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Syracuse Basketball: Malachi Richardson Signs LOI, Becomes an 'Orangemen'

Four-star recruit Malachi Richardson signed his letter of intent to play for the Orange on Saturday.

By Benjamin Burrows
Jared Wickerham

Malachi Richardson is officially a Syracuse Orange. The 6-foot-6 small forward signed his letter of intent on Saturday night, according to Mike Waters of Syracuse.com and CuseNation.

Richardson is listed as a four-star recruit by both Scout and ESPN. He is No. 19 overall in the ESPN rankings and No. 28 overall with Scout. The scouting report from ESPN on Richardson can be found here. As with most scouting reports, it highlights shooting as his best skill. His shooting release sits a little low -- you can see that in the video below -- but he's still one of the top shooters in the class. The biggest weakness listed is strength. As expected, he needs to add muscle and do a better job of attacking the rim when shooters close out on him. That should all come as he matures and gets better at putting the ball on the floor, though.

Here's the scouting report from Scout:

Richardson stands 6-5 but plays taller than that thanks to long arms. He's a quick slasher and has above-average hops. Richardson also is a fine handler and passer for a big wing. Because he can create for himself or finish along the baseline, he causes mismatches depending on a given defender's style. He now goes to the free throw line frequently. To maximize his talent, he'll need to improve his streaky, mechanically unsound jump shot.

The signing gives Syracuse four players in the 2015 recruiting class, with Moustapha Diagne, Frank Howard and Tyler Lydon already signed. ESPN currently has Syracuse ranked as the fourth best recruiting class, behind Kentucky, Arizona and Texas A&M.

For your entertainment, below is a mixtape of Richardson making other people sad.

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