Billy Richmond puts on for the hometown in Hogs' win over Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It was an exhibition matchup, but also a homecoming for Arkansas sophomore wing Billy Richmond III, who had quite the showing in the Hogs’ 99-75 win over Memphis on Monday night in the St. Jude Tip Off Classic at the FedExForum.
A Memphis native, Richmond finished the game with 13 points, which wasn’t close to the highest on the team (three other Hogs scored more points), but he put his motor on high and never shut it off for the entirety of the 20 minutes he played.
Richmond didn’t get the start, but was a spark plug off the bench. The Hogs got punched in the mouth early and fell down 28-14 midway through the first half, but started to mount a comeback.
“We knew they were going to come out playing aggressive,” Richmond said. “That played a part (in the slow start) but we just fought back. We know basketball is a game of runs so we just tried to stick together, just come together and come out as a unit.”
The Hogs took a brief lead before halftime but trailed 45-42 at the break, and Memphis connected on a pair of threes to start things out and give the Tigers a 48-42 lead.
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Richmond’s quick spark gives Hogs life
From there, Richmond was on a mission. As the Hogs continued to battle back, he made play after play after play. There was a roughly 60-second stretch that encapsulated exactly why he’s so valuable to the Arkansas program.
From the 17:17 mark of the second half to the 15:49 mark, Richmond scored five points and registered two blocks, one of which was on Memphis’ 7-foot-1 big man Aaron Bradshaw.
Richmond also showed that he’s capable of hitting from range, too. He had two threes in Monday’s win, which is the exact same amount he hit the entirety of last season.
Hometown feeling for Richmond
Perhaps no one, not even Calipari, felt more at home on Monday than Richmond did. He was greeted by family and friends throughout the night, from the pregame warmup until after the postgame press conferences at the FedExForum.
Richmond said it was great to show his teammates his old stomping grounds and pick up a win at the same time.
“It was special for all of us,” Richmond said postgame. “Just getting my guys out here to see my city, see what I went through and see the fans out here. But it was a cool overall experience just being back home.
“I haven’t been here in a minute and we just wanted to get a (win). That’s what we came in for.”
Box Score
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