This is huge. I think Pope pressed Richie really hard right away trying to get him to jump to Kentucky before the new coach had a chance to talk some sense into him. I think Pope wanted him badly because of his unbelievable work ethic. Unfortunately, I think he was just going to be used primarily as a show pony — A 24-7 example of how hard Pope wants his four- and five-star athletes to play. And if Richie earned time in the rotation on top of that then that’s just icing on the cake. But more likely Richie’s substantial potential to help win games here would have just been squandered at the end of Kentucky’s bench. Especially increasingly so over time. Welcome home, Richie! We love having you as a Cougar.