Nick Richards is breaking through for the Charlotte Hornets
Nick Richards is one of Kentucky’s best success stories under head coach John Calipari. A major project piece when he first arrived in Lexington, the 7-foot center slowly but surely developed his game and confidence over the course of three seasons, becoming a star in the SEC by the end of his career.
He averaged 5.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as a freshman, then 4.0 points and 3.3 rebounds as a sophomore, playing just 13 minutes per contest in that span. Then as a junior, the native of Kingston, Jamaica broke through in year three, averaging 14.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per contest en route to First Team All-SEC honors. It was a season performance that led him to draft status, coming off the board with the No. 42 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Now in his third season with the Charlotte Hornets, Richards is managing yet another junior-year breakthrough, putting up double-double efforts in two of the team’s first three games of the season.
It started with a 19-point, 10-rebound performance in Charlotte’s season-opening win at San Antonio, followed by a 20-point, 11-rebound, 2-block effort in another road win at Atlanta on Sunday. Through three games, the former Wildcat is now averaging 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per contest.
And he’s doing so on efficient shooting, knocking down 18/26 of his shots (69.2% FG) and 9/12 of his free throws (75.0%), including a 9/9 FG effort today.
It was the most field goal attempts without a miss for a Hornet since Derrick Brown went 10/10 back on Feb. 7, 2012. He also became just the fourth player in franchise history to go 9/9 from the field in a single game, joining Brown, Anthony Mason and Brad Miller.
Richards averaged just 0.8 points and 0.6 rebounds in 3.5 minutes per game as a rookie, then 3.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.3 minutes per contest in year two.
Now, though, the former Wildcat is separating himself as a difference-maker on the Hornets, helping lead the team to a 2-1 start on the year.
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