Ordinarily it wouldn't be newsworthy when a player like Nick Richards decides to return for a sophomore season.

But this is Kentucky, and this is Kentucky of the John Calipari era. So anytime a freshman and formerly a five-star recruit decides to stick around for Year Two, it's a big point worth mentioning.

According to Jon Rothstein of FanRagSports.com, Richards will return to Kentucky for the 2018-19 season.

This comes on the heels of five-star forward E.J. Montgomery announcing his decision to attend Kentucky next year.

Big men Tai Wynyard and Sacha Killeya-Jones have announced their plans to transfer over the past week.

Freshman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander announced he would forego his sophomore season and hire an agent on Sportscenter Monday night, and that was followed by a commitment from Ashton Hagans - a 2019 point guard who could possibly reclassify to the 2018 class - Tuesday morning.

Quade Green, Hamidou Diallo, P.J. Washington, Jarred Vanderbilt and Wenyen Gabriel are the other potential returning scholarship players for Kentucky, and their decisions on whether to stay or go will determine a lot about next year's Wildcat team.

Richards, a five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American, averaged 5.1 points and 4.4 rebounds with a block per game in 14.7 minutes on average.

John Calipari challenged Richards to step up towards the end of the season, when his minutes became sporadic even as he remained in the starting lineup. The coaching staff also spoke several times about Richards' confidence level needing to improve.

But no one doubts Richards' potential if he puts it all together. At his best, he could be a shot blocking force with a nice shooting touch and the ability to flush lobs around the basket.