15. Nick Richards, C, Kentucky
Enter the fifth Kentucky player on this list. Jamaican center, Nick Richards, follows in a long list of Kentucky big men who specialize in protecting the rim, grabbing rebounds, and having a very basic offensive game. Since 2013, Kentucky has had centers similar to Richards, such as Nerlens Noel, Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson and Bam Adebayo.
Richards was a strong finisher around the rim during his high school career. Weighing 235-pounds, collegiate players may also struggle to stop him around the paint. Additionally, collegiate players will likely struggle in scoring over Richards as the center will probably send the shot into the stands. How active Richards is in the paint — getting blocks, rebounds and dunks — will play a big role in how successful Kentucky is this season.
Similarly to past Kentucky centers, Richards lacks a variety of post-moves. Richards isn’t like Jahlil Okafor, from his Duke days, offensively, there’s a lot of work to be done. Moreover, Richards must improve his face-up game before he enters the NBA.