Kadary Richmond's career ends on major 'what if' after fouling out in St. John's loss

Kadary Richmond’s career with the St. John’s basketball team wasn’t supposed to end like this. The All-Big East Second Team selection was preparing for his March moment.

Richmond was cerebral in the Red Storm’s victory in the Round of 64 against Omaha and his presence needed to loom large when the Johnnies battled Arkansas in the Round of 32, yet he was taken out of the game.

He was tabbed with two quick fouls in the first half, limiting him to just seven minutes and sitting for the final 13:13 of the opening stanza. It carried over to the second half and with St. John’s trailing by three, 61-58, Richmond appeared to challenge a shot from Karter Knox vertically but was still hit with his fifth foul.

Richmond, usually very stoic on the court, was outwardly perplexed.

The rest of his college career was left in the hands of his teammates, but they could not come through as Red Storm’s season ended with a 75-66 loss to Arkansas.

“It's a tough one,” Richmond said of being limited to just 16 minutes because of foul trouble. “It's a tough way to go out. Some tough calls. They played better than us. Just some tough calls.”

It was the first time he fouled out all season.

While the Johnnies still battled until the final minutes without Richmond, it was missing its closer – something Richmond became so good at late in the season. His absence made it even more dumbfounding that Rick Pitino didn’t keep RJ Luis on the floor in the final five minutes despite his shooting woes.

Instead, the Johnnies were lost as the game slowed down and committed a key turnover and missed eight of its last nine shots. What if Richmond was still on the floor. Would the outcome have been different for the Johnnies?

“We had a special group of guys from the coaching staff down to the players and the managers and I'm thankful and appreciative they allowed me to come here and be the person I am, and I will always be thankful to them for that.”

The future remains unclear for Kadary Richmond. He will certainly try and make an NBA roster but his outside shooting limitations and age, 23, could hurt his chances to stick with an organization.

For now, there will be a lot of reflecting in Queens on if its season could still be going if its superstar guard remained on the floor.