Spiders To Face Georgia Tech Saturday In The Battle At Atlantis
12/14/2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2010
• PRE-GAME: GAME NOTES | VCU HIGHLIGHTS 
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PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas - The Spiders will play their first regular-season game outside the country on Saturday at 5 p.m. when they face Georgia Tech in the inaugural Battle At Atlantis.
SpiderTV will carry Saturday's game at the Atlantis Resort's Imperial Ballroom live at 5 p.m. at RichmondSpiders.com. There is a subscription fee. Listen to the game on ESPN Radio 950AM, the WOLF 93.1FM, Sirius Channel 125 and on your mobile device at espn950am.com/m with Bob Black and Greg Beckwith.
Virginia Tech plays Mississippi State in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. The Battle At Atlantis did not receive exempt status for its first year so each team will play one game.
The Spiders (8-2) and Yellow Jackets (5-4) played nine times from 1985-93 with Georgia Tech holding a slim 5-4 advantage in the series. Richmond defeated Georgia Tech in the 1988 NCAA Tournament to advance to the Sweet 16.
THE LATEST
• The Spiders are 2-0 on neutral courts this year and 7-2 on neutral courts over the last 2 years. Richmond is in an 8-game, 35-day stretch of playing just one home game, Saturday's victory over city-rival VCU when the Spiders led by 30 in the 2nd half.
• The Spiders are off to the 4th-best 10-game start in school history and the 2nd-best start since the 1934-35 season.. The Spiders are looking to get off to the 4th-best 11-game start, including matching the 2nd best start since the undefeated 1934-35 season. In the 76 seasons since, the only teams to start 9-2 or better were in 1946-47 (9-2), 1985-86 (10-1) and 1987-88 (9-2).
• Richmond is shooting 51.3 percent from the field on the season, which leads the Atlantic 10 and is 7th in the country. The Spiders are 10th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 42.7 percent. Richmond is 14th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.40) and 22nd in the nation in three-point field goal defense (27.3).
• The Spiders have held 5 of 10 opponents under 35 percent shooting this season. Richmond has held teams to 20 points or less in a half 5 times in 10 games, including holding then No. 8 Purdue to 14 points and Southern to 9 points in the first half.
• Richmond is 2-0 against BCS conference teams this season and has won 6 of the last 8 games against teams from a BCS conference. Head coach Chris Mooney has 11 wins over BCS conference teams in 7 years as a D-I head coach, including 9 in 6 seasons at Richmond. The Spiders have defeated a team from all 6 BCS conferences (Pac-10, Big 10, ACC, Big East, Big 12 and SEC) in Mooney's tenure. Mooney and this year's senior class have wins over 2 of the other teams in the Bahamas, defeating Virginia Tech in 2007-08 and Mississippi State last year in the South Padre Invitational.
• Atlanta native Kevin Anderson, the 2010 A-10 Player of Year and AP Honorable Mention pick, is tied for 5th with John Schweitz on Richmond's all-time career scoring list with1,723 points. Anderson needs 4 points to tie former teammate and fellow Atlanta area native David Gonzalvez (1,727) for 4th. Anderson also ranks 4th in steals (177), 5th in field goals (616) and 8th in assists (328). He was named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top-50 List and Naismith Preseason Top-50 List.
• Justin Harper is shooting 60.6% from the field (57-of-94), which ranks 25th in the nation and 47.1% from three (16-of-34). Harper needs 65 points to reach 1,000.
Quick Hitters
Richmond is 42-14 (.750) since Feb. 18, 2009...Richmond has won 5 of the last 6 games against ranked teams, which is the second-best six-game stretch in the nation behind New Mexico (6-0) and Duke (6-0)...Connecticut and Kentucky are also 5-1 in their last 6 games vs. ranked teams...Kevin Anderson, who had 28 points in the win over Purdue, is averaging 25.4 ppg in the last five wins against ranked teams, including 28.0 ppg in the last 3 wins...Richmond's only loss to a ranked team in its last six tries was by four points to No. 17 Temple in the A-10 title game last March on CBS...since March 2009 Richmond has wins over No. 24 Xavier, No. 17 Temple (2/6/10), No. 13 Florida, No. 17 Xavier and No. 8 Purdue...Richmond has won 6 of its last 9 vs. ranked teams in the last 4 seasons...Richmond handled then No. 8 ranked Purdue 65-54 on Nov. 27 to win the Chicago Invitational, the Spiders' 2nd-straight in-season tournament title...Richmond won the South Padre Invitational last year with wins over Mississippi St. and Missouri...Richmond is 2-0 in neutral court games this season and was 5-2 on neutral court games last season with wins over No. 13 ranked Florida, No. 24 ranked Xavier, Missouri, Mississipi State and UMass...the Spiders were 3-2 vs. teams from BCS conferences last season, giving Richmond the most wins against teams from the Power 6 conferences since the 1985-86 team defeated Providence, Wake Forest, Stanford and Virginia...the Spiders held Southern to 9 first-half points on Nov. 23, the fewest points allowed in a half by a Richmond team since the Spiders held Virginia to single-digit points in a half of a 25-17 win in Charlotesville on Jan. 10, 1942...Richmond held Purdue to 14 first-half points 4 days later...Richmond broke into the Top-25 on Feb. 15, 2010 for the first time in 24 years and was ranked again on Feb. 22, the first time the Spiders were ranked in back-to-back weeks in 52 years...prior to last season, the Spiders had been ranked for 1 week (Jan. 30, 1986) since the 1957-58 season and just 6 weeks in school history...Richmond has won 22 of its last 23 home games...the Spiders are 5-0 at home this season and have led by 20 points in all 5 home games and by 28 in 4 of the 5 home games...the Spiders finished 14-1 at home last season, the 3rd highest home win total in school history and best home winning percentage when playing more than 9 homes games in school history... Richmond, Xavier and Temple are the only 3 teams to finish in the top-5 of the A-10 in each of the last 3 seasons...last year's 3rd-place league finish and 13-3 record were Richmond's best since joining the Atlantic 10 in 2001-02...last season Richmond led the A-10 and was 26th in the nation in steals (8.3) and had more steals than turnovers in 12 games...the Spiders have set the school record for steals in each of the last 2 seasons with 262 in 2008-09 and 289 last season...Richmond set the school record for blocks last season with 158...last season was Richmond's 17th 20-win season, including its 2nd straight...Richmond received plenty of national publicity last season, prompting a Washington Post blogger to write, "the Spiders are getting so much love from ESPN, you would think Brett Favre was their point guard."...the Spiders were featured with articles in USA Today and Sports Illustrated in the last week of February and were featured in the New York Times on March 7...last December Richmond held Florida to its lowest point total in a loss in Billy Donovan's 17 seasons as head coach of the Gators...it was just the 5th time in 500-plus games under Donovan that Florida did not reach 54 points...Richmond held Missouri to the second-lowest point total under 4th-year head coach Mike Anderson...the Spiders held Saint Louis to 36 points in a 62-36 win on Jan. 30, 2010, the lowest point total the Spiders have held an A-10 opponent to...Richmond has the best A-10 road conference record over the past 2 seasons at 11-5, having won 9 of their last 11 A-10 conference road games.
KA On Naismith, Wooden, Lowe's Lists
Richmond senior point guard Kevin Anderson was named to the Naismith Trophy Men's Collegiate Player of the Year, The Wooden Award Preseason Top-50 List. and is one of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. To be selected as a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, the student-athlete must have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. Off the court the 2010 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year is a Business major with a concentration in Marketing in Richmond's undergraduate Business School which ranked No. 12 in the nation last year, including No. 1 for academic quality according to Business Week. He is also heavily involved in the community with his teammates, including being involved with CARITAS, The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, The Special Olympics, The Arthritas Foundation and St. Joseph's Villa. Anderson is looking to become just the 6th A-10 player to repeat as Player of Year and is just the 5th A-10 Player to win both the conference's Rookie of the Year/Freshman of the Year Award and Player of the Year Award, joining Jameer Nelson (Saint Joseph's), Marcus Camby (UMass), Mark Macon (Temple) and Kenny Green (Rhode Island). He would be the first to win ROY and POY 2 times.
Harp On It
With three players earning Preseason All-Conference Honors the Spiders are very capable of scoring on the offensive end, but do not forget about forward Justin Harper. A sportswriter passed on that when doing a preview for one of the summer preseason publications in 2009, A-10 coaches mentioned Harper as the league's best NBA prospect. The 6-foot-10 forward had a 28-point, 9-rebound performance in a win over Rhode Island in 2009-10 with a Los Angeles Lakers scout in the Robins Center, earning him Atlantic10 Player of the Week honors. He has scored in double-figures in 16 of his last 20 games, including 8 of 10 games this season with 23 against Arizona State and a much more dominate than the stat line shows 14-point, 8-rebound performance against Purdue All-American JaJuan Johnson. An NBA scout told the coaching staff he could be a 1st round pick in the spring. Harper is shooting 60.6 percent from the field (57-of-94) and 47.1 percent from three (16-of-34), along with averaging 6.1 rebounds through the first 10 games.
Bulking Up and Bouncing Higher
The Spiders spent another quality offseason getting bigger, faster and stronger in the weight room with strength & conditioning coach Jay DeMayo and the results speak for themsevles. Four players can bench 300 pounds led by senior Justin Harper (330) and freshman Derrick Williams (330). Junior Darrius Garrett may look a bit skinny, but he put up 305 pounds, while sophomore Darien Brothers hit 300. Six players can jump 40 inches in the two-step vertical led by Brothers, senior Kevin Anderson and freshman Cedrick Lindsay at 42 inches. Senior Kevin Smith and shot-blocking sensation Darrius Garrett lifted 41 1/2 inches off the ground and junior Francis-Cedrick Martel, who had Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist jumping out of their seats with his sky-high rebound in the Atlantic 10 title game, jumped 40 inches.
Stealing The Show
Kevin Anderson has moved into 4th on Richmond's all-time steals list with 177 steals, needing 5 to tie John Davis for third.
The Future Looks Bright
Richmond head coach Chris Mooney announced the signing of four highly touted seniors to National Letters of Intent on signing day. Kendall Anthony (Jackson, Tenn.), Trey Davis (Richmond, Va.), Alonzo Nelson-Ododa (Atlanta, Ga.) and Luke Piotrowski (Atlantic City, N.J.) will be freshman next season. Kendall Anthony is a 5-9 point guard from Liberty Technology Magnet School who scored 39 in game last week, Trey Davis is a 6-foot-4 guard/forward from Benedictine High who is the son of Spider Hall of Famer John Davis (1982-86). Alonzo Nelson-Ododa is a 6-8 forward from Norcross High who chose the Spiders over NC State and California. The 6-11 Luke Piotrowski, the son of a former NBA player, chose Richmond over Arizona State, Maryland, and Oregon State.
KA And Geriot Climbing Scoring List
Last year's Spiders boasted 3 of the 12 Richmond players to reach 1,000 career points as a junior. David Gonzalvez (4th) reached 1,000 in 2008-09, while Kevin Anderson (t-5th) and Dan Geriot (t-27th) both reached 1,000 career points last season. Anderson is tied with John Schweitz for fifth on Richmond's all-time scoring list, just 4 points behind Gonzalvez for 4th. Justin Harper needs 65 points to become the 40th Richmond men's player to reach 1,000 for his career.
Outreach
The Spiders have three players with wingspans over 7-feet, and two more with wingspans over 6-foot-10. Darrius Garrett has a 7-foot-2 wingspan, Derrick Williams is 6-foot-6 but has a 7-foot-1 wingspan and Justin Harper has a 7-foot wingspan. Francis-Cedric Martel is 6-foot-6 but has a 6-foot-11 wingspan and Greg Robbins is 6-foot-5 but has a 6-foot-10 wingspan.
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. The Spiders finished the year allowing 57.8 points per game, which ranked seventh in the country. Richmond has not allowed over 68.2 points per game in a season during Mooney's tenure, including holding teams to 62.7 ppg last season and 59.1 points per game so far this season. The Spiders have held opponents to 50 points or less 24 times in 173 games under Mooney, including 3 times this season, and have held teams to 60 points or less 77 times, including 17 times last season and 6 of 10 games this season. Richmond has allowed over 70 points in regulation just 40 times in Mooney's 6 seasons and has allowed 80 or more points in regulation just 13 times. The Spiders held The Citadel to just 37 points in the 2010-11 season opener, held Southern to 40, including nine in the first half last Tuesday and William & Mary to 49. Richmond held No. 8 ranked Purdue to just 14 first-half points and 30.2 percent shooting. The Spiders are holding opponents to 38.0 percent shooting, including 27.3 percent from behind the arc.
Block Party
Last year the Spiders set the school record for blocks in a season with 158 thanks to Tim Faulconer (1.58).Harper is tied for 11th with 75 blocks, needing 4 blocks to tie Jim Springer for 10th. Garrett has blocked 15 shots in the last 3 games.
A New Spider
The Spiders adopted a 14-year-old brain tumor survivor as part of the team through the Friends of Jacyln Foundation last season. Nathan Mwenda, who is originally from Zambia, has been living in Richmond for 6 years. He attends games and practices, exchanges text messages with the players and has joined the players on the court for introductions and the National Anthem.
Back-To-Back Champions
The Spiders won the 2009 South Padre Island Invitational, defeating defending SEC Champion Mississippi State in the semifinals and defending Big 12 Champion Missouri in the title game. This year the Spiders won the Chicago Invitational Challenge, defeating No. 8 Purdue in the title game. Kevin Anderson was named MVP of both tournaments. The Spiders are 8-0 in regular-season tournament play over the past 2 seasons. Richmond also defeated No. 13 ranked Florida in last year's Orange Bowl Classic and defeated VCU in this year's Farm Bureau Insurance Black & Blue Classic.
The Young And The Restless
Richmond coach Chris Mooney got his first Division I head coaching job at the age of 32, which made him the fourth-youngest coach in the nation at the time. Even with his youth, don't look for any grizzled veterans on the 38-year-old Mooney's staff. Associate head coach Kevin McGeehan is 37, assistant coach Jamal Brunt is 30 and assistant coach Rob Jones is 32. Directors of basketball operations Marcus Jenkins and Peter Thomas are 28 and 26, respectively.
The Wedding Planner
Richmond head coach Chris Mooney started his collegiate coaching career as a part time head coach at Beaver College (now Arcadia College) in 1997. Mooney's full time job was as the school's coordinator of events and as part of that job he had to book weddings at a castle that was on the Glenside, Pa. campus. He showed the castle to newly engated couples and helped them to decide where the band should play and how tables should be arranged. "I was 25 years old and I'd never even had people over to dinner," Mooney says. "And here I am helping brides prepare for weddings." With no team managers, Mooney washed the uniforms, swept the court and filled water coolers. The team had just six players on the roster during most of Mooney's first season, so when the captains met with the referees before games, the other players had to stop warm-ups and wait. Richmond associate head coach Kevin McGeehan was Mooney's part-time assistant at Beaver College and his full-time job was stuffing envelopes in a cramped office in the basement of the castle.
The Spiders On National TV
The Spiders play on national TV at least 8 times in 2010-11, highlighted by home games on ESPN2 against Xavier and Saint Louis and a road game on ESPNU against Dayton. The Spiders played Purdue on The Big Ten Network and Arizona St. on Fox College Sports. Richmond plays on CBS College Sports 3 times, vs. Rhode Island and Duquesne at home and on the road at Temple. The Spiders played 9 national television games during the 2009-10 season, including twice on CBS with Bill Raftery and Verne Lundquist. The Spiders also played nationally televised games on ESPN2, ESPNU, CBS College Sports and Fox College Sports.
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 third 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 third year as a referee in the NBA.
