Syracuse Basketball: Kadary Richmond will help buffer loss of transfers

Amid the departures of several key cogs to the transfer portal, Syracuse basketball will add some much-needed help via Kadary Richmond.

Similar to the Syracuse basketball squad, who was fresh off an 81-53 dismantling of North Carolina in the second round of the ACC Tournament on March 11, October recruit Kadary Richmond saw his final season with Brewster Academy cut short due to the novel coronavirus limiting postseason opportunities.

Following a semi-final victory over Hargrave Academy, Brewster and Putnam Academy were forced to share co-champions rights after a final couldn’t be played.

Richmond presents everything Jim Boeheim looks for in a guard recruit: length and versatility. The 190-pounder was named to the 1st Team All NEPSAC Class AAA according to Jason Smith, the head coach of the New Hampshire powerhouse prep school.

Richmond, ESPN’s 85th overall player on their top-100 for the class of 2020 averaged over 12 points, six rebounds, and nearly four assists playing alongside Matt Cross, ESPN’s 77th overall player who committed to Miami in September, and also was named 1st Team All NEPSAC.

In an effort to broaden his horizons as a basketball player and academic, Richmond transferred to Brewster from Brooklyn’s South Shore High School. Upon his arrival, Richmond was comfortable playing the shooting guard position. After a seamless shift to the point guard position at Brewster, it is apparent that Richmond’s size has only aided his versatility.

His versatility and ambidexterity will allow him to compete for playing time at three different positions as soon as Syracuse’s roster is cleared to practice following the novel coronavirus pandemic.

While there is still much to learn about how Richmond will adjust to the college game, what is known is that his long-arms will encourage Boeheim to deploy him atop his 2-3 zone at some point next season.

With the losses of Brycen Goodine, Jalen Carey, and Howard Washington, a strong start to fall play will allow Richmond to take advantage of a shallow pool of guards on Syracuse’s roster and earn Boeheim’s trust early on.