Richmond Basketball: Nick Sherod injury makes A-10 wide open in 2020-21

Nick Sherod of Richmond Basketball will be out for the upcoming season due to a serious injury.

Last season, Richmond Basketball was one of the breakout teams in the country. Although under Dayton’s shadow in the Atlantic 10, the Spiders finished 14-4 in league play and 24-7 overall. They were led by a starting lineup filled with juniors, including one Nick Sherod.

While transfer and leading scorer Blake Francis rightfully deserves a ton of credit since he was the newcomer and catalyst, Sherod certainly played a big role in their success. The 6’4 shooting guard/wing averaged 12.7 ppg and 5.4 rpg, while making a career-high 44% from three-point range on 5.7 attempts per game.

He was the glue and the “3 and D” contributor that balanced out the lineup for Richmond and after playing just six games in the 2018-19 campaign, was on track to finish his college career not only on a high note but also possibly in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, a brutal injury suffered at practice has effectively ended his career at Richmond.

Suffering a torn ACL this close to the start of the season means that he’s done. And while the senior could get a medical redshirt, Sherod has already indicated that he’ll be going pro instead of coming back another year. He’s already turned 23 years old and has proven to be a professional basketball player, so taking the year off to heal is the best move for the young man from a neutral standpoint.

On the court, this is no question a brutal blow for the Spiders. They’ll have four other senior starters to rely on but this hurts them in terms of depth and having a proven three-point shooter on the court.

This puts a ton of pressure on Connor Crabtree, the transfer from Tulane who averaged 7.1 ppg as a freshman and could be inserted as a starter in his place. The 6’6 guard made 37% from three-point range and has the best shot at replacing Sherod. He would’ve been great as a 6th man but Richmond may end up having 3-4 guys average 32+ mpg now.

As unfortunate as this is, it’s also something that the rest of the A-10 can benefit from. While the Spiders have been the consensus first of second-place preseason pick to win the league, teams such as Saint Louis and Dayton were considered right up there with them.

Losing Sherod gives both of them the opportunity to take them out in the regular season, benefitting the perceived underdogs while Richmond still has to deal with the pressure of being the “hunted” in 2020-21. There will be some who wonder if last year was a fluke for the program and that they’ll regress to the mean, rather than stay at the top.

Best wishes to Nick Sherod as he starts his rehabilitation process and eventually starts what should be a lengthy professional career. Richmond can still survive this set of bad news thanks to the veteran leadership of the other senior starters, but it just won’t look the same without Sherod. The Spiders struck gone with their last transfer in Francis and will hope to make it 2/2 with Crabtree as well.