Kadary Richmond lifts St. John's over Butler
St. John's Red Storm guard Kadary Richmond shoots for a basket against the Butler Bulldogs in the second half of a Big East men’s basketball game at Carnesecca Arena on Saturday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Kadary Richmond finally may have arrived as a difference-maker for St. John’s.
Richmond transferred from Seton Hall after a first-team all-Big East season and was viewed as the potential star of the 2024-25 Red Storm. That vision was barely glimpsed until the late going against Butler on Saturday as he carried St. John’s to a 70-62 Big East win before a sellout crowd of 5,602 on “Lou Carnesecca Day’’ at Carnesecca Arena.
Carnesecca, who died on the last day of November, would have turned 100 this weekend, and this game had been designated as the one in which he’d be celebrated for hitting the century mark.
St. John’s (12-3, 3-1) was having another typically poor shooting day but found itself tied at 55 with five minutes to play. That’s when Richmond shined brightest. He found RJ Luis Jr. for a dunk and a two-point lead, then made a steal and took it all the way for a layup and a four-point lead. After Butler (7-8, 0-4) got within 59-58, Richmond drove for a layup to restore the margin to three.
The Red Storm would not trail after that, prevailing in a game in which they went 1-for-21 on three-point attempts and shot 37% overall.
“He took over the game at that time,” coach Rick Pitino said. “But I think he needs to do that from the opening tip to the end of the game. That’s the way he needs to play, OK? And he did take over. He was responsible for this win tonight. But he needs to do that the whole game.”
Richmond finished with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. “He’s a big-time player,” Deivon Smith said. “He’s just trying to get it all together. He’s showing spurts over each and every game. He knows he’s capable of better and playing harder.”
Luis had 20 points, 11 rebounds and four steals, Zuby Ejiofor added 14 points and eight rebounds and Smith had 13 points for St. John’s.
Pitino said Friday that he was looking for a faster pace, and it finally did show up in the second half. There was more full-court pressing and better results: 12 Bulldogs turnovers for 17 points in the final 20 minutes.
In the early going, St. John’s held Butler to 1-for-16 shooting, but it produced only an 11-4 lead because the Red Storm were beginning a stretch of 9:07 in which they missed 18 of 19 shots.
Butler found the range from outside the arc and held a 29-25 halftime advantage. The Red Storm found a higher gear at the start of the second half and went on a 16-3 run with 10 points from Ejiofor for a 45-38 lead with 13:30 to play.
St. John’s enters Tuesday’s contest at Xavier with a chance for its biggest win to date. “We didn’t have it tonight,” Pitino said. “We just gutted it out with our never-quit attitude. So I’m really pleased with the win . . . When you go 1-for-21 and you win the game, and you’re not doing very many things right, that speaks volumes of what you’re all about.”
Notes & quotes: WNBA star Caitlin Clark attended the game and sat behind the Butler bench. She is dating Butler assistant Connor McCaffery, who also was a college star at Iowa . . . Jaiden Glover has an injury to the thumb-wrist area that limits his shooting, but he is not expected to miss Tuesday’s game.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
