Men's Basketball Opens Atlantic 10 Play At La Salle
01/07/2008 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2008
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PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - The Richmond men's basketball will look for its fourth-straight victory when the Spiders head to Philadelphia to open Atlantic 10 Conference play Wednesday at noon against La Salle.
Richmond (7-6) will face an Explorer (4-8) team that has lost four-straight. The Spiders will remain in the City of Brotherly Love to face Saint Joseph's on Saturday at 7 p.m.
THE LATEST
More Kevin Smith=Wins
The Spiders are 6-0 when Atlantic 10 Co-Rookie of the Week Kevin Smith plays at least 18 minutes per game and 0-6 when he plays eight minutes or less, including two games he missed for injury. He played nine minutes in the season-opening win over Maine, which makes the Spiders 7-0 when he played at least nine minutes, but the more Smith is in the lineup, the better it is for Richmond. He is only averaging 3.1 points and 1.3 rebounds, but the energy and athleticism he brings to the team is apparent. In the last three games since returning from an injury, Smith is averaging 26.3 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He had a career-high 13 points and five assists, tied a career-high with five rebounds and two steals in 28 minutes in the win over Virginia Tech.
Quick Hitters
Along with head coach Chris Mooney and assistant coach Kevin McGeehan, Spider players Dan Geriot, Kevin Hovde and Mark McGonigal are from the Philly area...Richmond is 3-1 when sophomore David Gonzalvez leads the team in scoring...the Spiders are 4-0 when freshman Kevin Anderson leads the team in steals...Richmond is 6-1 when they have a higher shooting percentage than its opponent...the Spiders have led by at least seven points in 11 of 13 games this season and have led by at least four points in all 13 games...the Spiders have won four of their last five home games...Richmond is averaging more turnovers in wins (18.4) than in losses (13.5)...Richmond is going for its first four-game winning streak since winning five in a row from Jan. 22-Feb. 5, 2005...the Spiders win over Virginia Tech was Richmond's first win over an ACC team since an 83-79 double OT win over Virginia on Nov. 16, 1997...Richmond had a season-high 26 bench points in the win over Virginia Tech.
Stealing The Show
The Spiders are second in the Atlantic 10 in steals per game at 9.3 per contest and have had at least six steals in every game this season. Richmond tied a season high with 13 steals against Virginia Tech on Jan. 3, led by freshman Kevin Anderson's six steals. Anderson, who was two shy of the school's single-game record, is fourth in the Atlantic 10 and leads the team at 1.92 steals per game. Four different Spiders are averaging over a steal per game. Joining Anderson are sophomore David Gonzalvez and sophomore Ryan Butler each at 1.46 per game and senior Oumar Sylla at 1.38 per game.
Tale Of Two Halves >
The Spiders had clearly been a first-half team for the first 10 games of this season, averaging just 26.7 points in the second half and shooting just 38.5 percent from the field and 29.6 percent from three after the break. Over the past three games, wins over Old Dominion, VMI and Virginia Tech, the Spiders are averaging 33.0 points per game and shooting 56.3 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from three. The Spiders struggles with the second half cost three games. Richmond let leads of 17 (with 13 minutes to play), 11 (with four minutes to play) and seven (with three minutes to play) slip away in the second half in three of its six losses. In the last two games the Spiders have overcome first-half struggles, erasing double-figure deficits in both victories.
Balanced Attack
Richmond has had a balanced scoring attack all season as evident by the fact the team's top two scorers, sophomores Dan Geriot and David Gonzalvez, have only scored in double-figures in the same game twice this season. The Spiders have eight different players who have scored in double-figures. Richmond has nine players averaging at least three points and 15 minutes per game.
A-10 On The Rebound
After a few down years the Atlantic 10 looks to be back among the nation's elite conferences. The conference, which has had at least four teams in the NCAA Tournament on five occasions since 1996, will look to put three or more teams in the NCAAs for the first time since 2004. That season Richmond was one of four A-10 teams in the Big Dance and No. 1 ranked Saint Joseph's and Xavier advanced to the Elite 8. This season the A-10 has ranked as high as fifth in the RPI. Dayton and Rhode Island are currently ranked in both polls and Xavier was ranked two weeks ago. The A-10 has four teams receiving votes in AP Poll.
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 62.6 per game and has held seven of the last 10 opponents to 65 points or less. The Spiders have held opponents to 50 points or less 15 times in 73 games under Mooney, including two of the last three games. The Spiders have held teams to 60 points or less 24 times under Mooney, including five times this season, and allowed over 70 points just 16 times in 73 games.
The Moliva Difference
Senior Gaston 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 missed the first eight games of 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 seasons. Moliva has made a drastic difference when he has been in the lineup during Mooney's three seasons. In the 35 games Moliva has played in Mooney's match-up zone, the Spiders have held teams to 58.3 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.
Three Not As Flowing
Through the first nine games of the 2007-08 season the Spiders were letting three-pointers fly at a clip of 20.5 per game, making an average of 6.8 per game and shooting just 33.5 percent. In the last four games Richmond has taken just 15.8 three-pointers, but has still made 5.8 per game. Richmond had shot 20 or more three-pointers in seven of the first nine games, but has shot under 20 threes in the last four games.
Youth Movement
Richmond has just three scholarship players in their junior and senior seasons and the Spiders are receiving 79.2 percent of their scoring from freshmen and sophomores. Richmond's top three scorers are sophomores Dan Geriot (12.8) and David Gonzalvez (10.8), and freshman Kevin Anderson (8.20). Five of the Spiders' top six six scorers are freshman or sophomores. In the win over Virginia Tech, just five points came from juniors and seniors.
Using More Windex
The Spiders had made improvements in rebounding earlier in the season, and after regressing for five games, Richmond has improved on the boards in the last three games. The Spiders out-rebounded Old Dominion 31-26 and VMI by a 34-23 margin. Virginia Tech out-rebounded the Spiders 33-26, but only 24-22 on the defensive glass. Richmond held the Hokies to just two offensive rebounds in the first half and five second-chance points for the game. The Spiders have still only out-rebounded three teams this season and only seven teams in the last two seasons. Richmond is being out-rebounded by 6.1 boards per game this year, averaging 29.2 rebounds per game, which is an increase over the 24.1 from last year.
Causing Turnover
The Spiders forced Virginia Tech into 24 turnovers, marking the fourth time this season that Richmond has forced the opposition into over 20 turnovers. The Spiders are forcing 17.8 turnovers per game and have pressured the opposition into 17 or more turnovers in the last four 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 is shooting 48.0 percent on two-pointers this season.
Beware of Gonzo
Richmond sophomore David Gonzalvez started off the season on a tear. He scored 15 or more points in the first three games, including a career-high 25 against current No. 2 ranked Memphis. However, Gonzalvez would score double-figures just once (21 points on seven threes vs. William & Mary) over the next eight games. Over the last two games Gonzalvez has been back to his old self with 11 points coming on 4-of-5 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three in the win over VMI. He followed that up with 17 points, including 3-of-5 shooting from behind the arc in the win over Virginia Tech. Gonzalvez is seventh in the A-10 in three-point field goal percentage (.446) and 12th in the league in threes made (1.92 per game).
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 reached 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 the span, including 44.4 percent from three-point land (8-of-18). Overall, Geriot leads the team with a 12.8 scoring average and 5.1 rebounds per game. He has scored in double-figures eight times this season.
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. Darrius Garrett, of Powder Springs, Ga., 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 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 three-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 5.3 fastbreak points per game this year. Richmond has held the opposition to eight or less fastbreak points in nine of 12 games this year.
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. In 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 63-61 in the A-10 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 16.0 turnovers per game through 12 games this season. Richmond had 12 turnovers or less in three of four games before coughing it up 21 times against Old Dominion and 17 times against VMI.
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.
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.