University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Play At VMI On New Year's Eve At 7 P.M.
12/30/2008 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2008
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UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - The Richmond men's basketball team closes 2008 playing at VMI on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a game televised on MASN.
Richmond has won two-straight to improve to 7-5 overall, while VMI enters the game off to a 9-2 start. The Keydets lead the nation in scoring (99.3), three-pointers per game (13.6), steals (16.0) and turnover margin (9.0).
The Keydets were 0-21 under fourth-year head coach Duggar Baucom when scoring under 70 points until their last game, a 62-55 win over Army.
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Quick Hitters
Richmond is 6-1 when it holds the opposition under 70 points...the Spiders are 5-1 when they outrebound their opponents...the Spiders have made at least 30 field goals six times this season, including the last three games...junior David Gonzalvez and sophomore Kevin Anderson are both in the top 10 in the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage with Gonzalvez fifth (.541) and Anderson eighth (.500)...this is Richmond's second-straight road game...Sunday's trip to UNCW was the one time in a 13-game stretch that the Spiders venture further than a few miles outside the state of Virginia...Richmond's only other game outside the state of Virginia is the Spiders' shortest road trip of the season to George Washington...the Spiders have turned it over just 33 times in the last three games (11.0 tpg), including a season-low nine turnovers against Bucknell on Dec. 22...Richmond has made at least seven three-pointers in nine of the 12 games this season....the Spiders boast two of the top four double-figure scoring streaks in the Atlantic 10 with sophomore Kevin Anderson second at 21-straight games and junior David Gonzalvez fourth at 13-straight double-figure scoring games...Gonzalvez has 844 career points...Gonzalvez has made at least five field goals in every game and at least seven field goals in seven games...Richmond is getting 16.7 points per game from its bench...Richmond is averaging 32.0 points in the paint per game, including outscoring Wake Forest 48-46 in the paint...the Spiders have led by at least six points in 36 of the last 44 games, including nine of 12 games this season...the Spiders have trailed at the half in only two of 12 games this season and have been in no worse than a one-possession game at the half in 35 of the last 45 games.
A Game Of Percentages
The Spiders lead the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage and are seventh in the nation at 50.2 percent, but do not get the impression Richmond is shooting a higher percentage than its opponents every time out. In Richmond's seven victories, the Spiders have had the advantage in shooting percentage, but in all five losses Richmond's opponent has been better from the field. The problem has not been that the Spiders are not shooting well in the losses, their lowest field goal percentage in a loss is 46.2 percent against Old Dominion and Richmond is shooting 48.3 percent in the five setbacks. The problem has been that Richmond's defense is allowing the opponents to shoot 50.6 in losses, while holding the opposition to 40.4 percent in its seven victories.
Stealing The Show
Last season the Spiders had 257 steals - just five short of the school record - led by Kevin Anderson's 55 steals, which ranked 10th on the all-time single-season list. Richmond was second in the Atlantic 10 in steals and 45th in the nation in steals at 8.3 per contest. The Spiders had double-digits steals in 10 games last season and are back at it this season, with double-digit steals in four of the last five games including a season-high 12 vs. nationally ranked Wake Forest. Richmond is averaging 8.0 steals per game through 12 contests this season, which is tied for second in the Atlantic 10. The Spiders have at least five steals in 44 of the last 46 games. David Gonzalvez and Anderson are tied for the team lead and are 13th in the A-10 at 1.58 steals per game. Kevin Smith is third on the team at 1.42 spg.
Causing Turnover
Last season, the Spiders were third in the A-10 in turnovers forced, causing 16.6 turnovers per game, forcing the opposition into 20 or more turnovers seven times. The Spiders are forcing 15.6 turnovers per game through 12 games, which ranks fifth in the Atlantic 10.
Gunning Down The Running
The Spiders have made a habit of preventing teams from pushing the tempo during Chris Mooney's tenure. In 2006-07, Richmond allowed the opposition to score more than 10 fast break points in just three of 30 games. The Spiders allowed 5.4 fast break points per game in 2006-07 and cut that down to 4.6 fast break points per game last winter. Richmond has held the opposition to eight or less fast break points in 35 of 43 games, dating back to the start of the 2007-08 season. In 12 games this season, Richmond has allowed just 68 fast break points for a 5.7 per game average. The Spiders had 16 fast break points to Syracuse's eight on Nov. 18 in the Carrier Dome and held Wake Forest to four fast break points. "Controlling the transition game is key," head coach Chris Mooney says. "If you can stop a team from getting transition baskets you have a chance to guard them throughout the night."
Spiders' Web Reaching NBA
While the Spiders do not have a former player on any NBA rosters, three Richmond former standouts are working the sidelines in the NBA. Kevin Eastman is an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics, earning a ring with the 2008 World Champions. Standout guard Ken Atkinson, a member of the 1988 Sweet 16 team, is in his first year as an assistant coach for Mike D'Antoni and the New York Knicks. Former guard Curtis Blair, who scored 18 points in the 1991 NCAA Tournament win over Syracuse, is in his first year as a referee in the NBA.
A-10 Gets 8 In Postseason
The Atlantic 10, which has had at least four teams in the NCAA Tournament on five occasions since 1996, put eight of its teams in postseason play last season, including the Spiders. Three teams made the NCAA Tournament, four teams made the NIT and Richmond played in the CBI. That was the most postseason teams for the A-10 since 2004, when 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. Last season Xavier gave the A-10 its 11th Elite 8 appearance and the conference had as many as three teams ranked in the same week. The non-conference winning percentage of .649 (122-66) was the fourth-highest winning percentage since the formation of the league in 1976-77.
Rising Stock
The Spiders are beginning to catch the eye of media across the country. ESPN's Andy Katz had Richmond first on his list for "Job Well Done" for the 2007-08 season. Katz had the Spiders heading a list that also included Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Miami (Fla.), Cincinnati, Pitt, Kentucky, Davidson, Cornell and Memphis. After its win over Charlotte on Feb. 2, Richmond was tabbed the Rising Stock team of the week by the Dallas Morning News in its Sunday College Basketball section. Richmond was called the Cinderella team of the Atlantic 10 by USAToday.com and the Providence Journal picked Chris Mooney as its choice for A-10 Coach of the Year.
Youth Movement
Last season Richmond had just three scholarship players in their junior and senior seasons and the Spiders received 80.3 percent of their scoring from freshmen and sophomores. Richmond's top four scorers were freshmen or sophomores. Sophomore Dan Geriot (14.3) led the team in scoring, followed by sophomore David Gonzalvez (11.7), freshman Kevin Anderson (10.7) and sophomore Ryan Butler (5.5). Freshman Kevin Smith was sixth on the team in scoring (4.6 ppg). While the Spiders are not as young this season, there is still just one senior on scholarship and freshmen will be relied upon heavily in the front court with the absence of the injured Dan Geriot.
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. In 2006-07, 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. Last season, the more mature Spiders were fourth in the A-10 in fewest points allowed at 66.0 per game. Richmond held 16 teams to 65 points or less and did not allow over 66 points in regulation in nine of the last 12 games. The Spiders have held opponents to 50 points or less 15 times in 104 games under Mooney and have held teams to 60 points or less 31 times. Richmond has allowed over 70 points just 25 times in Mooney's four seasons and has allowed 80 or more points only nine times.
Spiders Sign Two
Richmond men's basketball head coach Chris Mooney announced the signing of Greg Robbins (Wynnewood, Pa.) and Darien Brothers (Richmond, Va.) to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, the first day of the fall signing period. Robbins is a 6-foot-4 All-State guard at Lower Merion High School, who is rated as the No. 88 player in the class of 2009 by The Basketball Times and The Hoop Scoop. Brothers is a 6-foot-3 all-conference guard for Richmond's Benedictine High School, who helped the Cadets to a 28-7 record and state championship. "We are very excited about our recruiting class this year," Chris Mooney said. "The two student-athletes are outstanding players and great kids. We look forward to welcoming them to the Richmond family."
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.
