St. John's basketball needs Kadary Richmond in 'much better shape' to reach potential

The expectations for Kadary Richmond were huge as he transitioned from Seton Hall to the St. John's basketball program this offseason and while his numbers have been adequate through the first four games of the season, Rick Pitino sees more coming from the veteran guard.

Richmond has left a major impact on games when he's wanted to, most recently in the Red Storm's victory over New Mexico when he added 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals to the 14-point margin, but he can still get better with each game.

His ability to take the next step as a player will be tested this weekend in the Bahamas.

"Kadary's got to get in much better shape to play this style," Pitino said on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

Richmond logged a season-high in minutes, 36, against the Lobos after playing nearly 30 minutes in each of the previous three games, but he was not looking to score against Quinnipiac or Wagner after taking a combined seven shots in the two contests.

"We're the second fastest pace [in the country]," Pitino continued. "So, this is new to Kadary. So I think he has so much more in his game, so much more."

"He is a great talent, an unbelievable talent, and as he just gets his body to play at this pace for an entire game, he's going to have more assists, more points."

The Brooklyn native averaged a career-high 15.7 points per game with Seton Hall last season and, while his numbers might not be as robust to this point with the Red Storm at 8.8 points per contest, the efficiency he plays with and control of the game is expected to improve.

Kadary Richmond will be tested often against Duke transfer Jeremy Roach on Thursday night (7:00 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network) as No. 22 St. John's (4-0) battles No. 13 Baylor (3-1) in the Baha Mar Championship.