Syracuse freshman shooting guard Malachi Richardson will enter this year’s draft without hiring an agent, the school announced. The 6’6″ 20-year-old is the 55th-best prospect in Chad Ford’s ESPN Insider rankings, but Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress appears significantly more bearish on his stock, excluding him from his top 100 and listing him only as the 57th-best freshman. Richardson can withdraw from the draft by May 25th and retain his college eligibility as long as he doesn’t hire an agent.
His athleticism and versatility intrigue Ford, while Givony points to mixed results in his isolation game and questionable decision-making on the court. Both analysts cite his inconsistent play. In the NCAA Tournament, he scored 23 against Virginia and 21 against Dayton but had just four points versus Middle Tennessee State.
Richardson finished high school last year at No. 29 in the Recruiting Services Consensus Index, and he jumped right into a prominent role for the Orange, starting every game for the surprise Final Four team. He averaged 13.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 34.4 minutes per game while shooting 39% from 3-point territory.
He’s the goat