With Syracuse basketball tipping off its regular season on Friday, The Daily Orange profiles each of the three scholarship freshmen on the team. First up is wing Malachi Richardson, followed by forward Tyler Lydon and guard Frank Howard.

The facial expression didn’t change. One hundred twenty-five makes each from five different spots. Sometimes it would take an hour and a half, sometimes an hour more. With his friend, Rob Hines, rebounding and his mother feeding him pass after pass, Malachi Richardson honed a craft that now defines him.

Richardson, though just a freshman, has already stated his case for being a mainstay on the wing for Syracuse this season. He hit a trio of 3-pointers in a one-minute, 16-second span last Monday against Le Moyne and his four 3s accounted for 12 of a team-high 18 points against Florida Southern on Sunday.

He stands 6 feet, 6 inches and 205 pounds, a stature lending itself to the agility of a 2-guard and the bulk of a small forward. He’s shed 10 pounds since arriving on campus to achieve a body assistant coach Gerry McNamara says will help the freshman endure his first college season at both positions. And as Syracuse’s starting small forward in its two exhibition games, Richardson has already proven he can fit seamlessly in the Orange’s new up-tempo, 3-point-heavy offense.

“Malachi’s a little more of a guard, but he’s 6-6 and he’s physical, so he can play (the three),” Boeheim said. “He gives you another shooter, another ball-handler, another passer.”

To Richardson, the two and the three are the same on offense. Both set up on the wing and have the freedom to create on the perimeter. On defense, though, is where he could assume different roles. Interchangeable with 6-foot-7 Michael Gbinije at either the top of the zone or a back corner, the freshman has often played alongside centers Dajuan Coleman or Chinonso Obokoh in the Orange’s exhibitions.

In Sunday’s game against Florida Southern, 6-foot-11 Dylan Karrell reached over Richardson for a rebound on the low block. The freshman’s back bent and Karrell easily snatched the ball away with his arms stretched over Richardson’s head. In the second half, Richardson corralled a ball over two defenders that careened high off the rim, deftly leaping his way over both right in front of the baseline before falling to a near-split.

“I think at the end of the day it goes back to, you’ve got to be good enough to rebound back there,” assistant coach Mike Hopkins said. “And if you’re not, you’ve got to use your quickness.”

Richardson arrived at Syracuse weighing around 215 pounds. Coaches thought that was too heavy so he slimmed down to 205, according to cuse.com.

Most players start college having to gain weight, McNamara said, but Richardson’s toned physique, even though slight adjustments had to be made, lends itself to banging on the low block or maneuvering around the perimeter.

With a split-second release on his shot, Richardson draws defenders that are often left with only an outstretched hand hitting thin air. He camped in the corner several times on Sunday, spreading the floor for Gbinije and shooting guard Trevor Cooney and alleviating a backcourt scoring load that fell primarily on the two seniors last year.

He’s tallied a combined 31 points in SU’s two exhibitions, second behind only Gbinije. And while Richardson has scored in a variety of ways — via 3-pointers, pull-up jumpers, drives and alley-oops — 21 of his points have come from behind the arc.

“You think Klay Thompson is a pure shooter?” Hines said, referring to the Golden State Warriors sharpshooter. “(Malachi) is a pure shooter. Those are big words, but I believe in him.”

With a Syracuse offense that intends to launch 20-30 3-pointers per game, Richardson features fittingly as one of three 3-point-capabale shooters in the first five. Boeheim even intends to use a lineup with four 3-point shooters as much as possible, likely featuring Richardson, Cooney, Gbinije and one other.

Some years, Richardson’s role has been filled by more of a true forward, the head coach said. Others, he’s been a closer resemblance of a shooting guard. Boeheim doesn’t think of Richardson as either, using the term “wing” to classify the freshman.

It’s where Richardson has found a niche, even if the games don’t count yet. Swishing a corner 3. Skying over a big man for a rebound. Cutting off a pass that leads to a transition dunk.

An in-game sequence lasting only three minutes, but one providing a sample size of what could come.

“He’s been good,” Cooney said. “He’s been really, really good.”

Published on November 8, 2015 at 9:33 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman