NASSAU, Bahamas — Just when it looked like Kadary Richmond was beginning to turn a corner, he took a step back.
After a strong performance in a rout of Virginia on Friday, St. John’s major transfer addition struggled mightily in a frustrating 66-63 loss to Georgia to cap the Johnnies’ disappointing Bahamas trip.
Richmond was held to three points on 1-for-8 shooting, went 1 of 3 from the free-throw line and committed three turnovers.
There was one killer one. St. John’s was in the midst of a 20-7 run, and held a three-point lead. The Johnnies had possession and Richmond threw a lazy pass that Georgia freshman Asa Newell picked off at midcourt and went in for an easy dunk with 9:39 left. It started a 10–0 run that enabled the Bulldogs to regain control.
“He’s getting one or two of those a game. It makes no sense for a great player that that happens,” coach Rick Pitino said. “A couple of rotations defensively, too, that really hurt us on second shots. He knows it, though, he owns up to it.”
RJ Luis never found his rhythm after logging just eight first-half minutes due to foul trouble. He still scored 13 points on 6-for-13 shooting, but St. John’s really missed him in the first half.
“He’s a catalyst for us offensively and he had to sit the whole time with two fouls,” Pitino said. “He’s got to know better than to give the guy his strong hand and to foul, and that’s disappointing.”
After missing the win over Virginia with a hip injury, Brady Dunlap returned. He scored a point and missed all four of his field goal attempts. Pitino felt the shots were forced.
“He’s a good shooter. If he takes unchallenged shots, he’ll shoot a good percentage, but all his shots were challenged,” the Hall of Fame coach said.
Turnovers continue to be a problem. St. John’s had 15 of them on Sunday and is now averaging 13.7 per game.