Men's Basketball Plays At Seton Hall Sunday
12/26/2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 26, 2010
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NEWARK, N.J. - Richmond (9-3) looks for its third win over a BCS Conference opponent when the Spiders play at Seton Hall on Dec. 26 at noon on ESPN3.
The Spiders are 2-0 against Seton Hall, including a 60-49 win over the Pirates in Chris Mooney's first season at Richmond.
THE LATEST
• The Richmond players and coaches arrive in Newark on Christmas morning and will eat Christmas Dinner on Saturday night after practice.
• Sunday's game will be the second-straight noontime start for the Spiders. The Spiders are 3-0 in games starting at noon Eastern Time this season.
• The Spiders are looking to match last year's 10-3 start, which was the best start since 1987-88 and fifth-best 13-game start in school history. Just four Spider teams, (1926-27, 1934-35, 1985-87, 1987-88) have started better than 10-3, including just the two teams (1985-86, 1987-88) in the last 75 years.
• The Spiders are in 8-game, 35-day stretch of playing just one home game. After Sunday's game, the Spiders return home for five of the next six games.
• Kevin Anderson, the 2010 A-10 Player of Year and AP Honorable Mention pick, moved into 4th on Richmond's all-time scoring list with 1,747 points, having passed former teammate David Gonzalvez (1,727). Anderson also ranks 4th in steals (181), needing 1 steal to tie John Davis for third. Anderson is 5th in field goals (624) and 7th in assists (331).
• Kevin Anderson was named a nominee for the Bob Cousy Award for the nation's top point guard on Monday. Anderson is averaging 16.3 points per game and 3.7 assists through the first 12 games. Anderson was already named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top-50 List, Naismith Preseason Top-50 List and is one of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
• Richmond is shooting 49.3 percent from the field on the season, which leads the Atlantic 10 and is 8th in the country. The Spiders are 12th in the nation in three-point field goal percentage at 41.0 percent. Richmond is 28th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.33) and 14th in the nation in three-point field goal defense (26.8). and 33rd in scoring defense (59.2).
• The Spiders have held 5 of 12 opponents under 35 percent shooting this season. Richmond has held teams to 20 points or less in a half 5 times in 12 games, including holding then No. 8 Purdue to 14 points and Southern to 9 points in the first half.
• Justin Harper is shooting 54.9 percent from the field (67-of-122), which ranks 41st in the nation and he is shooting 43.5 percent from three (20-of-46). Harper is 33 points from reaching 1,000 for his career with 967 career points.
• Richmond is 2-2 on the road, having won its last 2 road game. The Spiders are 4-3 away from home this season.
• Richmond is 2-1 against BCS conference teams this season and has won 6 of the last 9 games against teams from a BCS conference.
• 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.
Quick Hitters
Richmond is 43-15 (.741) 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 5 wins against ranked teams, including 28.0 ppg in the last 3 wins...Richmond's only loss to a ranked team in its last 6 tries was by four points to No. 17 Temple in the A-10 title game last March...since March 2009 Richmond has wins over #24 Xavier, #17 Temple (2/6/10), #13 Florida, #17 Xavier and #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 2-1 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...Richmond is 2-1 against BCS conference teams this season and has won 6 of the last 9 games against teams from a BCS conference...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...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...the Spiders finished the year ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll and have received votes in at least one poll every week this season...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...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...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...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.
KA For Naismith, Wooden, Cousy, Lowe's
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. was nominated for the Bob Cousy Award for the nation's best poing guard 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 A-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 Rookie of Year and the Player of the Year twice.
Harp On It
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 17 of his last 21 games, including 9 of 11 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 Harper could be a 1st round pick in the spring and he is showing why. Harper is shooting 54.9 percent from the field (67-of-122) and 43.5 percent from three (20-of-46), along with averaging 6.2 rebounds through the first 12 games.
Bulking Up and Bouncing Higher
Stealing The Show
Kevin Anderson has moved into 4th on Richmond's all-time steals list, having passed his former teammates David Gonzalvez and Ryan Butler. Even with losing Gonzalvez and Butler to graduation, the Spiders are still averaging 6.2 steals per game this season. Anderson needs one steal to tie John Davis for third with 182 steals.
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 (5th) reached 1,000 in 2008-09, while Kevin Anderson (4th) and Dan Geriot (29th) both reached 1,000 career points last season. Justin Harper needs 33 points 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 59.2 points per game so far this season. The Spiders have held opponents to 50 points or less 24 times in 175 games under Mooney, including 3 times this season, and have held teams to 60 points or less 78 times, including 17 times last season and 7 of 12 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 38.7 percent shooting, including 26.8 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 11th with 76 blocks, needing 3 blocks to tie Jim Springer for 10th.
Passing His Way Up The Charts
Kevin Anderson is climbing Richmond's all-time list for assists, currently ranking 7th with 330. He needs 15 assists to tie Gerald Jarmon for sixth.
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 Jamal Brunt is 30 and 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.
