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Rick Pitino laughed at the suggestion.
No, the St. John’s coach said with a smile, jeers won’t impact senior guard Kadary Richmond when he returns to Prudential Center as the enemy.
“I think being booed is something that he can handle,” the Hall of Fame coach said on Friday as his team prepared for the showdown at The Rock, where the Johnnies have won just once in 13 tries. “Well, he grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, so I think he can handle being booed. He’s not going to cry.”
It figures to be an emotional night in Newark, N.J., as the 6-foot-6 Richmond faces his former team.
Big East rival Seton Hall is expecting a lower-bowl sellout, which is 10,481 fans.
A decent portion of that will likely be St. John’s fans.
The uber-talented Richmond is known for his stoicism.
He rarely shows emotion on the court.
If he is feeling pressure or looking to prove something on Saturday night, he hasn’t shared that with Pitino or his teammates.
There, however, will be extra attention on Richmond, and not just because of the venom that will be directed at him.
Pitino expects the Johnnies’ engine, Deivon Smith, to miss his second consecutive game with a bruised right shoulder.
Smith is still feeling discomfort shooting and has been unable to practice.
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That means extra responsibility for Richmond.
Without Smith against Georgetown, St. John’s played one of its worst first halves of the season, trailing by 15 points, before rallying for a five-point victory.
“Obviously, it’s going to be a bigger environment for [Richmond] because of everything that he did for their program, but I feel like … he’s going to go in there and just show Seton Hall what they’re missing,” said sophomore wing Brady Dunlap, who is currently out with a small abdominal tear. “I feel like of course he’s going to rise to the occasion, but at the same time I don’t think he’s going to go out there and try and have 30 or 35 [points] and compromise the team because I don’t think he’s that type of player or that type of guy.
“I feel like he’s going to go out there and play his game, and if that means he’s going to have 25, then he’s going to have 25. If it means he’s going to have 10 points and eight rebounds and however many assists, he’s going to do whatever it takes to win the game. I don’t think he’s going to get too overhyped for the moment.”
The Johnnies, at 15-3, are off to one of their best starts of the last 25 years, and they’re 6-1 in league play for the first time since 1998-99.
Richmond has been a big part of that, averaging 10.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists while shooting a career-best 45 percent from the floor.
While the Brooklynite hasn’t made quite the impact some expected, he has begun to be more of a difference-maker.
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He shined in the second halves of recent wins over Butler, Villanova and Georgetown, and set the tone early in a one-sided win at Xavier.
“He’s a little underappreciated,” Pitino said. “He owns up to every mistake he makes — every mistake. He’s just got a superb attitude and he has a great will to win.”
Asked about facing Seton Hall following Tuesday’s win over the Hoyas, Richmond said he was treating it like any other game. He wasn’t made available to the media on Friday.
After committing to St. John’s last May, Richmond told The Post: “Everyone might not be happy with it, but I just hope they understand sometimes you have to make the best decision to go places you want to go in life. If they were in my shoes, they would probably have a better understanding of that. I’m pretty sure everyone is going to be in an uproar and there’s going to be a lot of backlash from many different places.”
Richmond and St. John’s are certain to get Seton Hall’s best shot on Saturday night.
The Pirates, with a 1-5 record in league play, have struggled mightily without last year’s stars, Richmond and Dre Davis (Ole Miss).
Their fans will express their displeasure with Richmond, and Seton Hall will look to put a damper on its rival’s hot start to the season, hoping it can spark a turnaround.
St. John’s, meanwhile, is focused on adding another win.
“We all got to treat it like a normal game,” senior forward Aaron Scott said. “We can’t get involved in all the extra stuff. We have to stay locked in to the main thing — the main thing is winning.”
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