University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Plays At Rice Tuesday
11/20/2007 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2007
IN-GAME COVERAGE:
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The game is the third that Richmond (2-3) will play in the Central Time Zone in the first games. It is the first of two-straight road games for the Spiders, who will finish playing five of their first seven games away from the Robins Center on Saturday at Marist.
THE LATEST
SCOUTING RICHMOND: With the exception of a loss to No. 3 ranked Memphis (and even that was a 3-point game with six minutes remaining), the Spiders have played extremely close game so far this year. Four of Richmond's five games have been decided by three points or less. The youthful Spiders have struggled playing with the lead even in wins, as they let a 16-point first half lead turn into a 10-point second-half deficit in the victory over ECU.
SCOUTING RICE: The Owls (0-2) have suffered two lopsided losses, falling to TCU 76-49 and dropping their home opener in Katy, Texas to Duquesne 86-59. The Owls' home arena is being renovated, so this game will be played closer to campus at Reliant Arena. Paulius Packevicius has a double-double in each of the Owls' two games and is averaging 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game.
Quotable
Ryan Butler on the UMBC game on Saturday:
"I really don't know what it is. We're right there every single game, up five, last game up 11 late. We can't seem to close. We can't get a stop when we need to. It's something that we need to workon. It's frustrating losing games likes this. If we make one play, we make one stop, they have to start fouling."
Spiders Sign Three
Richmond head coach Chris Mooney announced the addition of three prospective student-athletes to the men's basketball program. Australian native Josh Duinker has signed an athletic grant-in-aid with the Spiders and is planning on attending the University of Richmond as a full-time student in January, 2008. Powder Springs, Ga. native Darrius Garrett and Quebec native Francis Cedric Martel have signed letters of intent and will attend the University of Richmond beginning with the Fall, 2008 semester. The incoming class was ranked 60th in the nation by Hoop Scoop Online. Duinker (pronounced Dunk-er) is a 6-foot-9, 210 pound forward from New South Wales Institute of Sport in Hornsby, Australia. He is on track to graduate high school in early December and is planning to attend the University of Richmond in January, 2008. Duinker will be immediately eligible to practice with the team. He played on the Australian National Junior Team in 2007 and was a participant in the 2007 All-Australian Camp.Garrett is a 6-8, 185-pound forward from Powder Springs, Ga. who plays at McEachem High, where he averaged 8.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.2 blocks per game as a junior. An explosive athlete around the basket, Garrett flourishes in transition and is a strong rebounder and shot blocker. Garrett played on the same AAU team - the Worldwide Renegades - with current Richmond freshman Kevin Anderson. He will be one of three players on the 2008-09 roster from Georgia, joining Anderson and David Gonzalvez. Martel is a 6-foot-5, 180-pound guard from the Montmorency College in Laval, Quebec, where he averaged 15.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Martel is a very athletic, guard who handles the ball well and shoots a high percentage from 3-point land.
Gunning Down The Running
The Spiders did a good job of stopping up tempo teams in 2006-07, allowing the opposition to score more than 10 fast break points in just three of 30 games last year. The Spiders allowed 5.4 fast break points per game last year and have allowed 8.0 fastbreak points per game this year. The slight increase can be attributed to the fact the Spiders are pushing the ball more this year, as Richmond is averaging 8.4 fastbreak points per game.
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The Spiders have made big improvements in rebounding over the last three games, grabbing 34 boards against No. 3 Memphis, pulling down 38 against Norfolk State and grabbing 33 against both East Carolina and UMBC. Richmond was out-rebounded in all but the UMBC game, but in the other three games the margin was just -3.3. While Richmond is doing a lot better on the defensive boards, the Spiders are also crashing hard on the offensive glass. Richmond is averaging 10.8 offensive rebounds per game through four games, compared to a 6.0 average on "O" rebounds last season. The Spiders are averaging 31.8 rebounds per game so far this season, a dramatic increase from the 24.1 average from last season.
Tenacious D?
In Chris Mooney's first season at Richmond in 2005-06, the Spiders led the nation in fewest points allowed for most of the season, not allowing 60 points or more for the first 10 games of the year. The Spiders finished the year allowing 57.8 points per game, which ranked seventh in the country. Last season, with five freshmen seeing the bulk of the minutes, the Spiders did not have as much success defensively, giving up over 60 points in 27 of 30 games. Richmond played solid defense, making it difficult for other teams to score, but the Spiders struggled with defensive rebounding and allowed 10.8 second-chance points per game. When the Spiders put the defense and rebounding together, they are tough to score on. Richmond had South Florida stuck on 28 points with just over eight minutes to play on Dec. 5, 2006 and only allowed 46 points for the game. Richmond allowed just 42 points in the 2007-08 season opener to Maine and have held opponents to 50 points or less 13 times in 64 games under Mooney. The Spiders have held teams to 60 points or less 20 times under Mooney and allowed over 70 points just 15 times in 64 games, but three times in five games this season.
Need A Full 40
The Spiders are having trouble putting together a full 40 minutes through five games. In its first four games the Spiders were clearly a first-half team, but in the UMBC game Richmond fell behind by 10 in the first half and wound up leading by seven late in the second half. Richmond has outscored its opponents 172-166 in the first half, but is being outscored 159-133 in the second half. The Spiders are averaging 34.4 points in the first half, shooting 44.8 percent from the floor, 35.1 percent from 3-point land and have turned it over just 35 times. In the second half, Richmond is averaging 26.6 points, shooting 38.1 percent from the floor and 20.5 percent from 3 with 52 turnovers.
Closing The Deal
The Spiders knew they finished the 2006-07 season strong, but after the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll came out, it is even more impressive how the youthful Richmond team finished up. Over the last four games, the Spiders enjoyed double-figure leads in victories against the teams predicted to finish second (Rhode Island) and third (Saint Joseph's), and lost 63-61in the conference tourney to the team picked fourth (Fordham).
Two-Dimensional
The Spiders finished the 2006-07 season ranked 35th in the nation in two-point field goal percentage, shooting 52.6 percent from inside the arc. Richmond shot 35.0 percent from behind the arc and 45.4 percent from the field. Richmond is shooting 49.1 percent on two-point field goals this season, while they are shooting 28.6 percent from 3.
Geriot Named All-Rookie
Dan Geriot was named to the 2006-07 Atlantic 10's All Rookie Team, the second Spider in Richmond's six years in the league to earn a spot on the conference's all-rookie team, joining teammate Gaston Moliva. The Spiders have had nine Academic All-Conference selections in six years in the Atlantic 10. Geriot led the Spiders in scoring at 11.9 points per game, scoring in double-figures 19 times and scoring 16 or more points in 10 games.
Youth Being Served
The Spiders were a young team last year with five freshmen who play at least 15 minutes per game, four of whom were Richmond's top four scorers. The Spiders started four freshmen in 10 games and at least three freshmen in 25 of 30 games. The Spiders received 68.2 percent of their scoring from freshmen, the largest percent of freshmen scoring contribution in the Atlantic 10.
Deja Vu All Over Again
Head men's basketball coach Chris Mooney is entering his third year at the University of Richmond, but it does not feel like that for the 35-year old. Mooney feels like he had two "first" years. The former head coach at Air Force inherited a Richmond program with no guards and only seven scholarship players in 2005-06. Mooney's second year became another first year as six freshmen filled the roster and the top four scorers were freshmen. Now comes an actual second year of rebuilding as the Spiders will have two seniors, four experienced sophomores and another large group of six freshmen.
Protecting The Ball
Richmond was first in the Atlantic 10 in fewest turnovers per game in conference games (11.1 tpg) and first in turnover margin (+4.0). The Spiders were tied for second in overall turnovers per game (12.9), just behind Temple (12.7). Richmond had single-digit turnovers in 10 games, including the four of the last five, and stayed out of the teens in 17 of 30 games. The Spiders are averaging 17.6 turnovers per game through five games this season, but had just 10 turnovers against Norfolk State on Nov. 13 and 13 against UMBC on Nov. 17.
Like Player, Like Coach
Spider head coach Chris Mooney has shown he is not afraid to play freshmen significant minutes in his time at Richmond, although some of that was by necessity. But Mooney does know that freshmen can step right in and contribute. He pulled the rare accomplishment of starting as a freshman for Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril at Princeton, doing so on a defending Ivy League championship team that had all five starters returning. Mooney was the runner-up for Ivy League Rookie of the Year, helping the Tigers to the Ivy League title and a NCAA bid in 1990-91.
The Name Game
The 2007-08 Richmond roster shares a lot of names, starting with two Smiths (Conor and Kevin), two versions of McLean (Duncan)/McClain (Chris), three Chris' (Richard, McClain and head coach Chris Mooney) and four Kevin's (Anderson, Hovde, Smith and assistant coach Kevin McGeehan).
Geriot & Gonzalvez Honored
Richmond freshmen Dan Geriot and freshman David Gonzalvez each earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week honors last season. Gonzalvez earned the honor on Feb. 25 after scoring 21 points in the victory over Saint Joseph's. Geriot earned the honor on Dec. 24 after averaging 15.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in two games, including 21 pointsat Wake Forest.
Like Father, Like Son
Richmond sophomore Ryan Butler and his father Jeff Butler are the second father-son duo to play for the Spiders, joining Pat DiServio (1981-83) and Tony DiServio (1945-47). Jeff Butler was a star for the Spiders from 1975-77, leading the team in scoring both seasons. He averaged 14.3 points per game in 1975-76 and 16.3 points per game in 1976-77. Jeff Butler was later an assistant coach for the Spiders under Hall of Fame coach Dick Tarrant, who regularly attends games in the Robins Center. Ryan Butler grew up in the shadow of campus and starred at Douglas Freeman High three miles from campus.
