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Billy Richmond's value to Arkansas transcends all measurements
- Story by
- Billy Richmond's value to Arkansas transcends all measurements
(Brett Rojo, Imagn Images)
Is Billy Richmond Arkansas basketball's best player? Probably not. Jordan Smith Jr. will likely be a higher NBA draft pick. Smith has more overall upside and potential. However, Richmond is very probably Arkansas' most important player, especially in the early stages of the season.
We saw why Billy Richmond will be so central to Arkansas basketball in the Hogs' exhibition win over Gonzaga on Saturday. If Richmond doesn't step up with 17 points and 7 rebounds and 3-of-5 3-point shooting, the Razorbacks would not have beaten Mark Few's crew. Richmond's dependable scoring got UA over the finish line on a day when Smith was 0 for 9 from the field.
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Smith isn't going to have many more shooting days like that, but that's not the point. The point is that on a team with a lot of freshmen and an average player age of 19, Richmond is the "old man" and the veteran leader who will need to be consistent. Smith will almost surely find a groove before too long, but the freshmen in general are going to go through growing pains. One night it might be Smith who struggles. Another night it might be JJ Andrews. All of the freshmen are noticeably talented, but are they all going to play well at the same time on the same night? Probably not, especially in the early portions of the season when everyone is learning how to play the right way and function as a collective unit.
This is where Billy Richmond enters the picture. The familiar face, the guy who can give the freshmen pointers on how to carry themselves as college athletes and adjust to the speed and physicality of the college game, has to be an anchor-like figure in November.
By mid-December, maybe the freshmen will get the hang of it and will shake off their early-season uncertainties. As the season moves along, the freshmen should be more confident and sure of themselves. When we get into the heart of the SEC basketball schedule in the winter, UA's freshmen won't really be newcomers anymore. They will simply be young dynamos who understand their roles and know how to prepare for each opponent.
In November, though, the "old man" has to help the young kids, and he also has to fill in the gaps when one or two of the freshmen aren't on top of their game, as was the case with Smith on Saturday against Gonzaga.
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Billy Richmond staying was a huge offseason development for Arkansas, especially with Meleek Thomas going pro. The Gonzaga game reminded us just how big Billy Richmond needs to be for this team in the first month of the season.
