Billy Richmond III: Shock and Awe

Mini Razorback Reels for game against Pacific highlights how deep the Hogs can be

I watch a lot of hoops, man. There isn’t much that surprises me anymore. So, while I have some more consequential basketball topics to explore with more in-depth editions of Razorback Reels that will come out later, I wanted to pause today and celebrate some NBA-level athleticism from Billy Richmond III.

Let’s roll the tape!

If you read regularly, you know I am a massive New York Knicks fan. It’s the only sports team close to my love of the Arkansas Razorbacks. What you’ll see below is the kind of play Josh Hart makes on a nightly basis. It’s one of the pillars of his game that’s allowed him to carve out a starting role on a contending team.

That’s a true freshman taking the ball coast-to-coast in transition and tilt-a-whirling the defense with a blink-and-you-miss-it Euro step. Go watch some Knicks basketball. You’ll see Hart do the same thing. Seeing this in the midst of a college basketball game literally made me go, “Damn.”

John Calipari doesn’t have to wait for live ball turnovers to exploit that athleticism in transition. Here, we see a designed play drawn up to get Richmond a look at the rim.

Richmond starts on the weakside elbow in a box alignment and sets a ghost screen for DJ Wagner. Zvonimir Ivisic, Nelly Davis, and Kartner Knox set a series of successive screens to muddle up the defense. Richmond curls around the backside of all that window dressing, and Wagner lobs it toward the rim.

Richmond can also create something for himself in the halfcourt.

Richmond catches the ball in the slot in what amounts to a semi-transition opportunity and immediately penetrates toward the rim. The Pacific defender who picked him up at the three-point line provided little resistance, and the other defender was in prime posterize position. Richmond adjusted mid-air to ensure contact while still making the bucket.

So what are the takeaways?

Well, there are two. The first is that while he’s a bit raw right now, and there are plenty of growth areas right now, Richmond has some flashes of a next-level ability to punish teams at the rim. Three different times while the game was still in the balance, he made plays that left me in awe.

That’s dynamite. The more significant takeaway, though, is that Richmond is a prime example of The Calipari Effect.

Will Richmond have a major role on this team? Probably not, especially when everyone gets healthy. I expect he’ll be somewhere around seventh or eighth in total minutes this year when this team is fully formed. He’s currently sixth.

That’s what is fascinating about The Calipari Effect. Richmond might have been the focal point of our roster in previous years. He’s the third guy off the bench on a Calipari roster.

Who knows if Calipari will lead the Razorbacks to Final Fours or National Championships, but you can guarantee that you will see insanely talented—NBA-level talented—basketball players deep into the bench. We’ve never had that before.

I’ll buy some Razorback Nuggies to keep supporting that!