LEXINGTON, Ky – After two seasons of inconsistent production, Nick Richards is beginning to piece things together at Kentucky.
Fresh off a solid performance in the win vs. No. 1 Michigan State, the Kentucky junior big man scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Kentucky to a 91-49 win vs. Eastern Kentucky.
Following the game, Eastern Kentucky coach A.W. Hamilton had high praise for Richards.
“If he [Richards] plays like that, Kentucky’s probably going to win the national championship,” said Hamilton. “That’s what I think.”
Not only did Richards make an impact offensively, but his presence on the defensive end takes Kentucky to another level. Richards had four blocked shots in the win vs. the Colonels.
“He was good today,” said John Calipari. “How many blocks did he end up with? Four blocks. I mean if he gets four blocks every game he leads the nation in shot blocking. Again, let me just say this, I told him, there was a Hall of Fame buddy of mine who played in the league and he said, if you give him two things — he watched him in New York and said, unbelievable, his feet, how he’s playing, how he’s running. And he said, if he does two things, try to out run the ball on offense and defense. If you outrun the ball on defense, you’ll be back there to block shots and rebound and do stuff. If you outrun the ball on offense you’re going to get some easy baskets and post up with a wide open floor. That’s pretty simple stuff.
