John Calipari praises standout performance from Billy Richmond: ‘How about Billy Goat?’
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Winners of 6 of their past 7 games, John Calipari and Arkansas are as hot as any team in the SEC.
And while there are a host of Razorbacks who deserve credit for the recent stretch of stellar play in Fayetteville, Calipari specifically pointed at guard Billy Richmond when talking about who’s made a difference as of late.
Richmond exploded for a career-high 25 points during Arkansas’ 88-75 win over Auburn on Saturday night, as the 6-foot-6 product of Memphis found his way to the rim with relative ease.
“How about Billy Goat?” Calipari said, referencing Richmond. “What I love is when he’s introduced, people go crazy…he may be averaging 10 a game, but this building loves him because he just plays hard.”
The legendary head coach went on to applaud Richmond’s “amnesia” or ability to move on to the next play, also touching on the tangible effort the guard puts on display whenever he hits the floor.
“He’s playing with so much energy and passion,” Calipari said. “And who’s 6-foot-10, can go block shots, rebound and make threes, and is good with the ball?”
Richmond has seen a sizable uptick in minutes as a result of his effort in recent weeks, and it’s led to him scoring in double-figures 4 straight times. He’s also blocked 5 shots, pulled in 17 rebounds and assisted on 9 buckets during that span.
Parker is currently the sports editor for the Enterprise-Journal in McComb, Mississippi. He's a graduate from Mizzou who has experience covering the Tiger football and basketball beats for SB Nation, and he's worked for a variety of sports news outlets in the past.
