How Nick Richards performs in different gear

On Wednesday, June 19, Former UK football players Austin MacGinnis and Charles Walker made an appearance on KSR. At one point, MacGinnis was asked to comment on whether or not current UK kicker Miles Butler could improve his range simply by getting in the weight room. “I think it matters whether, you know, what kind of cleats you’re in. I think it’s all about the cleats, what kind of sweatband you have on your arm... nothing else matters,” MacGinnis said. While MacGinnis was certainly exaggerating, there is some validity to his statement. The accessories players wear (arm sleeves, headbands, wristbands, etc.) may not only be used for practical purposes such as injuries but may be worn for a variety of reasons, the most basic of which is simply feeling comfortable and confident. Many UK players wear athletic gear while playing, and sometimes they may change their look, but one player who seems to change more than the rest is Nick Richards. Richards showed off six different looks last season, so here is a breakdown of how he performed while wearing different athletic gear:   Leg sleeves and a right arm sleeve: 7 games, 13.6mpg, 4.9ppg, 4.1rpg, 0.1apg, 1.4TOpg, 1.6bpg, 0spg, 14-22 FG, 6-7 FT Right arm sleeve (only): 4 games, 10.5mpg, 2.75ppg, 2.75rpg, 0apg, 0.75TOpg, 0.5bpg, 0spg, 3-4 FG, 5-7 FT Short sleeve undershirt (only): 10 games, 10mpg, 2.4ppg, 2.9rpg, 0.3apg, 0.3TOpg, 1.5bpg, 0.2spg, 8-18 FG, 7-13 FT Leg sleeves and a short sleeve undershirt: 1 game, 19 minutes, 14 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 0 TO, 4 blocks, 0 steals, 4-5 FG, 6-10 FT Leg sleeves (only): 1 game, 7 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound, 0 assists, 1 TO, 1 block, 0 steals, 1-3 FG, 0-0 FT No accessories: 14 games, 13.1mpg, 4.5ppg, 3.7rpg, 0.1apg, 0.6TOpg, 0.9bpg, 0.1spg, 19-30 FG, 25-34 FT   It should be noted that Richards wore his first look in home games against relatively lax competition (with the exception of the season opener at Duke). It should also be stated that there was a stretch of games during his “no accessories” run where Reid Travis was hurt and so his playing time increased substantially. While it’s difficult to find a correlation here between what Richards wears and how he will perform, the BBN hopes he finds a look that gives him the confidence and comfort to achieve his full potential.