Billy Richmond's impact key for Arkansas in win over LSU

FAYETTEVILLE — Billy Richmond hadn’t played more than 12 minutes in a game since Southeastern Conference play started, but the Arkansas Razorbacks (15-9, 4-7 SEC) relied on him in their 70-58 win over the LSU Tigers (12-12, 1-10 SEC) on Wednesday at Bud Walton Arena.

The true freshman’s stat line doesn’t jump off the page; he only had four points, three rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes, but Arkansas associate head coach Chin Coleman said after the game his impact was key for the Hogs in the win.

“He changed the game,” Coleman said. “Billy Richmond, his energy, his effort, everything he did in this game, is what changed this game and gave us the opportunity to win. It was Billy Richmond’s impact on this game.”

Richmond may not have scored much, but the two buckets he had came in quick succession and helped spur on a run for the Hogs that helped the team pull away in the second half.

The first score came with 13:53 left in the second half. On the prior play, he took a handoff from Zvonimir Ivisic and the ball was swatted out of bounds. The ensuing inbounds play, he swished a midrange jumper to put the Hogs up 49-45.

A little over a minute later, the Hogs had stretched their lead to 51-43 and forced a bad shot that was rebounded by Jonas Aidoo. Richmond got the outlet pass, weaved through three separate defenders, got to the cup and laid it in to give Arkansas its largest lead of the night.

Ivisic — who exploded for 25 points in the win — said no one on the team is surprised by Richmond’s impact on the floor.

“Billy just gives amazing energy every night, but we’re kind of used to it,” Ivisic said postgame. “We see him every day in practices, dunking, jumping and everything that he’s been doing. When we see that on the court, we’re not actually surprised because we’ve already seen it. He’s been helping us a lot, especially on point guard. He’s doing a really great job.”

Richmond has come along well in recent games and with the loss of Boogie Fland, has been relied upon more to run the offense. He’s still a freshman, though, and is prone to make mistakes. Coleman said a part of that is the speed at which he plays, and the coaching staff is trying to teach him to slow down.

“He’s learning every day on how to slow down, he’s got an unbelievable fifth gear,” Coleman said. “But unfortunately, at this stuff, you can’t play the whole game in fifth gear. You can’t play the whole game in five. You got to play the game in three, two, and utilize your five as a weapon. He’s got to learn how to use his gears and play slow to fast, and not just fast the whole time.

“Sometimes Billy can be like the roadrunner out there, and just out of control. And so we’re trying to get him to learn how to be a point guard, how to have great pace, but really good poise and lead us and run us. He’s trying to do an unbelievable job and I think that he’s succeeding so far.”

The Hogs will need Richmond to play at his best in their next matchup, as they travel to College Station to face the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT and the game will air on ESPN.