Few players in the country will enter the college basketball season with a bigger spotlight.
Few will face the kind of pressure that will follow Kadary Richmond.
When the 6-foot-6 lead guard transferred from Seton Hall to St. John’s, leaving one rival to join another, he ensured there would be a bull’s-eye on his back. That he left himself open to criticism and scrutiny.
He doesn’t seem concerned. Bring it on.
“It’s going to be like last year basically, but probably just a focal point of more things,” the Brooklyn native said on Tuesday. “I’m looking forward to it.”
Richmond is encouraged by what he has seen so far.
He gets to play with another point guard, Utah transfer Deivon Smith, who will lessen playmaking responsibilities on him.
The duo join a returning core of juniors Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis and sophomore Simeon Wilcher and Brady Dunlap.
It is a group, according to coach Rick Pitino, that is more advanced at this time than his first St. John’s team.
Deeper, more athletic and longer. Pitino believes he has three starters in Richmond, Ejiofor and Wilcher, and plenty of options for the other two spots.
There is confidence this could be the year the Johnnies snap their NCAA Tournament victory drought, which dates back to 2000.
“That’s the goal. There is no other goal. There’s nothing else,” Wilcher said. “Not only making it, we want to go there and dance, and have a series of winning [games].”
Said Richmond: “We could go deep into March, play into April. I would say that.”
Richmond is obviously a big part of that.
He is projected to be one of the best players in the Big East after being named as an all-league first-team selection a season ago.
Last winter, he led Seton Hall to a surprising fourth-place finish in the Big East and an NIT title, averaging 15.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.2 steals.
After weighing his options following his third season at Seton Hall, he decided to move on.
“I got too comfortable where I was and I wanted to challenge myself, so that’s what led to this,” Richmond said.
He visited St. John’s and Oklahoma before joining Pitino.
A big part of that choice was the Hall of Fame coach’s history of player development.
The two talked about Pitino helping other players change their jump shot, like Cavaliers All-Star Donovan Mitchell. It is the one missing piece in Richmond’s game if he wants to have an NBA career.
He has never attempted more than 1.8 3-pointers per game in a single season.
Since Richmond’s arrival this summer, the two have tweaked it.
Richmond has gotten rid of a hitch in his shot, making it more fluid. He is getting more comfortable taking 3-pointers, but he still passes them up at times.
Pitino doesn’t let that stand.
“Practice stops,” Richmond said with a smile.
He added: “I feel better about it, letting it go. I’d say that’s the biggest thing.”
So far, it has been a relatively seamless transition. Pitino has raved about Richmond’s practice habits.
A narrative had followed him dating back to freshman year at Syracuse that he didn’t always bring enough effort on a consistent basis.
Asked about that, Richmond attributed it to immaturity earlier in his career. He’s very different now than he was then.
“I put it on myself at that age,” Richmond said.
Perhaps most importantly, Richmond has the respect of his new teammates.
He was voted one of two captains, along with Ejiofor.
He is more vocal than expected, not afraid to speak up when the time calls for it.
“When he talks, the team listens, everybody tunes in,” Wilcher said.
“He’s going to be great, he’s going to have a great year,” Wilcher went on. “And as he has this great year, you’re not going to be able to talk about the whole big rivalry thing and him switching schools. You’re just going to talk about what he’s doing in the present.
“I believe in him, I got confidence in him. He’s been doing everything to prove he’s going to have a great year.”