University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts William & Mary
11/27/2007 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2007
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond men's basketball team plays the first of six-straight games in the Capital City, when the Spiders host William & Mary on Wednesday night in the Robins Center.
The Spiders and Tribe have met 193 times with Richmond holding a 97-96 advantage in what is by far the Spiders' longest-running rivalry.
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THE LATEST
SCOUTING RICHMOND: The youthful Spiders are trying to figure out how to play a full 40 minutes. Possibly the closest they have come was against No. 3 ranked Memphis, when Richmond trailed by three with six minutes to play. The Spiders could easily be 6-1 if not for letting second-half leads of 17, 11 and 7 slip away in losses to Marist, Norfolk State and UMBC. The Spiders have played six games decided by six points or less and are 3-3 in those games.
SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY: The Tribe snapped a three-game losing streak to open the season with a 79-70 victory over Houston Baptist in its home opener on Sunday. Two of William & Mary's losses have come to ranked opponents (#5 Georgetown and #21 NC State) with the other loss at Wagner. The Tribe is 0-3 on the road this season.
Quotable
Head coach Chris Mooney on the Spiders trouble holding leads: "We've practiced situations, we've gone over and over and over those. We've talked about it, we've practiced, but we have not proven that we know we can do it. And this (letting a 17-point lead slip away against Marist) was obviously not a step in the right direction."
Tale Of Two halves
The Spiders have been more of a first-half team this season, scoring 237 points for a 33.9 average before intermission, while shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from three-point land. In the second half, Richmond has scored just 191 points for a 27.3 average (6.6 points less than in the first half). The Spiders are shooting just 39.7 percent in the second half and just 26.6 percent from behind the arc. Richmond has especially struggled in the game's final five minutes. The Spiders are shooting just 28.6 percent (14-of-49) in the final five minutes of games. The Spiders have led with five minutes to play in four of their seven games, and three of those games have ended up in the loss column.
The Big Man On Campus
Sophomore 6-foot-9 center Dan Geriot has put on quite a scoring exhibition in the last five games, scoring over 20 points four times and reaching double-figures in the last five games. Over the last five games, the Springfield, Pa. native is averaging 19.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He is shooting 54.5 percent (33-of-66) in that stretch, including 44.4 percent from three-point land (8-of-18). Overall, Geriot leads the team with a 15.1 scoring average and 5.9 rebounds per game.
The Moliva Difference
Senior Gaston Moliva is probable to make his 2007-08 season debut on Wednesday against William & Mary. Moliva missed all but one game last season due to a stress fracture in his left foot, but he received a medical redshirt to return for the 2007-08 season. In preseason practice, Moliva suffered a stress fracture on his other foot, and has not played this season. Head coach Chris Mooney refers to Moliva as the best defender he has ever coached, and that includes serving on the staff at Air Force as the Falcons led the nation in fewest points allowed four-straight season. Moliva has made a drastic difference when he has been in the lineup during Mooney's three season. In the 30 games Moliva has played in Mooney's match-up zone, the Spiders have held teams to 57.8 points per game. In the 37 games under Mooney that Moliva has not played, the Spiders are giving up 67.4 points per game for almost a 10-point increase. Moliva also aids significantly in rebounding. In the 30 games over the past three season with Moliva, the Spiders are being out-rebounded by just 4.3 boards per game. In the 37 games without him, opponents have owned the glass with an 18.2 rpg advantage.
Stealing The Show
The Spiders are third in the Atlantic 10 in steals per game at 10.14 per contest. Richmond has 71 steals, which leads the conference. Sophomore David Gonzalvez leads the team and is 10th in the conference at 1.86 steals per game. The Spiders have eight different players with at least four steals. Gonzalvez leads four players who have reached double-figures in steals with 13. Freshman Kevin Anderson and sophomore Ryan Butler each have 11 steals and senior Oumar Sylla has 10.
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. This season the more mature Spiders' are getting back to their defensive stinginess from two years ago. Richmond is fourth in the Atlantic 10 in fewest points allowed at 64.0 per game and has held three of the last four opponents to 65 points or less. The Spiders have held opponents to 50 points or less 13 times in 67 games under Mooney. The Spiders have held teams to 60 points or less 21 times under Mooney and allowed over 70 points just 15 times in 67 games.
Using More Windex
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The Spiders have made improvements in rebounding this season, but still need to improve on the glass. That will be aided by the return of 6-foot-7 senior forward Gaston Moliva. The Spiders are being out-rebounded by 6.1 boards per game this year. Richmond is averaging 30.0 rebounds per game, which is an increase over the 24.1 the Spiders averaged last year. While Richmond is doing a lot better on the defensive boards, the Spiders are also crashing hard on the offensive glass. Richmond is averaging 9.9 offensive rebounds per game through four games, compared to a 6.0 average on "O" rebounds last season.
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 6.3 fastbreak points per game this year. Richmond has held the opposition to eight or less fastbreak points in six of seven games this year.
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 49.8 percent on two-point field goals this season, while they are shooting 31.1 percent from 3.
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 has 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.
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).
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 16.7 turnovers per game through seven games this season, but have had 14 turnovers or less in two of the last three games. Richmond had 17 turnovers against Rice on Nov. 20, but eight of them came on offensive fouls.
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.
Like Player, Like Coach
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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
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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 points at Wake Forest.
Like Father, Like Son
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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.
