Syracuse basketball security guard Kadary Richmond faced tendonitis in his knee as he went to the NCAA tournament, head coach Jim Boeheim said Sunday. The Orange standout freshman has averaged just 15 minutes in the team’s last three games after playing over 25 in six of the last seven competitions.
Boeheim is confident that Richmond will be available for the SU’s 64th round matchup against San Diego State on Friday. But he implied the injury cut Richmond’s practice time off.
“Kadary is a little injured but he will be able to play,” said Boeheim. “He’ll be able to train this week. He’s got tendinitis, that’s all. So I think we should be in full strength by Friday.”
The Richmond knee problem came to the fore ahead of the team’s matchup against North Carolina on March 1, when SU broadcaster Matt Park tweeted that Richmond and second striker Quincy Guerrier were being monitored for knee problems ahead of the game. Richmond saw 31 minutes against the Tar Heels – the most run he has had in a game in which SU had starting guards Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard this year.
Richmond seemed to exacerbate the injury in the waning moments of the competition, and after that Boeheim described his knee as “injured”. Since then, Richmond has received special attention from SU training staff during the pre-game warm-up and has made a concerted effort to prepare his knee for the Games.
After SU’s heartbreaking 72-69 loss to Virginia in the quarter-finals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, Boeheim said Richmond wasn’t sure he was healthy enough to play before the tip.
“Kadary said his knee was injured before the game, our coach Brad Pike said he didn’t know if he could walk,” said Boeheim. “This is the same thing that has happened before. I said to him, ‘Let’s try it.’ He seemed fine … He didn’t seem quite like himself, but he didn’t complain about it when the game started. “
Richmond has emerged as one of SU’s finest drivers and defenders in its first season in college. He averaged 6.4 points, 3.3 assists, and a team high of 1.8 steals per game, despite having only watched 21.4 minutes. Its 3.36 steals per 40 minutes lead the ACC and rank eighth nationwide.
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Richmond isn’t the only key SU employee dealing with an injury in big dance. The great senior Marek Dolezaj continues to play with a broken finger on his left hand. Dolezaj, who is at the center of the injured Bourama Sidibe all year round, suffered the injury against UNC two weeks ago.
On Sunday, Boeheim kept his answer short when asked what Dolezaj can do in practice.
“Marek can do anything but use his left hand,” said Boeheim.
Dolezaj has not seen any decline in use. He played 40 minutes against the Cavaliers, 37 minutes in the regular season final against Clemson, and 30 minutes in SU’s win over NC State to open the ACC tournament. During the year, Dolezaj averaged 9.9 points from a team high of 54.8 percent, which translates to 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists.