Kirkwood’s Nick Richards ready for big moments on biggest stage

Nick Richards prides himself on playing his best when the lights are shining brightest.

The 6-foot-3 slashing sophomore lefty scored 44 points combined in the last three games for the Kirkwood men's basketball team – one to earn a regional No. 1 seed and two to send the Eagles to the NJCAA Division II men's basketball national tournament, which begins Tuesday against Frederick (Md.) at 1 p.m. in Danville, Ill.

'He plays really hard and he's a great teammate and he's a good leader,' Kirkwood Coach Bryan Petersen said. 'He's been one of our leaders throughout the entire year, but this last three weeks he's been off the charts.'

Richards has scored in double figures in 12 of 17 games and bumped his season average to 11.8 points a contest, which is second on the team. His three-game surge has been efficient, evidenced by a 64-percent shooting clip overall, 72 percent from within the 3-point arc. His 5.2 rebounds per game also rank second for Kirkwood.

'I'm just playing with a lot of confidence right now,' Richards said. 'I feel like we're pretty focused, locked in and ready to play.'

Kirkwood (27-4) is seeded third in the 16-team bracket and will face a Frederick team that, while possessing a losing record (13-16), rebounded to win its regional despite a 1-8 start to the season.

'They play exclusively zone and press a little bit,' Petersen said. 'They're long and athletic. They've played well their last couple of games. Their record doesn't look the greatest but at the same time, they're in the national tournament for a reason. You've got to be ready to go.'

Richards is a native of New Castle, Del., and arrived in Cedar Rapids after learning from a prep school teammate that Kirkwood was seeking an athletic guard. One of four sophomores in the starting lineup for the Eagles, Richards is receiving interest from four-year schools in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and back home in Delaware.

Kirkwood's other sophomore starters include guard Hunter Rhodes, who leads the team in scoring average (13.3) and assists (4.0) and was named regional MVP after extending his double-figure scoring mark to 10 times in the last 12 games. Former Cedar Rapids Jefferson prep Jacob Olson averages 9.8 points per game, while forward Josh Bartlett shoots over 50 percent from 3-point range.

'The sophomores, we want to go out with a bang since it's our last year here at Kirkwood,' Richards said. 'Let's just all buy in, have each other's back and let's just try to get this done.'

NJCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

At Danville, Ill.

FIRST ROUND

Tuesday, March 15

Dakota County Tech (20-10) vs. No. 2 Lansing (28-4), 9 a.m.

Columbus State (24-6) vs. No. 7 Essex County (26-4), 11 a.m.

Frederick (13-16) vs. No. 3 Kirkwood (27-4)

, 1 p.m.

South Mountain (20-12) vs. No. 6 Louisburg (27-5), 3 p.m.

MCC-Penn Valley (16-15) vs. No. 1 Triton (31-2), 6:30 p.m.

Parkland (22-11) vs. No. 8 Monroe CC (24-4), 8:30 p.m.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com