PREVIEW SERIES: Nick Richards

Cats Illustrated is previewing every scholarship player on Kentucky's 2017-2018 basketball roster.

Part nine of the series is on center Nick Richards. The 6-foot-11, 240-pound Jamaican native will play a major role and is the only true center on Kentucky's roster. Can Richards do enough to anchor the Cats in the paint?

PREVIEW SERIES WEEK ONE: (Baker, Diallo, Killeya-Jones, Gabriel, Wynyard)

PREVIEW SERIES WEEK TWO: (Washington, Green, Vanderbilt)

High School: You would have never guessed that Richards was named the NJ.com Player of the Year in New Jersey based on his stats. While several other incoming freshmen averaged double-doubles and jaw-dropping totals, Richards averaged just 12.3 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

His Patrick School went on to win the Tournament of Champions, one of the most prestigious titles in high school basketball, but it was rare to see Richards put up the numbers you'd see from the average five-star recruit.

And that's not because Richards isn't talented. He scored 26 points and 11 rebounds in a semifinal win. But Richards mediocre numbers come with a catch. He was often double or triple-teamed on the block. Anytime a shot would go up the opposing team would make an effort to put two or three bodies on Richards to knock him off the block.

Being a five-star recruit committed to Kentucky, Richards saw the opposition's best effort every night and never flinched. Richards has only been playing basketball a few years. He hit a growth spurt similar to Anthony Davis, but instead of being a guard turned center, Richards was a soccer player turned hooper.

Summer Rumblings: No player had more mixed reviews based on scuttlebutt and summer rumors. A source told Cats Illustrated that Richards may be the most underrated player in the country and may be the best interior defender in college basketball.

That seems like a lot based off just summer workouts and pick-up games. But it shows that some see unmatched potential out of Richards.

Another source told Cats Illustrated that Richards will be able to contribute defensively from day one but is so far behind offensively that it may be tough to play him in stretches. Again, that may be a bit of a stretch but it goes to show just two things.

- Richards will be a force defensively.

- Richards isn't as far along offensively, but just how behind is subjective.

Richards made news this summer by playing pickup basketball with NBA greats LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant. Richards' UK teammate Hamidou Diallo also was spotted playing in New York City.

In the short Instagram videos you can see Richards defending. On one possession Durant tries to take Richards one-on-one, but Richards forces him to kick-out to the perimeter. It would be a surprise to hear that Richards dominated, but it's never a bad thing to get some experience against the best basketball has to offer.

2017-2018 Prediction: Richards will likely be a starter for the Cats and there is a lot of pressure on him to make an impact from day one. Kentucky missed on five-star center Mohamed Bamba and the Cats don't have any depth at the center position. If Richards behind then the Cats may have to play small or rely on sophomore Sacha Killeya-Jones, who couldn't break through last season.

The good news for Richards is while UK will need Richards to be efficient, he won't be asked to do too much. If Richards can defend on the block, rebound and alter shots then UK will be just fine. The Cats won't ask Richards to be Karl-Anthony Towns offensively. Kentucky will have great scorers this season so Richards being behind offensively isn't a huge deal.

Richards does need to improve on his handles. Throughout his high school and AAU career Richards would turn the ball over too much simply because he couldn't get a grasp on it. That will be a point of emphasis for UK's coaching staff because Richards will likely be on the receiving end of several oops and Kentucky will want him to crash the glass, too.

Expect Richards numbers to be similar to his high school numbers in the sense they won't catch you attention. Richards will likely average somewhere in the ballpark of seven points and seven rebounds per games. If he could block two or three shots per game that would be huge for Kentucky.