Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Recruiting Profile: Adrian Rich

In the third and final installment of the 2015-16 recruiting profile, we'll take a look at Adrian Rich, a 6'2 guard from Fishburne Military School. Though Fishburne is located in Waynesboro, Virginia, Rich is a resident of Fuquay Varina, North Carolina. He previously attended Village Christian Academy in Fayetteville where he lettered for three years and earned conference player of the year honors in 2013-14, averaging 21 points and 6 rebounds per game and leading the team to a 17-6 record.

Rich committed to the Institute last May. He is listed as a point guard, and, along with Niles Tate, is one of just two "true" point guards on the roster (though Eleby and QJ saw extended action at that position last season). In his senior year with Fishburne, Rich averaged 15 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds per game. He broke numerous records at Village Christian, including the all-time career record for points and assists as well as the single-game record for points (42).

Rich was selected to the All-conference team three times and was also named to the All-state and All-region teams.

He is very lean (170 lbs), but has great speed, can finish at the rim, and has a smooth three-point stroke. Rich is also not hesitant to attack the basket and draw contact, and is a very quick decision maker. He can create his own shot, which is something that the Keydets will need to have this season.

Depending on how Rich looks in practice, he should see some playing time competing with QJ and Julian for a starting role. Rich, being the only natural point guard among the three, has that advantage, but also lacks the game experience that QJ and Julian, now juniors, have. In any case, Rich provides the depth at guard that VMI did not have last year, especially late in the year with the absense of QJ. If he bulks up a bit, he should find himself in a starting role for years to come.