Florida Basketball: Belmont combo guard transfers to Gators
Florida basketball receives commitment from Belmont combo guard
Florida basketball received news this afternoon of a commitment from Belmont combo guard Will Richard. Will played his 2021 freshman season with the Belmont Bruins and was a pretty solid guard overall for them. Richard announced his commitment to Florida this afternoon via Twitter and Instagram after taking an official visit earlier this week.
When you know, you know. COMMITTED!🐊 #GoGators pic.twitter.com/0VQlVFMrV7
— Will Richard (@willrxch) April 9, 2022
Will was being heavily pursued by UConn, which makes it even more impressive that the Gators landed him as UConn is a notorious basketball school. He played the 2021 season in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and made the all-newcomer team within it. New head coach Todd Golden prioritized getting Will, as he is a top-10 transferring player this offseason, which means he holds a high amount of value.
Belmont transfer Will Richard is set to take an official visit to Florida today, he told @Stockrisers. The Gators and Todd Golden prioritizing the Top-10 transfer. The 6’5 guard was an All-OVC newcomer.
— Jake (@jakeweingarten) April 7, 2022
UConn also recently making a push. Along with others.
After losing guard Tyree Appleby to the transfer portal, forward Anthony Duriji to the draft, and Colin Castleton after withdrawing from the draft in 2021 for one more season, Florida basketball needs more talent simply put. With Kowacie Reeves potentially breaking out at shooting guard, Will should be ready to fill in as the opposite starter for now, or as a 6th man even.
Promising Belmont freshman and versatile 6-foot-5, 195-lb guard Will Richard tells me he's looking for somewhere where he can "come in and make a big impact, be more involved on and off the ball, get developed for the next level, and grow as a player and a person." @The_WTR12 pic.twitter.com/fbHdqMywre
— League Him (@League_Him) April 3, 2022
Richard’s reason for transferring can be seen in the tweet above, but simply put, he can make a huge impact here for Florida basketball. In his first season with the Bruins, he put up the following stats:
- 12.1 PPG, 1.8 APG, 6.0 RPG
- 1.2 SPG, 0.8 BPG
- .468 FG%, .326 3 point %, .804 FT%
Will should be a solid addition to the Gators for 2022 and beyond hopefully. True combo guards are not necessarily something that is come across every day in basketball, but at 6’5″ 195 pounds, he fits the bill exceptionally. The versatility of having a player like this that can play the point or shooting guard gives Todd Golden a variety of rotations to use this upcoming season. Understandably, this is probably one of the reasons why he was recruited to Florida basketball.