SAD NEWS: Kadary Richmond was let go after saying three inappropriate things to the head coach.

Kadary Richmond moves to St. John’s University: Rick Pitino adds Seton Hall’s all-Big East player to strengthen his backcourt.
The former standout for the Pirates will play his final season of eligibility with the Red Storm.

When highly regarded transfer Kadary Richmond committed to St. John’s on Tuesday, the Red Storm gained a huge addition to their 2024–25 backcourt. Richmond led Seton Hall in points and assists the previous season and helped the Pirates win an NIT championship. Richmond is now regarded as the No. 5 player in the CBS Sports Transfer Rankings.

After three seasons of playing for a Big East opponent, the 6-foot-5 guard will make an immediate impact for St. John’s as he uses his final season of collegiate eligibility under coach Rick Pitino. Richmond finished 2023–24 as the conference’s eighth-ranked player according to evanmiya.com’s performance ratings, and the team was named all-Big East.

“This is all about him winning, having a chance to make a Final Four and wanting to play for Rick Pitino to be a pro, to playing in the NBA and being a first-round pick next year,” a source told Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.

The commitment of guard Deivon Smith, a former player for Georgia Tech and Utah, to St. John’s on Monday further strengthened the Red Storm’s roster this week. With their combined breakout seasons from the previous season, both players will provide Pitino with a pair of seasoned veterans who are anxious to see the NCAA Tournament before their eligibility expires.

For the Pirates the previous season, Richmond proved to be one of the top two-way guards in college basketball, averaging 15.7 points, 7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.2 steals. Richmond’s skills as a distributor and scorer inside the arc earned him one of the best players of the 2024 portal cycle despite his lifetime 3-point shooting percentage of just 33.7%. The 2020–21 season marked the start of his Syracuse career.