SCOUTING TIMELINE: What's been said about UK's new five-star center

Mike Libert, NYCHoops

Hoop Group Fall H.S. Showcase (10/2016)

"Maybe the player of the day, the former St. Mary's star and Queens based big man was dominant in a win over Reading (PA). He had 31 points in the win as he showed improved footwork to finish with an array of spins off of post ups in the paint. He was a ferocious finisher above the rim on dunks, but his skill set to score in other ways has drastically improved. He ran the floor extremely well as Richards also had 15 points in another win on the day, and while offensively his game was as on point as we remember, his defensive game was once again that of a difference maker as his shot blocking skills are without a doubt elite."

Eric Bossi, Rivals.com

Rivals150 update (Sept. 2016)

"Coming in at #19, Richards is another player whose game has improved drastically. The Brooklynite who attends school in NJ is a defensive specialist and an athletic specimen with the ability to block anything, anywhere. The knock on the 6’10” center was his offensive deficiencies but he has improved dramatically around the rim. He’s also showing signs of a blossoming mid-range game."

Mike Libert, NYCHoops

Conrad McRae Youth League (8/21/2016)

"While the Celtics won their game by forfeit, they still did play a scrimmage on Sunday against the players of Seward Park that were on hand along with a couple others they picked up from the crowd. Richards got to the game a bit late but had a dominating second half defensively blocking at least 5 shots while altering numerous others, and while he often was the draw of triple teams when he touched the ball offensively, his footwork was good enough to elude the defense and finish strong more often than not as he made his presence felt all over the floor on Sunday."

Maurice Wingate, NYCHoops

UA Elite 24 Practice: Day 2 Evals (8/20/16)

"The Brooklyn, NY center shot poorly (4 for 9) and finished with 10 but he did what he does best which is rebound and block shots. Leading Team Drive in boards with 9 and in blocks with 3, Richards’ presence was felt by every opponent that tried to score in the paint. Another plus for both Richards and Brown is that they each only had 1. As a big man, that is an accomplishment in and of itself."

Eric Bossi, Rivals.com

Fab 48 (7/23/2016)

"During a late morning game at the Fab 48, Richards was quite aggressive in the lane for Expressions Elite. Ranked No. 21 overall, the near seven footer showed again that he’s got the tools to be a reliable offensive weapon on the college level."

Maurice Wingate, NYCHoops

Nike Peach Jam (7/9/2016)

"(Mohamed) Bamba, in an effort to show up 6'10 Nick Richards, who battled him mightily throughout the contest, took a couple of ill-advised shots out of his range. ...

"Richards stepped up his game, countering Bamba who had just taken him to the well in previous possession. “Guard me,” yelled the 6’11” Expressions center."

Maurice Wingate, NYCHoops

Nike Peach Jam (7/7/2016)

"Nicholas Richards, another New Yorker, has been owning the board while playing with Expression Elite. During a game against Team Takeover, Richards inhaled 17 rebounds and 4 blocks to go with 15 points en route to a 74-71 victory on Wednesday. He followed that up with a solid performance of 14 points and 9 rebounds albeit in a loss to MOKAN Elite."

Jeff Rabjohns, IU Rivals

NBPA Top 100 (6/17/2016)

"Five-star 2017 center Nicholas Richards started strong, but his day was cut short when he had a hard fall after being fouled going for a dunk. Richards walked off under his own power and sat on his team's bench the second game but didn't return to action. Before being knocked to the floor, the 6-foot-10 Richards scored inside twice and hit a nice free throw-line jumper in a head-to-head matchup with 7-foot-1 2019 prospect Chol Marial. Richards had six points, four rebounds and a blocked shot in 15 minutes."

Mike Libert, NYCHoops

Rumble in the Bronx, 17U (6/12/2016)

"It was a good day for Richards in limited minutes as his Expressions EYBL team took it to the Chinese U-18 National Team. Richards got good competition inside as the Chinese group was strong in the paint but Richards showed off strong post moves when he touched the ball inside and was able to finish with a nice face up short jumper on one possession, and then he followed that up with a nice back to the basket short hook shot over his defender. He seemed a lot more comfortable with the ball in his hands finishing offensively than he has in the past, and maybe most impressively as always was his defensive game as he was able to block any shot that came near him while also being tough on guards who drove the lane as well."

Dan McDonald, Rivals.com

Atlanta EYBL (5/29/2016)

"Nicholas Richards had a slow start in a local rivalry game against BABC, but came alive in a big way for Expressions in the second half. He was on the receiving end of four alley-oops and completely dominated the paint."

Mike Libert, NYCHoops

iS8/Nike Top Performers: Week 5 (5/2/2016)

"It wasn't against the greatest level of competition in Team Mega but to Richards credit he played with a hard motor all game long and demonstrated the offensive abilities in the paint that you want to see from him game in and game out. When he got the ball inside he was able to finish with dunk after dunk against the smaller opposition, but he also showed good footwork in the post as well in back to the basket tries, as well as stepping out and showing the improved range with a pair of baseline jumpers in his team's blowout win."

Eric Bossi, Rivals.com

EYBL Indianapolis (4/24/2016)

"A five-star center who ranks No.19 in 2017, 7-footer Nicholas Richards doesn't put up huge numbers for Expressions Elite. He just plays terrific positional defense, gets physical and scores whenever he gets fed the ball. While he'd love more touches, he also jokes that he doesn't want to give away the tricks of his trade too early. Kentucky has offered and so have Syracuse, Connecticut, Seton Hall, Kansas, Arizona, UCLA and more while Duke is watching closely."

Mike Libert, NYCHoops

Player Eval (9/12/2015)

Click here for the full report

Eric Bossi, Rivals.com

Fab 48 (7/25/2016)

"The No. 9 player in the class of 2017, Richards isproof that you don't have to put up big numbers to impress. The 6-foot-10 center was a beast inside the lane for Expressions Elite even if he wasn'tgetting many touches. Richards competed on the glass, ran the floor, gotphysical and played with a huge chip on his shoulder. Richards plays with aserious edge and isn't out there to exchange twitter handles."

Mike Libert, NYCHoops

NY's Top Performers Live Period (4/15/2015)

"The Queens native who transferred out of St. Mary's on Long Island just before the start of the H.S. season, Richards is playing with the Massachusetts Nike EYBL power, and thrived in a major way. Extremely effective in the paint, Richards averaged 11 points per game, shooting over 50% and showing an excellent ability to finish around the rim. He as well averaged 9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks during his four games, and with his improved strength inside and his ability to finish inside, two aspects of his game the struggled with last year, he has become a complete big man and dominant force inside, especially defensively."

Eric Watkins, VUSports

Hoop Group Tip-Off (12/24/2014)

"...though he is skinny (weighing in around 200 lbs), Richards certainly passes the look test. He has a good basketball frame that will likely fill out as he adds needed strength. Richards is both agile and mobile - he runs the floor well, moves without the ball to make himself available for entry passes, and looks to get in position defensively to take charges and get on the glass.Richards' offensive game is primarily focused right around the cup.

"He is an aggressive offensive rebounder - he flushed a couple of put-backs and was fouled on other attempts in close. He made a nice drop-step move for another good look at the rim. His free-throw shooting requires some attention. He doesn't square to the basket and he shoots his free-throws with a very long motion with many moving parts. Given his athleticism he should be able to trim it down to being a smoother stroke that provides greater consistency.

"His highlight defensive play: St. Joseph's (PA) commit, Pierfrancesco "Cecco" Oliva made an aggressive and strong move to the rim to try to posterize Richards by dunking on his head but the young buck was up to the challenge and sent Oliva's dunk attempt right back.

Eric Bossi, Rivals.com

Nike Elite 100 (12/24/2016)

"Even if he stops growing and only gets stronger, Richards already has outstanding size at 6-foot-10 and 217 pounds with a 7-foot-2 wingspan. Not only is he big, he can really move that frame of his up and down the court. Richards sprints from rim to rim and beats his opponent more often than not. He has to work on his catching the ball while on the move but is quick off the floor and easily passes the initial look test as a potential high major."