Kadary Richmond has turned a corner for the St. John’s basketball team big way. It has been well documented and discussed but Rick Pitino revealed something about his star guard that no one knew following the Red Storm’s 82-58 victory over DePaul on Wednesday night.
Richmond has been playing through a groin injury for the last two weeks.
He hasn’t missed a game or practice. It hasn’t been mentioned by anyone in the program.
He swept it under the run and just kept playing. Against the Blue Demons, he scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half.
“Proud of Kadary’s leadership,” Pitino said after the game. “Great basketball player. 17 [points], nine [rebounds], five [assists] with a pulled groin.”
“If anyone questions his toughness, I can tell you right now, not only in practice, but he’s a physically tough young man.”
Richmond, after a slow start to the season for the Red Storm, has emerged into a contender for the Big East Player of the Year. He’s averaging 14.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 2.4 steals per game on league play while shooting 50.8-percent from the field.
“I think Kadary probably gets a little annoyed with people thinking he doesn’t play through pain, so he’s playing through it,” Pitino added. “It’s not true. He practices hard every day. Takes coaching every day they right way.”
St. John’s sat RJ Luis on Wednesday night with the same injury. There is no difference in the severity of the injuries according to the Hall of Famer except Richmond knows how to manage a pulled groin throughout the game while this is the first time Luis has experienced the injury.
“I’m tough on Kadary with practice,” he continued. “Kadary has deserved two days off because he fought through it.”
Rick Pitino’s plan is to give Kadary Richmond a few days off before the No. 10 Red Storm take the floor against UConn on Sunday afternoon (12:00 p.m. ET, FOX) inside Madison Square Garden. He had 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists in the Johnnies’ win over the Huskies two weeks ago as he battled through foul trouble.
St. John’s is planning to rent a cryotherapy chamber to try and accelerate the recovery process for both Richmond and Luis.