NCAA Basketball: Rick Pitino and St John's land key Seton Hall transfer Kadary Richmond
From one Big East team to another, stout and high-usage guard Kadary Richmond announced Tuesday that he will be transferring to St. Johns for potentially his last season of collegiate eligibility after spending the last three seasons with the Pirates of Seton Hall. Richmond now adds to one of the best transfer portal classes in America.
The Red Storm are loading up 🔴⛈️
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) May 7, 2024
St. John’s officially signs Kadary Richmond ✍️ pic.twitter.com/Irrr9n1rZA
This falls perfectly in line with what Rick Pitino needed on his roster entering the 2024 season. Richmond is a combo-guard who has a big frame and can put the ball on the floor and command an offense, as well as score with the best of them. Last season, Richmond led all Seton Hall scorers, averaging 15.7 points per game. He also tacked on 5.1 assists, 7.0 rebounds, shot 44.1% from the field, and 80.7% from the charity stripe. Richmond finished first-team All-Big East and led the Pirates to the NIT Championship.
As well as St. Johns played collectively for the entirety of the year through all the ups and downs, finishing 20-13 overall, they still missed out on the NCAA Tournament, and for a Rick Pitino-led team, that isn't a normality. However, Richmond isn't the only player the Red Storm added this week; they also landed Devion Smith from Utah on Monday, who also brings a plethora of tools, averaging 13.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 7.1 assists. Smith has proven to be one of the best three-point shooters in college basketball.
The city of New York is thriving, and Kadary Richmond hopes to add to that. Richmond expressed the current state of New York sports teams having a factor in his decision.
"“Seeing what Jalen Brunson is doing for New York City right now, winning in New York is a big thing. I want to be a part of that.”"
- Kadary Richmond (via Clutch Points)
Updated WTE power rankings for 2024-25. dark. Next. Updated WTE power rankings for 2024-25
The New York Knicks and New York Rangers are in the second round of the NBA and NHL playoffs, and the New York Yankees are in second place in the AL East. Now, St. Johns has put together their backcourt for next season and may just have the best one in the entire conference with Smith and Richmond leading the way.