On Monday, St. John's was preparing for practice, so the whole team huddled together.
Kadary Richmond's teammates wanted to know how much he valued his contributions, even if Big East Coach refused to vote for his first team.
“Honestly, he should have been on his first team,” Davon Smith said after top seed Johnny's 78-57 butler in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals at the Garden on Thursday afternoon. “He's a great security guard. He had another triple double today. We're winning. I think three guys should have joined the first team.”
Zuby Ejiofor and RJ Luis were their first team choices, while Richmond created a second team.
Asked about the slightest things, Richmond said: We know who you are, we know what you are doing. It felt good that everyone in this locker room was grateful to me and appreciate what I was doing. ”
Richmond was once again at his best on Thursday.
He edited his second straight triple double, culling 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
He produced St. John's first triple double in Saturday's victory at Marquette to end the regular season on January 9, 1999 since Ron Arts (now Metta Sandyford Arrest).
“I'm happy to meet two guys [make it]Richmond said. “They worked very hard. They were consistent all year round. I'm excited about them. I got a second team, but there's a big thing to achieve.”
St. John's Bench continued to show new depths of victory.
He scored six points from Greek freshman Lefteris Liotopoulos.
The Sharp Shoot Guard also had two rebounds and three assists in 15 minutes.
Although he rarely used most of the season, international imports have led to him playing time over the last few weeks.
“It's a blessing to be able to play big time with one of the best teams in the country,” he said.
Liotopoulos chose Simeon Wilcher for adapting sophomore to his new environment and preventing a few minutes of shortfall from reaching him.
“From the day I stepped into the US, he always lifted me up,” Riotopoulos said. “He tries to boost my confidence. He shared his experience with me. He was really helpful about it.”
