NC State basketball adds former Clemson assistant Kareem Richardson to staff
N.C. State men’s basketball head coach Kevin Keatts has rounded out his coaching staff by hiring Kareem Richardson as as assistant coach. Richardson, 47, spent last season at Clemson.
Keatts and Richardson previously worked together as assistants at Louisville. Richardson played college basketball at East Carolina for one season before transferring to Evansville.
“I’m excited to welcome Kareem to Raleigh,” Keatts said in a release Thursday. “I go way back with Kareem and have always had a tremendous amount of respect for his ability to teach the game of basketball and relate to the young men in his program. He’s a terrific coach who also has six years experience as a head coach. He will be an incredible asset for our staff and players and we’re lucky to have him here.”
His coaching career began in 1997 as an assistant coach at Indianapolis. Since then, Richardson has made stops at Indiana State, Wright State, Evansville, University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), Drake, Xavier and Clemson.
Richardson was the head coach at UMKC for six seasons, compiling an overall record of 75-118.
Two N.C. State assistant coaches, Roy Roberson and Mike Summey, were let go at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season. On April 1, N.C. State hired former Wolfpack forward Levi Watkins as an assistant.
Watkins and Richardson will join Keatts and James Johnson on the bench, and they’ll have to get right to work on the recruiting trail. Since the conclusion of the 2021-22 season, four Wolfpack players have entered the transfer portal. Two others — Terquavion Smith and Dereon Seabron — have submitted their name in the NBA Draft, but both could return to school.
While on the staff at Xavier, Richardson helped haul in a top-20 recruiting class in 2011.
Richardson Coaching Timeline
2021-22 Assistant Coach at Clemson
2019-21 Assistant Coach at Indiana State
2013-19 Head Coach at UMKC
2012-13 Assistant Coach at Louisville
2011-12 Assistant Coach at Xavier
2008-11 Assistant Coach at Drake
2007-08 Assistant Coach at UMKC
2003-07 Assistant Coach at Evansville
2002-03 Assistant Coach at Wright State
1999-2002 Assistant Coach at Indiana State
1997-99 Assistant Coach at Indianapolis
