University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts South Florida Wednesday
12/04/2007 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2007
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond men's basketball team will look to move back over .500 when the Spiders host South Florida on Wednesday at the Robins Center.
The Spiders defeated USF 56-46 last year in Tampa, Fla. and have won all four meetings with the Bulls.
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 7-1 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 seven games decided by six points or less and are 4-3 in those games.
SCOUTING USF: The Bulls have won five-straight since starting the season 0-3. Kentrell Gransberry leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging a double-double of 16.3 points and 10.4 rebounds. Dominique Jones is averaging 14.0 points, Jesus Verdejo is at 12.5 and Chris Howard checks in at 11.4 USF is shooting 45.5 percent from behind the arc (55-of-121) and 46.7 from the field.
Quotable
Head coach Chris Mooney on the Spiders having six of its first eight games decided by three points or less:
"We've had many close games and hard fought games. I hope we are learning whether we win or lose. I think we are, but again, we're likely to have more close games than not because that seems to be the way we are and probably our youth contributes to that."
Tale Of Two halves
The Spiders have been more of a first-half team this season, scoring 268 points for a 33.5 average before intermission, while shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three-point land. In the second half, Richmond has scored just 218 points for a 27.3 average (6.2 points less than in the first half). The Spiders are shooting just 39.9 percent in the second half and just 30.8 percent from behind the arc. Richmond has especially struggled in the game's final five minutes. The comeback against William & Mary was an exception, but the Spiders are still shooting just 30.4 percent (17-of-56) in the final five minutes of games. The Spiders have led with five minutes to play in four of their eight games, and three of those games have ended up in the loss column.
Three Falling
The Spiders are shooting just 33.9 percent from behind the three-point arc through eight games, but the Spiders have shot over 40 percent from three in the last two games, making a combined 24 treys. Richmond made 10 three-pointers against Marist and then made 14 in the win over William & Mary. Fourteen three-pointers in a game was one short of the Robins Center record. While the Spiders have not shot a high percentage from three, they have been making the trifecta. Richmond has made at least six three-pointers in six of eight games and senior David Gonzalvez is 11th in the Atlantic 10 in three-point field goals made per game (2.25) with 18 on the season. He is shooting 50 percent from the three, which ranks fifth in the nation.
Stealing The Show få The Spiders are second in the Atlantic 10 in steals per game at 9.9 per contest. Richmond has 79 steals, which leads the conference. Sophomore David Gonzalvez leads the team and is fifth in the conference at 2.13 steals per game. The Spiders have six different players with at least nine steals. Gonzalvez leads five players who have reached double-figures in steals with 17. Freshman Kevin Anderson has 12 steals and sophomore Ryan Butler has 11 steals. Senior Oumar Sylla and sophomore Kevin Hovde each have 10 steals through eight games.
The Moliva Difference
Senior Gaston Moliva played his first game of the season last Wednesday against William & Mary. Moliva played just six minutes, but will get the start against South Florida. 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 31 games Moliva has played in Mooney's match-up zone, the Spiders have held teams to 57.7 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.
The Big Man On Campus
Sophomore 6-foot-9 center Dan Geriot put on quite a scoring exhibition in a five-game stretch from Nov. 10 through Nov. 24. He scored over 20 points four times and reaching double-figures in all five games. Over that five-game stretch, the Springfield, Pa. native averaged 19.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He shot 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 14.1 scoring average and 5.6 rebounds per game.
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 third in the Atlantic 10 in fewest points allowed at 62.9 per game and has held four of the last five opponents to 65 points or less. The Spiders have held opponents to 50 points or less 13 times in 68 games under Mooney. The Spiders have held teams to 60 points or less 22 times under Mooney and allowed over 70 points just 15 times in 68 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. Richmond is shooting 48.2 percent on two-point field goals this season, while they are shooting 33.9 percent from 3.
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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 6.9 boards per game this year. Richmond is averaging 29.5 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 9.4 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 5.5 fastbreak points per game this year. Richmond has held the opposition to eight or less fastbreak points in six of eight games this year.
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 hasand 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 16.1 turnovers per game through eight games this season, but have had 14 turnovers or less in three of the last four games. Richmond is averaging 11.5 turnovers per game in the last two games.
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.