University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Norfolk State In Home Opener
11/09/2007 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 9, 2007
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond men's basketball team will play its 2007-08 home opener on Saturday against Norfolk State at 7 p.m.
The Spiders are 1-1 after playing two games in the 2k Sports College Hoops Classic in Memphis. Richmond defeated Maine in the season opener on Monday and gave No. 3 Memphis and upset scare on Tuesday in front of 16,771 fans, before the Tigers pulled away in the closing minutes.
THE LATEST
SCOUTING RICHMOND: The Spiders did not play well in their season-opening win over Maine on Monday, but played a very solid game against No. 3 Memphis in a loss on Tuesday. Richmond needs to start protecting the ball better, but the turnovers have not been coming from freshman point Kevin Anderson, who played 32 minutes against Memphis with five assists and one turnover. Anderson has nine assists and two turnovers in two games. SCOUTING NORFOLK ST.: This is the first game of the season for Norfolk State, which finished third in the MEAC last season with a 10-8 conference mark and 11-19 overall record. Tony Murphy is the Spartans top returning scorer after averaging 16.5 points per game last year. He was a second-team All-MEAC selection for the past two seasons.
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 just 7.5 fast break points per game this year.
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 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 62 games under Mooney. The Spiders have held teams to 60 points or less 20 times under Mooney and allowed over 70 points just 13 times in 62 games.
Finishing Strong
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).
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.
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.
3's Company
Richmond made a 2006-07 season-high 15 3-pointers on March 3 against Rhode Island, tying the Robins Center record for 3-pointers in a game. Junior Oumar Sylla made a career-high five treys in six attempts and finished the regular-season making eight 3-pointers in the last two games. A season-high seven different players made a 3-pointer and Richmond shot a season-best 55.6 percent from behind the arc (15-of-27). Eleven different Spiders made a 3-pointer in 2006-07 season and eight players have reached double-digits in 3s.
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 receive 68.2 percent of their scoring from freshmen, the largest percent of freshmen scoring contribution in the Atlantic 10.
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.
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. But unlike last year, four freshmen will not be in the starting lineup on opening night.
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 and helped the Tigers to the Ivy League title and a NCAA bid in 1990-91.
Who's Playing The Four
Do not ask who is playing the power forward or small forward position for Richmond because the Spider coaching staff does not assign that specific a role for a player. Head coach Chris Mooney and his staff want "everyone to do everything" and that can lead to lineups that do not follow the traditional point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center mix.
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).
Needing Some More Windex
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Head coach Chris Mooney knew rebounding was going to be a problem entering last season. The Spiders were out-rebounded in 27 of 30 games and have lost the rebounding battle by 17 or more eight times in the last 13 games. While Mooney believes the Spiders can get by without winning the rebounding battle, he knows they can not get beat too much on the glass. As Mooney said last season, "rebounding will bother us all season because we're such a small team. If we get out-rebounded by nine then we have a chance, but we cannot get out-rebounded by 18 and expect to win." Look for the Spiders to improve on rebounding in 2007-08 after a year of working hard in the weight room.
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 a 21-point performance at Wake Forest on Dec. 22.
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.
The Young And The Restless
Richmond coach Jeff Gaylord is 29, and strength & conditioning coach Jason DeMayo is 28.
Walk This Way
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Walk-ons continue to play a prominent role in the Richmond men's basketball program. Sophomore Kevin Hovde became the second walk-on that Mooney has elevated to scholarship player, joining graduated senior Peter Thomas, who started every game over the past two years and is now the director of basketball operations at Eastern Kentucky. Hovde played in all 30 games last year with six starts. He scored a career-high 24 points against VMI. Richmond junior walk-on Duncan McLean has played in 44 of the 62 games in his two years at Richmond. He averaged 13.3 minutes per game as a freshman, including a career-high 28 minutes in his first collegiate game. Last year McLean saw his playing time fall off a bit, but he still saw action in 14 games and hit two clutch free throws in the closing minutes of the season-opening win over East Carolina. Fellow junior walk-on Mark McGonigal will miss this season due to a knee injury, but he played in 15 games last year, including 10 of the last 14 he was in uniform for. Chris McClain is the fourth player on the current roster that came to Richmond as a walk-on.
Remembering Dan Woolley
The University of Richmond community was deeply saddened to learn about the passing of Daniel "Dan" Woolley `05, a former manager of the men's basketball team. The thoughts of many at the University of Richmond community are with Dan's family and friends during this difficult time. Dan was such a remarkable, inspiring and encouraging person to be around. Although short in stature, Dan stood tall as an integral part of the men's basketball program. He served as team manager from 2002-05 and was an inspiration for the University of Richmond community. To honor Dan's memory, the University of Richmond's Department of Athletics through the Spider Club has set up The Dan Woolley Educational Fund. The Dan Woolley Educational Fund is open to all donors who wish to honor their memories of Dan with a gift. Funds will provide financial assistance to a senior athletic manager's educational expenses from the men's and women's basketball programs each year. If you wish to contribute to this fund, your check should be made payable to the University of Richmond for the Dan Woolley Educational Fund and mailed to the Spider Club, Robins Center, University of Richmond, VA 23173. For more information please contact the Spider Club (804) 289-8759.
