Richmond To Return As Pirates Take On St. John’s

Published: Saturday, January 18, 2025

by Spencer Gonzales

On Saturday, the Prudential Center will host a bitter homecoming as Kadary Richmond and St. John’s (15-3, 6-1) face Seton Hall (6-11, 1-5). It will be Richmond’s first game against his former team since transferring to St. John’s last spring.

In his time at The Hall, Richmond served as a captain and was the centerpiece of the team’s NIT championship run, averaging a career-best 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists. He later entered the transfer portal as the top prospect and moved across state lines to play for coach Rick Pitino, who defeated Richmond and the Pirates the last time they met in the Big East Tournament.

In his new Red Storm threads, he is averaging a solid 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists through 18 games and is shooting 45% from the field, a career best. He now leads the Johnnies into the Prudential Center, sitting second overall in the Big East standings.

Seton Hall will look to add another loss to its rival’s record and stop the bleeding after a disastrous start to conference play. The Pirates have lost seven of their last eight games, with their lone win coming in overtime at home against DePaul.

The Pirates have missed Richmond mightily, as point guard has been a significant hole for the team all season. Despite the team's struggles this year, a major bright spot for Seton Hall has been Isaiah Coleman.

Coleman leads the team in scoring and is averaging 23 points per game in conference play. That puts him just behind fifth-year senior Eric Dixon for the most in the BIG EAST.  

Though Coleman has been hot of late, he cooled off in a frustrating 82-77 loss at Butler on Wednesday. Coleman still reached double figures with 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting, while Chaunce Jenkins picked up the slack with an efficient 21-point performance.

The guard duo of Coleman and Jenkins has been the main source of offense for the struggling Pirates, but if they want to beat St. John’s and Richmond on Saturday, they will need much more firepower. St. John’s boasts the best defense in the conference, allowing only 64 points per game and just 40 percent shooting from the field.

The Pirates rank second-to-last in the conference in shooting percentage but are middle of the pack in scoring offense, averaging 74 points per game.

Scotty Middleton could be the spark the team needs, as he played one of his best games of the year in the loss to Butler, hitting four 3-pointers on four attempts to finish with 14 points. His usage has increased in conference play as well, playing more than 27 minutes in each of the last four games.

On the season, he is shooting 48% from the field and 43% from three, but on only about four shots per game. Given what he is capable of on the court, Middleton deserves to take more shots, if not to relieve some pressure off Coleman and Jenkins.

The Ohio State transfer is a dead-eye from three, and if he can knock down a few buckets from deep, the Pirates may have a fighting chance.

Richmond’s homecoming game is set to tip off at 8 p.m., with Joe Morales and Michael Federico on the call for 89.5 FM WSOU. Pregame coverage begins at 7:30 p.m., with analysis from Mike Bellifemini and Bobby Steiner.

Spencer Gonzales is the Station Manager at WSOU 89.5 and can be reached at spencer.gonzales@student.shu.edu. 

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