What does Billy Richmond commitment mean for UK? ‘You don’t get too many of those.’
Kentucky men’s basketball’s 2024 recruiting class grew to five players last week.
When 6-foot-6 small forward Billy Richmond announced he picked Kentucky as his college basketball home over other finalist schools Alabama, LSU and Memphis, it gave the Wildcats another distinct freshman for John Calipari’s team next year.
UK’s 2024 recruiting haul already included two guards: Projected lead ball handler Boogie Fland from New York, and Travis Perry, the Lyon County High School star who figures to work best as an off-ball scorer and shooter.
The Cats had also secured two incoming centers for next season: Somto Cyril is a traditional big man who relies on athleticism and strength to make a defense-first impact, while Jayden Quaintance is a modern-day floor spacer with the potential offensive upside to initiate scoring plays.
Furthermore, Quaintance appears to be a two-year pickup.
But Kentucky’s incoming freshman group for next season was still lacking a wing presence, the kind of bouncy, rangy player that didn’t fit any of the player archetypes already possessed by the four aforementioned players, who have all signed their national letters of intent to join the Wildcats.
Enter Richmond, who is originally from Memphis and played his first two years of high school basketball at East High School in the city.
The latest connection between Camden (New Jersey) High School — where current UK freshmen Aaron Bradshaw and D.J. Wagner played high school basketball — and Kentucky, Richmond is a left-handed wing prospect with a variety of finishing skills on offense.
Defensively, Richmond’s motor and physical size allow him to have success, especially when paired with his willingness to rebound.
In short, Richmond’s calling cards on the basketball court don’t overlap with those of the other heralded Kentucky newcomers.
“I talked to (Bradshaw and Wagner) a little bit. I asked them how their experience (has been) going to Kentucky right now,” Richmond said in an interview with NBA insider Shams Charania, during which Richmond announced his commitment to Kentucky. “They let me know the little things and the big things.”
Richmond also plays for the same Nike EYBL program, NJ Scholars, that both Bradshaw and Wagner did. Ex-Cat Lance Ware (now at Villanova) also went to Camden, as did Wagner’s father, Dajuan, who played for Calipari at Memphis.
A further connection between Richmond and Kentucky comes with Fland, his soon-to-be teammate: Fland and Richmond played together for the NY Gauchos youth program.
“The reason I picked Kentucky is (a) great coaching staff: Calipari always keeps it real with me,” Richmond told Charania. “That’s a big reason.”
Richmond breaks out as a junior at Camden, on Nike EYBL circuit
The addition of Richmond to Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting class further bolsters what was already the No. 2 recruiting class in the country., according to 247Sports.
According to the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, Kentucky now has the players ranked No. 7 (Quaintance), No. 20 (Fland), No. 29 (Richmond), No. 53 (Cyril) and No. 81 (Perry) in the 2024 recruiting group.
(Richmond will go from UK commit to signee in April, when the next Division I signing period begins).
Richmond’s recruiting profile — already noteworthy after he averaged nearly 12 points per game as a junior at Camden — took a jump during the spring and summer: Richmond averaged 18 points and more than 5 rebounds per game on the Nike EYBL circuit.
While Richmond’s outside shot needs refinement in terms of both its mechanics and success rate, his shooting success inside the arc during this year’s Nike EYBL campaign was a standout trait.
Richmond stopped short of telling Charania that his goal is to go one-and-done at Kentucky like Bradshaw and Wagner almost certainly will. But the current Camden star did touch on some areas of improvement he wants to focus on during his final high school season.
“Just working on my jump shot more. Playing on ball, being more of a point guard,” Richmond said. “I want to come to Kentucky (and) play a little bit of point guard, be a big guard (at) 6-7. You don’t get too many of those. ... Work on my IQ, getting more screens set, playing more off the ball, catch and shoot. Just working on that, and keeping my motor high, every day.”
With Richmond now in the fold, both Duke and Kentucky have five freshmen lined up for the 2024-25 season.
The Wildcats are still looking to add to their already-impressive haul, which would set Calipari’s team up to have the top-ranked recruiting class for the second straight year.
UK is still actively recruiting shooting guard VJ Edgecombe and wing Karter Knox. The Cats are among the top options for Edgecombe, with UK part of a final list of three schools that also includes Baylor and Duke.
Knox’s final four includes Kentucky, Louisville, South Florida and the NBA’s G-League Ignite. Knox is expected to take another recruiting visit to UK in 2024.
Billy Richmond continues trend of familiarity for Calipari recruits
Richmond’s commitment to Kentucky continues a trend of player familiarity for Calipari.
In each of the last three recruiting classes, Kentucky has brought in a player whose father also played under Calipari at Memphis. In 2022, it was Adou Thiero. In 2023, it was D.J. Wagner. And now in 2024, it will be Richmond, whose father (of the same name) played college basketball at both Vanderbilt and Memphis.
While the elder Richmond was dismissed from the Memphis team by Calipari, he remains in Memphis as the founder and CEO of The Wing Guru, a popular burger and wings restaurant chain.
There also doesn’t appear to be any hard feelings between Richmond and Calipari: According to The Commercial Appeal, Calipari has ordered postgame food from the restaurant for his UK teams before.
The family connection to Memphis did appear to play a factor in Richmond’s recruitment: Earlier this year, the elder Richmond posted comments on a Memphis basketball fan page criticizing the Tigers’ program. Those comments have since been deleted.
Richmond earned a scholarship offer from Kentucky right at the end of 2022, just prior to UK’s annual rivalry game against Louisville.
His official visit to Kentucky in September was part of a whirlwind fall of recruiting visits for the Wildcats.
And now less than one year following that scholarship offer — and once again right before the Cats and Cards tangled on the hardwood — Richmond put his recruitment to a close.
Richmond celebrated his big moment in style as well. Just hours after pledging to join the Wildcats, Richmond led Camden with 23 points in a rivalry win over Camden Catholic.
His choice to come to Kentucky also comes on the heels of repeated comments from Calipari about the strength of Kentucky’s recruiting efforts in both the 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes.
On a recent edition of his weekly radio show, Calipari praised the present and future of UK recruiting.
“You’re talking about three years — this year, next year, then the year after that — with really good players,” Calipari said.
Friday
Illinois State at No. 8 Kentucky
When: 7 p.m.
TV: SEC Network
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Illinois State 8-4, Kentucky 9-2
Series: Kentucky leads 1-0
Last meeting: Kentucky won 75-63 on Nov. 30, 2015, in Lexington
This story was originally published December 28, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
