ESPN’s No. 20-ranked high school basketball prospect schedules recruiting visit to KU
Billy Richmond, a 6-foot-6, 180-pound senior small forward from Camden (New Jersey) High School, will make an official recruiting visit to Kansas on Oct. 6-8, according to On3.com.
The highlight of that weekend will be the 39th-annual Late Night in the Phog, set for Oct. 6 at Allen Fieldhouse.
Richmond, a Memphis native who is ranked No. 20 in the recruiting class of 2024 by ESPN.com and No. 38 by both Rivals.com and 247Sports.com, also will visit LSU on Sept. 8-10, Kentucky on Sept. 15-17, Memphis on Sept. 29-31 and Alabama on Oct. 20-22.
Other schools on his list: Miami, Louisville and Texas.
Richmond — he received a scholarship offer from KU on June 19 — recently eliminated Kansas State, Villanova, UConn, Michigan, Mississippi State, Seton Hall and others from his list of prospective schools.
Richmond’s father, of the same name, played for Kentucky coach John Calipari at Memphis from 2002-04. Richmond last season was a teammate of Kentucky freshmen Aaron Bradshaw and DJ Wagner at Camden High.
Richmond also has ties to Louisville. The Cardinals’ director of player development is Camden High graduate Milt Wagner. Former Louisville standout Pervis Ellison is one of the program directors for Richmond’s AAU team, the N.J. Scholars.
Of KU, he told On3.com: “I was kind of a Kansas fan when I was young. I’ve been to a couple of games when I was younger because my uncle used to live out there. They’ve just been watching my games and staying in touch.”
He also spoke about the Jayhawk program to Zagsblog.com.
“Coach Roberts (Norm, KU assistant) saw me at Philly Live recently (where he scored 40 points in one game. The KU coaches) were just telling me how I fit their game and their style of play. Coach Roberts, he told me that I’m a heck of a player and to just keep playing the way I’ve been playing and sustain it.”
Richmond averaged 12.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.5 steals for Camden during the 2022-23 season. He averaged 13.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game at the recent Nike Peach Jam and averaged 18.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game over the entire Nike EYBL spring/summer season.
“Possessing boundless energy on both ends of the floor and turning in extravagant above-rim finishes, the crafty lefty brings unique positional size,” wrote Zach Smart of Zagsblog.com.
Noted Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports.com: “Few players in the class of 2024 have climbed the rankings as consistently as Billy Richmond. There are a few things that jump right out about the big lefty wing. His competitiveness and motor … he just plays extremely hard on both ends of the floor. He attacks, defends and just keeps coming at his opponent. With the ball often in his hands, he is able to see the court and facilitate for those around him, all while staying in attack mode.”
Patrick Ngongba wants to visit KU
Patrick Ngongba, a 6-10, 235-pound senior at St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, Virginia, tells Rivals.com he wants to make an official visit to Kansas at some point during the 2023-24 school year.
He has a final eight of KU, Kansas State, Duke, Michigan, Kentucky, Indiana, UConn and Providence.
Ngongba, who is ranked No. 17 in the class of 2024 by ESPN.com, No. 33 by Rivals.com and No. 34 by 247Sports.com, has visited K-State, UConn and Kentucky.
Of K-State, he said: “I’ve known one of the assistants, Jareem Dowling, since I was a little kid. He’s from the Virgin Islands and my family is from there, too. My mom went down there to coach the Virgin Islands national team and he was down there coaching the men’s national team and that’s how we got to know each other, really.”
Of KU, he said: “I know I want to check out Kansas and I want to check out Michigan, but I don’t have those set.”
Ngongba’s mother, Tajama Ngongba, scored a school-record 2,173 points in four seasons (1993-97) at George Washington University before heading to the WNBA. She is the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots (326) and second in total rebounds (970).
Ngongba’s father, Patrick Ngongba, was a starter at George Washington from 1993-97. He scored 498 points in four seasons.
