NASSAU, BAHAMAS — It's happening slowly but methodically.
Cadderly Richmond is getting there.
He's showing glimpses of the dominant figure he will be at Seton Hall.
He had a more aggressive performance in the win over New Mexico, and in the loss to No. 13 Baylor, he made clutch plays that forced multiple overtimes and was unable to advance to the second overtime session due to cramps. But there was also an effective effort against Virginia.
“I'm starting to feel comfortable choosing my position,” the 6-foot-6 lead guard said Saturday as St. John's prepares to face Georgia on Sunday and end this difficult trip to the Bahamas. ” he said. “I'm playing with a lot of talented players who have the ball as well, so I just have to adapt to that.”
Over the past three games, Richmond is averaging 13.3 points, 5.3 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 steals, which is close to his performance from a year ago.
He is less passive and more active on both ends of the floor than he was right out of the gate, finding the right balance between involving his teammates and taking the initiative himself.
“He's one of them,” teammate Aaron Scott said. “He's an All-American for a reason. Nobody can guard him one-on-one. He makes everyone around him better. That's what a point guard is supposed to do.
“That's Cadderly. When he steps up, he's going to step up.”
This is obviously still new for the All-American: new teammates, new coaching staff, new school.
He had never been surrounded by so much talent at this level.
Everything ran through him at Seton Hall.
That doesn't have to be the case for No. 22 St. John's to be successful.
He shares ball-handling duties with Davon Smith, another point guard, and sometimes plays off the ball.
“It was tough because we didn't have a lot of opportunities to practice together because we were changing teams,” Richmond said. “But I feel like as we stay consistent and play off each other more, I feel like it's helping all of us.”
Still working on that along with his jump shot.
Richmond is still working on solving its shooting issues. You can't see it in practice, but it was present at times in the match.
He has attempted nine threes and made three.
“The mechanical changes are about 40 to 50 percent,” he said. “But I'm doing well, I'm doing well. I just have to try more. …I try not to. [revert back to my old form]But sometimes it happens. I think you'll start to feel more comfortable with more repetitions and more attempts. [get] More attempts and more successes. ”
Overall, Richmond is happy with St. John's 5-1 start.
So far, they are ahead of his expectations.
Baylor's response to the loss was impressive and a sign of this group's toughness in the face of adversity.
If we can beat Georgia on Sunday before a six-day break, we have a chance to go home feeling really good.
“It's a lot of fun. We've got a lot of talented, high-flying players, a lot of dunks, a lot of sharing the ball,” Richmond said. “We're just showing that we're getting more comfortable playing together and we handled the adversity really well in the tough loss to Baylor the other day. We're resilient and very We’re a good team and we’ve shown that we can play with anyone.”
