It has been a season full of record-breaking moments for the St. John’s basketball team and the regular season finale delivered another historic moment for the program as Kadary Richmond notched the first triple-double for the Red Storm since Ron Artest reached the feat in 1999.
Richmond ended the 86-84 overtime victory for the Johnnies with ten points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists but his steal in the final seconds of overtime was his biggest play as Simeon Wilcher was able to find Zuby Ejiofor for the victory.
“It means a lot to me and my teammates,” Richmond said of the honor. “We have been doing historic things all season, so this time it’s an individual [honor], but I’ll give all the credit to them. They made shots they made the big plays, and we got out of here with a win.”
It’s the second triple-double in the career of Kadary Richmond after landing 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a triple overtime game last season for Seton Hall against No. 18 Creighton. It's the 22nd triple-double in the country this season.
“He was an aggressive guy,” Richmond said about joining the likes of Artest in Johnnie lure. “He played very hard every night.
He became the first Division-I player since 1996-97 with multiple career triple-doubles against ranked opponents, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
“He’s very easy to coach,” Rick Pitino explained about Richmond. “Easiest great player I’ve ever coached by far because he owns up to everything. He listens. He’s highly intelligent.”
“It’s always about his teammates. It’s never about him. First [St. John’s] triple-double since Ron Artest and he won’t even pat himself on the back one bit.”
St. John’s will hope Kadary Richmond lands on the All-Big East First Team on Sunday afternoon alongside RJ Luis and Zuby Ejiofor when the conference makes its regular season honors public.