Akeem Richmond Signs With The Houston Rockets
October 25, 2014 | Men's Basketball
Official Announcement From Houston Rockets | Complete Bio
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Former East Carolina all-conference guard Akeem Richmond has signed as a free agent with the Houston Rockets according to an announcement by the organization Saturday.
Richmond, who had a workout with the Rockets prior to the 2014 NBA Draft, was a second-team All-Conference USA performer as a senior in 2013-14 and led the NCAA with 155 3-point field goals made, also averaging a Division I-best 4.56 per game. He finished the season ranked second in the league in scoring, averaging 18.0 points per game and scored the sixth-most points (612) in a single-season in ECU history. His 155 made 3s was the fourth-highest single-season total in NCAA history and most in school and C-USA history. In only two years, he moved into ninth place on the Conference USA career 3-point field goals made list with 260, another ECU record.
Richmond spent two seasons at East Carolina after transferring from the University of Rhode Island, scoring 994 points as a Pirate en route to 1,622 points during his collegiate career. He finished his four-year career ranked seventh on the NCAA's all-time list for 3-point field goals made with 416. Richmond appeared in 139 contests over the course of his NCAA career averaging 11.7 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 25.3 minutes per game.
As a junior in 2013, Richmond delivered the Pirates their first postseason title, hitting the game-winning 3-pointer as time expired in the CIT championship game against Weber State.
Richmond, who earned a bachelor's degree in communications from ECU in May, 2014, is the first Pirate to receive an NBA contract since Jonathan Kerner was a member of the Orlando Magic in 1999. The Rockets open their 2014-15 season Tuesday, Oct. 28 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
