4-star '24 SF Billy Richmond commits to Kentucky

John Calipari continues to fill out his 2024 recruiting class. The latest addition is four-star wing Billy Richmond, who announced his commitment to Kentucky on Thursday.

Richmond, the nation’s No. 21 overall high school according to the On3 Industry Ranking, chose the Wildcats over a group of finalists that also included Memphis, LSU, and Alabama.

“The reason I chose Kentucky because it felt like this where I need to be,” Richmond told On3’s Joe Tipton. “(It) felt like home basically. Great coaching staff, a lot of family ties which made it comfortable and confident for me to pick Kentucky, and just Cal always keeping it real with me.”

After taking official visits to all four of his top schools, the appeal of playing for Calipari won out in the end. Richmond stopped in Lexington during mid-September for his official before returning the following month for an unofficial to check out Big Blue Madness.

Clocking in at 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, the Camden (NJ) High product is the son of Billy Richmond II, who played at Memphis when Calipari was in charge of the Tigers. Richmond will also follow in the footsteps of his former high school teammates DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw, who are both freshmen at Kentucky. All three played for the same Nike EYBL program, the NJ Scholars, as well.

On the floor, Richmond projects as a versatile two-way player on the perimeter. He’s lauded as one of the best on-ball defenders in the class with an expanding offensive game. He went from being ranked outside the top 100 this time last year to now being among the top 25. Suiting up for the NJ Scholars this past summer, Richmond averaged 18.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per outing while shooting 54 percent from the field across 17 games played.

KSR’s Brandon Ramsey was able to watch Richmond play in person earlier this year during Session 4 of the Nike EYBL circuit. Here’s what he saw:

“(Richmond) is incredibly long and athletic, an excellent driver, and one of the elite transition threats in the country,” Ramsey wrote in late May. “In Session 4 he showed off the ability to act as a secondary playmaker in the half-court. Richmond played off of ballscreens and looked comfortable creating his own shot off of the dribble. On the defensive end, he was consistently involved whether it be contesting shots with his length, getting his hands on passes, or turning in highlight-worthy chasedown blocks.”

Richmond joins a Kentucky recruiting class that also includes five-star C Jayden Quaintance (No. 8 overall), four-star PG Boogie Fland (No. 22), four-star C Somto Cyril (No. 51), and four-star PG Travis Perry (No. 87). This five-man group gives the Wildcats the country’s second-best rated recruiting class in the 2024 cycle, trailing only the Duke Blue Devils.