Playing in post an important role that UK ‘big’ is learning to appreciate

It’s what he’s doing. It’s not who he is.

That’s more or less how freshman Nick Richards described his likely role as a low-post presence for Kentucky this season. His growing comfort in the post was on display in UK’s 106-63 exhibition victory over Centre on Friday night.

“It’s not really what I want to be in life,” he said of playing in the low post. “But it’s what my team needs right now. It’s sacrificing.”

Richards is not the first UK big man to reluctantly accept playing in the post. The same applied to Karl-Anthony Towns.

Increasingly, big men do not want to play in the low post.

Richards linked his reluctance to his basketball ambition.

“My ultimate goal is to reach the NBA,” he said, “and you don’t see a lot of guys in the NBA that are in the post now.”

A moment later, Richards added, “My game is faster than just being in the post.”

Richards looked comfortable and effective in the post against Centre. On one possession, he turned into the lane and made a baby hook. Later, he turned to the baseline and made a turnaround shot.

“He’s gotten way better,” UK Coach John Calipari said of Richards.

Richards also played 18 minutes without committing a foul, which was in stark contrast to his foul-prone play in Kentucky’s first two exhibition games.

Teammates attributed his improvement to diligence.

“Nick Richards is in there before the games early,” Wenyen Gabriel said. “He’s in there before practice working with KP (Kenny Payne). He’s back there at night. Those are the type of shots that he’s been working on. I think that post presence will be big for us as the season goes along.”

Sacha Killeya-Jones also saluted Richards.

“I think his confidence in the post and him giving us that post presence has been huge,” Killeya-Jones said. “I think he knows now that he doesn’t have to take six dribbles and get right to the rim. He can take that one dribble and shoot a left-handed jump hook from 10 feet. That’s really impressive, how much his arsenal has grown since he’s been here.”

Centre of attention

Calipari saluted Centre. “They saw no fear,” he said. “They were so excited to play and they just played until the horn.”

Centre Coach Greg Mason sounded pleased with the experience.

“In the dictionary, nirvana is a state of perfect happiness,” he said. “And that’s me right now, and I think it’s our guys as well.”

Mason noted the courage it took for his players to play Kentucky in Rupp Arena.

“It’s kind of like playing golf with Phil Mickelson,” he said. “You want to do it, but then you get up on that first tee box and the butterflies hit. …

“I told (the players), ‘Let’s represent Centre College and Centre basketball in a way that’s deserving.’ And I thought our guys did that and more. So very, very proud. Very pleased.”

Dead Fred

Centre’s Phi Delta Theta fraternity continued a tradition by bringing a portrait of Fred Vinson to the game.

Vinson, a native of Louisa and a Centre grad, was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1946 until his death in 1953. His portrait, affectionately known as “Dead Fred,” is brought to Centre football and basketball games.

The portrait was also at the two vice presidential debates held at Centre: in 2000 (Joe Lieberman and Dick Cheney) and 2012 (Joe Biden and Paul Ryan).

Chandler Sneed, the president of Phi Delta Theta, was in charge of Dead Fred.

“A lot of alumni noticed Fred and were really excited to see him at the game …,” Sneed said in a text message. “From a sports perspective, attending a game at Rupp was definitely a big deal.”

Sneed, a senior, is a graduate of Lexington Christian Academy.

Etc.

Looking ahead, Calipari noted that UK begins the season with three games in five days: Home against Utah Valley and Vermont, then against Kansas in Chicago. “They’re all going to be hard games for us,” Calipari said. “So we got to get a little bit fresh and go from there.” … Centre has an enrollment of 1,450. About 43 percent of students are student-athletes, spokesman Michael Strysick said.

This story was originally published November 4, 2017 at 12:26 AM with the headline "Playing in post an important role that UK ‘big’ is learning to appreciate."