Nick Richards being recruited by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to UK

It’s no secret that John Calipari has a lot of fire power when it comes to recruiting, and we are seeing some of that on display in the recruitment of high school center Nick Richards.

Former Wildcat and No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, called Richards to tell him to go to Kentucky.

Gilchrist, who attended the same high school that Richards is attending (St. Patrick’s), probably didn’t have to make too convincing of an argument. Kentucky is far and away the front-runner for Richards, which is probably helped by that Gilchrist connection.

This isn’t the first time Kentucky has shown interest in Richards, as Calipari visited Richards at his high school in New Jersey previously.

Calipari’s presence in that visit was certainly felt, according to Richards’ coach Chris Chavannes.

"When he comes into the building, everything comes to a standstill. The faculty, everything comes to a standstill. It’s huge when he comes by here. It’s great for the kids to see him, and it’s great for the young kids to see him. He definitely did stop traffic inside the building and outside the building," Chavannes said to SNY.

The 6’11" big man is projected to go to Kentucky 100% in 247 Sports’ Crystal Ball predictions.

Should he commit to Kentucky as expected, it’d be safe to say Calipari has quite the stronghold on New Jersey. Isaiah Briscee, Karl-Anthony Towns, Gilchrist and Dakari Johnson have all come from the same area, so it’s safe to say Cal is getting the best of the best from the garden state.