Billy Richmond will return to the Arkansas Razorbacks next season, a reporter said Wednesday, after a last‑minute reversal before the NCAA deadline to withdraw and retain college eligibility.
The timeline was messy: the reporter first said Richmond would stay in the NBA Draft, then, 22 minutes later, said Richmond had changed his mind and was coming back to Fayetteville. The deadline to withdraw and keep eligibility closed Wednesday; the NBA Draft itself is set for June 23‑24 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Richmond, a sophomore who made the SEC All‑Defense Team, averaged 11.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game this season. He measured 6 feet, 5.75 inches barefoot with a 6‑foot‑8 wingspan and an 8‑foot‑5 standing reach at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago on May 12‑14. The combine work showed promise and inconsistency: Richmond shot 52 percent on spot‑up 3s (13 of 25) in shooting drills, scored eight points in the first scrimmage (3‑for‑9, 1‑for‑3 from 3, three steals) and 11 points in the second (4‑for‑11, 0‑for‑3).
On the season Richmond connected on 25 percent from long range after a 12 percent mark as a freshman. The combine numbers and workouts helped push his draft stock into the upper second‑round conversation after he was largely absent from mock drafts early in the process.
The decision changes Arkansas’s immediate outlook. Richmond is the most high‑profile player choosing to return from the Razorbacks’ nucleus that reached the Sweet 16 before falling to Arizona. Wing Isaiah Sealy and forward Paulo Semedo had already announced they would return, and Arkansas has added portal pledges Furman center Cooper Bowser and Georgia guard Jeremiah Wilkinson while holding four signed freshmen: Jordan Smith, Abdou Toure, JJ Andrews and Maper Maker.
Coaches around the sport had publicly acknowledged the calculus players faced. John Calipari, asked about prospects from his program, said he was exploring first‑round possibilities for Meleek Thomas and Richmond and noted that either player might return to college if they weren’t taken in the first round. That outline — seeking a guaranteed first‑round spot or coming back to college — framed many of the late decisions this week.
The quick reversal also highlighted the thin line separating draft entrants from returnees. Richmond entered the process earlier while preserving his eligibility; by participating at the combine he improved his visibility and gave teams a clearer picture of his athletic profile. Still, the back‑and‑forth reporting Wednesday underscored how fluid evaluations and recruiting conversations remain in the final hours before the withdrawal deadline.
For Arkansas, Richmond’s return is a contained, immediate win. He gives the team a proven perimeter defender who can guard multiple positions, a steady scoring option at 11.2 points per game, and an experienced wing around whom the staff can construct a rotation. For fans, billy richmond staying means the Razorbacks keep their top defensive piece and a player who raised his profile on the combine stage rather than depart for the draft.
The next question is how Arkansas uses him. With the draft in late June and other roster moves already made, Richmond’s presence narrows the coaching staff’s choices — it reduces urgency to chase veteran transfers at his position and clarifies lineups for next season. It also leaves the team waiting on Meleek Thomas’s decision and on how pro scouts ultimately grade Richmond’s blend of defensive acumen and uneven shooting.
Richmond’s last‑minute return settles one of the program’s biggest roster questions and hands the Razorbacks their most consequential veteran addition in a single decision — a defensive leader who will be central to Arkansas’s plans when the season opens.
