. He has been finding his role on the team and is willing to work hard, whether he is on the bench or in the starting rotation.
“I just have it in my mind that no matter how much time I play or if I start or come off the bench that I’m going to compete in the time I get,” Richmond said.
Richmond and the Orange will look to get back in the win column this Saturday when they visit Boston College. The Orange are currently riding a four game winning streak against Boston College heading into their fifth game of the season.