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Point guard Kadary Richmond “didn’t know if he could go” against Virginia because of a knee injury, head coach Jim Boeheim said Thursday after UVA eliminated Syracuse from the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. 

Richmond told team trainer Brad Pike pregame that he was unsure of his status, something Boeheim said had happened once before as well. Richmond initially injured his knee in the Orange’s loss to Georgia Tech on Feb. 27, leaving with about four minutes left and wrapping a bag of ice around his knee.

Before the next game, a win against North Carolina, SU Athletics announced that Richmond had soreness in his right knee and would “see how it feels” during the game, a similar situation to Saturday.

“I told him, ‘Let’s give it a try,’” Boeheim said. “He seemed all right. He must have been — he didn’t seem quite like himself, but he didn’t complain about it once the game got started.”

Throughout the season, Richmond emerged as Syracuse’s (16-9, 9-7 ACC) answer when Joe Girard III became ineffective. Richmond sparked defensive stops while providing a boost by driving into the paint. When Richmond checked in against the Cavaliers on Thursday, Syracuse initially tried to attack that matchup with Kihei Clark guarding him. Later in the game, when the Orange started pressing to eliminate the deficit, Richmond tipped a pass that led to a steal. He finished the sequence with a lob to Quincy Guerrier for a dunk that trimmed UVA’s lead to two with 90 seconds left.

Richmond finished with two points, three assists and one rebound in SU’s 72-69 loss to the Cavaliers in Greensboro.

“He doesn’t look like he can get to the basket,” Boeheim said. “He doesn’t look as explosive as he was. He’s been hurt for a while.”

Boeheim also said postgame that starting center Marek Dolezaj hasn’t practiced because of a fractured finger he suffered in Syracuse’s March 1 win against North Carolina. Still, Dolezaj logged 30 and 40 minutes in the Orange’s two tournament games, respectively.

“He doesn’t practice because he can’t take any pressure on that left hand,” Boeheim said. “He just comes and plays in the games.”

Dolezaj missing time would deplete Syracuse’s already shallow depth at center. Boeheim has reiterated throughout the season that the team’s backup centers are still “not ready.” Jesse Edwards improved throughout the year and gradually earned more minutes later in the season, but Boeheim said he was “intimidated” when he subbed in against the Cavaliers. He played just two minutes and grabbed one rebound.

The Orange’s loss in Greensboro means they’ll now wait three days before finding out their NCAA Tournament fate in Sunday’s selection show, receiving a final decision about whether six wins in eight games to close the season is enough to successfully lift a once-sinking season off the bubble.

Published on March 11, 2021 at 3:46 pm

Contact Andrew: [email protected] | @CraneAndrew