To see how John Calipari has already changed the perception of Arkansas basketball fans, look no further than Billy Richmond III and the expectations surrounding his freshman campaign.
In any other year, the five-star recruit would likely be regarded as an elite incoming freshman capable of earning big minutes for the Hogs. Instead, most consider him to be near the bottom of the core nine-man rotation.
Richmond has seemingly been buried by major storylines like Johnell Davis joining the team or Trevon Brazile deciding to come back as the lone scholarship returnee. He’s even been overshadowed by fellow elite freshmen Boogie Fland and Karter Knox.
So it’s easy to see how Richmond could get overlooked heading into the 2024-25 Arkansas basketball season.
But he shouldn’t be.
Billy Richmond III Scouting Report
Standing at 6-foot-5, Billy Richmond III steps foot on The Hill with a college-ready frame from Day 1. He has above average strength for his size and position already with the potential to add more muscle mass and body control as he develops in a collegiate weight-training program.
It’s pieces of his on-the-court skillset that have him ranked slightly lower than his fellow incoming Razorback freshmen – though he still ranks No. 23 on Rivals, No. 26 on 247Sports, and No. 41 on ESPN. His shooting and overall guard skills are relatively inconsistent at this stage in his development, but he’s shown flashes of both with plenty of potential for improvement.
Richmond is most comfortable when attacking the paint – which he often does with notable ferocity. He gets downhill in a hurry when the ball is in his dominant (left) hand and he rarely takes prisoners at the rim; he’s either going to dunk over the top of someone or occasionally get fouled trying to do so.
The newest Razorback wing is a bit more reserved when attacking with his right hand, but still more than capable of an explosive finish. In those scenarios, he’s perhaps more likely to demonstrate his improving ability to hit pull-up jump shots or finish with more finesse.
Speaking of those pull-up jumpers, Richmond fits the mold of a true slasher in that he’s more consistent shooting off the dribble and from inside the 3-point arc than he is as a true spot-up shooter. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – especially at the college level – but becoming more consistent on catch-and-shoot opportunities is the biggest x-factor for his future improvement as he aims to make a name for himself in the NBA.
Recent Razorback Ricky Council IV is a prime example of what happens when an elite slasher fails to develop a consistent 3-point shot. Council has still earned a full-time contract with the Philadelphia 76ers thanks to his absurd athleticism and ability to score the ball in a variety of ways, but his inconsistent spot-up shooting – along with having less to offer on the defensive side of the ball – leaves him fighting for backend rotation minutes.
Richmond projects to be a much better defender than Council, though that’s still something he’ll need to prove first on a collegiate court. Being a net-positive defender could certainly make up for some of his shooting struggles. However, he isn’t nearly the overall athlete that Council is – which, to be fair, few humans on Earth are.
All of this isn’t to say that Richmond can step into a Razorback uniform next season and produce the way Council did at the end of his college career. That’s highly unlikely, but just know his developing jump shot won’t keep him off the court so long as he continues to excel in other areas.
He could still prove to be a capable scorer by cutting without the ball, driving past defenders and improving consistency in his midrange jump shot. All of this combined with his high motor, competitiveness and positive defensive traits could quickly make him a valuable asset on both ends of the court for the Hogs.
Role with 2024-25 Arkansas Basketball
All of the positives that Billy Richmond III brings to the table would warrant him a rotation spot on nearly every roster in the country, but we haven’t even really discussed yet that John Calipari brought in only nine guys he plans to give real minutes this season.
Regardless of how quickly Richmond progresses or if he’s for any reason not as good as advertised – which doesn’t seem likely – he’ll still get plenty of opportunity to prove himself this season.
He has the prototypical size to play the two and the three in college, though rigid position titles are becoming less and less important in the modern game. Instead, players are more often viewed through the lens of guards, wings, forwards and big men. Lineups can often be more easily described by saying two guards, a wing, a forward, and a big man (or whichever combination a coach chooses to have on the court) rather than the classic titles of shooting guard, small forward, etc.
The Razorbacks essentially have three true guards (Boogie Fland, Johnell Davis and DJ Wagner), three players who could fit into a wing or a forward role (Richmond, Karter Knox and Adou Thiero), a forward/big man hybrid (Trevon Brazile) and two big men (Zvonimir Ivisic and Jonas Aidoo).
Richmond fits the role of wing to a tee from a physical standpoint, though his slasher-first mentality makes him more of a wing/forward combo – especially at the collegiate level, where he could likely get the opportunity to play the two, three and four spots this season.
The trio of guards is likely to soak up most of the guard minutes on this roster, but there will certainly be times when only one of them is on the court for a given lineup. In these lineups, the best available options to fill the other guard slot would be Richmond and Knox.
Both are listed at 6-foot-5, though Knox is a more versatile scorer while Richmond projects as the better defender. Which “position” they slot into while sharing the court together will likely depend on matchups and who Calipari would rather have Richmond guarding on the defensive side of the ball.
Richmond is more likely to fill the conventional shooting guard slot given his likely advantage to defend smaller, quicker players over Knox. Either way, a lineup featuring Knox and Richmond would give the Hogs a lethal, complementary wing duo.
Richmond is also capable of spending some time as a small-ball four – though this might not be his most natural position. For this to transpire, he’d likely have to be the only wing/forward on the court alongside all three guards and a big man.
Should either Knox or Kentucky transfer Adou Thiero also be on the court with Richmond in any lineup, their size and athleticism could make them a better candidate to guard the opposing four if he presents a size mismatch – though Richmond could also provide a speed mismatch on the other side of the ball in this hypothetical.
His most natural position would be as a true wing – or, conventionally speaking, the small forward spot – alongside two guards and some combination of wings, forwards and big men playing the four and the five.
This bodes well for Richmond considering he’s likely to be the primary backup at the wing positions. At this point in the season, it’s possible that anyone could push for a starting spot, but a quick glance through the other names on the roster reveals quite the uphill battle for Richmond to climb into the opening night five.
Johnell Davis is virtually a lock at one of the guard spots. The other guard spot is likely to be taken by last year’s starting point guard at Kentucky, DJ Wagner, while the biggest challenger would be the highest rated freshman in this Razorback class, Boogie Fland.
That leaves three spots open in the starting five, but Richmond isn’t a realistic candidate to start at the five regardless of whether Aidoo or Ivisic earn that starting job, so let’s call it two spots for which he could realistically fight.
His competition is another Kentucky transfer in Adou, who is 6-foot-8 with unreal athleticism and two years of SEC experience; Trevon Brazile, the lone returning Razorback and former projected first-round pick, whom Calipari recently said is “better than I thought,” and fellow incoming freshman Karter Knox, who set scoring records during his time with Overtime Elite.
Could Richmond’s defensive versatility and potential offensive improvement push him into the starting conversation? Perhaps, but it doesn’t seem likely at this point.
That places him as the primary backup off the bench for both the two and the three spots in the rotation, and an occasional backup four as needed. That type of depth and versatility is valuable for a team with tournament aspirations, especially when it comes in the form of a young player as talented as Richmond.
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Check out some highlights of Arkansas freshman Billy Richmond III:
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