A statement victory by St. John’s over UConn did not come without concern.
Following Sunday’s 89-75 win at Madison Square Garden, head coach Rick Pitino acknowledged star guard Kadary Richmond has been playing through pain.
“Kadary Richmond is more injured than any player I’ve coached right now, and he fights through it,” Pitino said. “He’s got double groin pulls. He’s got problems all over his anatomy, and he played the game and played hard.”
Richmond tied for the game high with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting and added three rebounds and four assists.
He also spent time defending UConn freshman Liam McNeeley, an anticipated lottery pick who managed only 14 points on 2-of-13 shooting.
But Richmond’s 25 minutes were the fewest among the St. John’s starters, and afterward, he missed the postgame press conference to receive medical attention.
“Every part of his body’s hurting right now,” Pitino said. “Ninety-nine percent of the players would not have played right now, and I don’t say that just to geek him up.”
Richmond, a 6-6 guard from Brooklyn, is in his first season at St. John’s after transferring from Seton Hall. The fifth-year senior is averaging 12.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
After UConn cut the St. John’s lead to single digits in the second half of Sunday’s game, Richmond responded by making jumpers on back-to-back possessions.
“He’s a big-time player,” Pitino said. “Rebounds, steals, points. He always makes big plays.”
Pitino said he didn’t know whether Richmond would play Wednesday at Butler, but he also didn’t rule out sitting the senior at some point in order to get him healthier for the stretch run.
“I’m being very, very straight honest, 100%,” Pitino said. “He should not have played tonight, and we’ve got some problems, because he’s hurting big time.”
Richmond isn’t the only St. John’s player to get banged up.
Senior point guard Deivon Smith missed three games last month and another on Feb. 12 with a nagging neck/shoulder issue.
Leading scorer RJ Luis Jr. sat out of last Wednesday’s win at DePaul with a groin injury. The junior guard scored 14 points on 4-of-18 shooting in his return Sunday — an uneven performance Pitino attributed to him missing four days of practice.
With Sunday’s win, 10th-ranked St. John’s improved to 24-4 and to a conference-leading 15-2 in Big East play.
Now in its second season under Pitino, St. John’s is closing in on its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2019 and its first outright Big East regular-season title since 1985.
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