Seton Hall basketball: Kadary Richmond dominates in big win at Butler
Winning on the road in college basketball is hard.
Apparently, defending Kadary Richmond is harder.
Seton Hall’s ace playmaker rose above the crowd, again, Saturday to lead the Pirates past Butler 78-72 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. The senior guard racked up 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists while scoring his 1,000th collegiate point as the red-hot Pirates (12-5 overall, 5-1 Big East) captured a fourth Quad 1 victory and a conference-leading third Big East road win as they remain in first place.
“We have the poise down the stretch to know we’ve done this before, and we have a lot of veteran guys,” Richmond said by phone afterward. “As long as we stay true to who we are on the defensive end, we’re going to be fine.”
Picked to finish ninth in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll, the Hall has become one of the best stories in the sport, having won four straight games and seven of the past eight.
Against Butler (11-6, 2-4), the Pirates blocked 13 shots and limited one of the conference's best offensive teams to 37 percent shooting in the second half. They now lead the series 13-10 and have captured eight of the past nine meetings with the Bulldogs – including six of the last eight at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
3 THOUGHTS
1. Richmond: Big East Player of the Year
The senior guard is playing like the Big East Player of the Year. Not sure anyone else is even close right now. This after being omitted entirely from the league's preseason honors as chosen by the coaches.
Even when his shot’s not falling (he shot 8-of-18 vs. Butler), Richmond's rebounding and his ability to get teammates involved are elevating the entire team. He's corralled 20 total rebounds these past two road games, an off-the-charts number for a point guard.
“Rebounding starts with being in the right spots on defense," he said. "When it misses, I’m able to read where it’s coming out and go get it. I’m thankful for my teammates who are boxing out and making me able to chase the ball.”
Getting Richmond some rest in-game is vital, and head coach Shaheen Holloway was able to do that with a crucial five-minute blow in the first half as the Hall’s subs held the fort. Sophomore guard Jaquan Sanders was particularly effective, scoring six points and providing his best defensive effort this season.
Richmond’s ability to put things on his shoulders late in games, when everyone knows what’s coming, is what great players do. His spot in the Pirates’ pantheon is rising by the week. No small part of the credit goes to Holloway, who has pushed his most talented player to find that extra gear – the way Tommy Amaker did that with him as a senior in 2000. Look how reserved Holloway’s postgame comments about Richmond tend to be (including after this game). He’s setting the bar sky-high and Richmond is responding exactly how you would hope.
“It’s just the will that coach Sha preaches," Richmond said. "The will to get it done.”
2. Toughness factor
You won’t find it on any analytics sheet, but these Pirates have an ability to withstand a punch and counter that cannot be quantified. Part of that is due to experience, part of it is the cohesiveness and connectedness of the starting five (these guys like each other), and part of it is sheer grit.
This is where the over-emphasis on analytics does a disservice to this great sport. After all this, Kenpom has the Pirates ranked No. 63, which wouldn’t be a big deal except that Kenpom is factored heavily into the NCAA’s NET ranking and thus, the Big Dance seeding process.
The problem here is Kenpom does not reflect the obvious fact that Seton Hall has evolved from the squad that struggled through the non-conference schedule. Because people, not algorithms, play the actual games.
3. Enormous homestand ahead
The season’s biggest homestand is up next with St. John’s (12-5, 4-2) coming in Tuesday and 22nd-ranked Creighton (13-4, 4-2) visiting next Saturday. Both could be Quad 1 opportunities. The St. John's game will have the most juice in that age-old rivalry since 20,000 people showed up to see Terry Dehere's jersey retired on Senior Night 1993. Creighton is nearly sold out.
If the Pirates pull out a sweep, they have to be considered a serious contender to win the conference.
Classes will be back in session. Will Seton Hall students, whose attendance has been down this season outside of the Rutgers game, show up in force? If they don't, shame on them.
3 QUOTES
From Shaheen Holloway’s postgame radio interview…
General thoughts: "Turning the ball over in the second half killed us. I’m working at it with them…but you know what, we got our composure, came down the stretch and made some big plays. This is one of best atmospheres in college basketball, but to come here and get a win over a good Butler team, I’m happy with where we are right now, but we’ve got a lot of work to do."
On Kadary: "He played well. He’s battling a foot injury right now. I want to give Dre (Davis) a lot of credit. He got hurt in practice the other day but there was no way he was missing this game, because he’s coming home (Davis, who scored 14, is an Indianapolis native). He toughed it out."
"I think (Kadary’s) got a long way to go. I still think his best basketball is ahead of him. He’s starting to understand it, starting to get it. I’ve got to get him to stop turning the basketball over, but you know what? He made some big plays down the stretch."
On Al Dawes coming through late: "I thought Al played a good floor game, didn’t force a lot of things. Every night is not about scoring. It’s about what can you do to help the team win? He did things to help us win."
AND-ONE (the bonus quote)
On the bench: "I was really happy with our bench. Jaquan Sanders and Isaiah (Coleman) came in the first half and gave us some good, positive minutes, and so did Elijah (Hutchins-Everett)."
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall basketball: Kadary Richmond dominates in win at Butler
