Was this the start for Kadary Richmond?
The beginning of St. John’s major offseason addition starting to make an impact?
On Saturday afternoon, in a game St. John’s couldn’t afford to lose, he resembled the difference-maker who led Seton Hall to a surprising fourth-place Big East finish a year ago.
The Brooklyn native took over down the stretch.
He made big plays on defense.
He finished off drives at the rim.
He was there for the Johnnies on a day they again were abysmal from the 3-point line.
Richmond had five points, two steals and an assist in the final 4:48, helping St. John’s rally from seven points down in the second half to knock off Butler, 70-62, at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday afternoon.
His steal and dish for an RJ Luis dunk gave St. John’s the lead for good and he scored the next four points.
“I think he took over the game at that time. But he needs to do that from the opening tip to the end of the game, that’s the way he needs to play,” coach Rick Pitino said. “He was responsible for this win tonight. But he needs to do that the whole game.”
Richmond had yet to produce as expected through his first 14 games as a Johnnie. His numbers were down across the board.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS
Against Butler, he sat for a good portion of the second half, but he was on the floor when it mattered, making big plays.
Thanks to Richmond, St. John’s (12-3, 3-1) was able to exhale and improve to 3-1 in league play, despite shooting 1 of 21 from 3-point range.
Luis had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Zuby Ejiofor followed with 14 points and eight rebounds and Richmond had 11 points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks.
Pierre Brooks tallied 17 points for Butler (7-8, 0-4), which has lost seven straight games.
“He’s a big-time player. He’s just trying to get it all together,” Deivon Smith (13 points, six rebounds, four assists) said of Richmond. “He’s showing spurts of it each and every game.”
St. John’s pressure also helped flip the game. It trailed by seven early in the second half before Pitino went to the press.
CHECK OUT THE LATEST BIG EAST STANDINGS AND ST. JOHN’S STATS
A 15-3 run followed.
Overall, St. John’s forced 21 turnovers resulting in 19 points. When it plays fast and with pace, it looks like a different team.
The Johnnies had 27 fast break points after being limited to eight by Creighton.
The long-distance shooting woes, however, aren’t going away. St. John’s has made only nine 3-pointers in four league games.
After attempting nine in a one-point, New Year’s Eve loss to Creighton, Pitino implored his players to get more 3s up. They did, with almost no success.
“We’re going to shoot better. I’m not really worried,” Smith said. “It just shows how much talent we have to win without it. I think the 3-ball will fall.”
Pitino admitted that the struggles from 3 could be weighing on his players’ minds.
The narrative that this team can’t shoot won’t go away until the Johnnies start making more of them.
But, there are also positives to take in that they continue to win despite their problems from beyond the arc.
“When you go 1-for-21 and you win the game, and you’re not doing many things right, that speaks volumes about what you’re all about,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “I think they were all good 3s, there weren’t any bad ones. They were wide open. We’ll continue to work at it.
“If anybody is to blame, it’s me and the staff because we didn’t recruit enough shooters, but we did recruit guys who work hard, and that’s what we wanted more than anything else.”