Five-star center Nick Richards has made his decision.
The 6’11” Jamaica native officially committed to Kentucky. He is the first player from the Class of 2017 to commit to the Wildcats.
Richards has only been playing basketball for about four years and is currently with The Patrick School in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He committed to the Wildcats over Syracuse and Arizona. His commitment comes one day into the basketball early signing period that lasts one week, ending November 16.
Richards is ranked 12th on the 2017 ESPN 100 Recruiting Database.
Syracuse is still waiting on decisions from other players ranked in the top 25 on the 2017 ESPN 100 Recruiting Database that it sent offers to:
- Mohammed Bamba, center, ranked 4th
- Hamidou Diallo, shooting guard, ranked 11th
- Lonnie Walker, shooting guard, ranked 19th
- Billy Preston, power forward, ranked 20th
- Quade Green, point guard, ranked 22nd
In the 17 games he played last season, Richards scored 112 points (6.6 per game) and grabbed 52 rebounds (3.1 per game). Richards is no threat outside the arc, not yet making a three-point shot, according to nj.com.
The SU recruiting pipeline has pumped plenty of talent into CNY recently, but it’s no shock when the Orange loses a player to Kentucky. The Wildcats are as successful as any program in the country at restocking its talent.¬†
