University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Go West To Face Arizona State Sunday Afternoon
12/03/2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2010
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TEMPE, Ariz. - Richmond (6-2) heads across the country to play Arizona State on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET/12 p.m. MT. The game is being broadcast on Fox SportsNet Arizona and nationally on Fox College Sports.
This will be the second meeting between the two schools, coming 23 years to the day of the first, a 76-63 Spider win in the finals of the Kactus Klassic.
THE LATEST
• In the midst of a stretch of playing 7 of 8 games away from home, the Spiders head to West for the first time since playing in the Fiesta Bowl Classic Dec. 28-30, 2005.
• The Spiders had an eight-point lead with under nine minutes to play Wednesday at Old Dominion, but the Monarchs came back to win.
• Richmond handled No. 8 ranked Purdue last Saturday 65-54 to win the Chicago Invitational Challenge. It was the Spiders' 2nd-straight in-season tournament title. Richmond won the South Padre Invitational last year with wins over Miss. St. and Missouri.
• The Spiders have won 5 of the last 7 games against BCS conference teams, including this year's win over Purdue. Chris Mooney has 10 victories over teams from a BCS conference in 7 years as a D-I head coach, including 8 in his 6 seasons at UR.
• All 6 of Richmond's wins this season are by double-figures and the Spiders are 22nd in the nation in scoring margin at +16.0 points.
• The Spiders held No. 8 Purdue to just 14 first-half points in a 65-54 win in the championship game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge on Saturday. The victory was Richmond's 5th in 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). Butler, 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.
• The Spiders have been shooting at an impressive clip through the first six games, ranking 9th in the nation in field goal percentage at 51.2 percent, including 43.4 percent from three, which ranks 20th in the nation.
• Senior Kevin Anderson, the 2010 A-10 Player of Year and Associated Press Honorable Mention pick, is 6th on Richmond's all-time scoring list with1,688 points. Anderson, who is tied for the most consecutive starts in the nation with New Mexico's Dairese Gary (103), was the MVP of the Chicago Invitational and is the A-10 Player of the Week. He is on the Wooden Award Preseason Top-50 List and the Naismith Preseason Top-50 List. Anderson is tied with Ryan Butler for 4th on Richmond's all-time list and 1 steal behind David Gonzalvez for 4th. Anderson is eighth on Richmond's all-time career list for assists with 317, needing 7 assists to tie Kelvin Johnson for 7th.
• The Spiders are holding teams to 58.8 points per game, which ranks 16th in the nation and are holding teams to 37.8 percent shooting, which ranks 24th in the nation.
• Darrius Garrett is 10th on Richmond's all-time blocks list with 76, 3 blocks behind Jim Springer for 9th. Justin Harper needs 1 block to David Hensel (74) for 11th.
Quick Hitters
Richmond is 40-14 (.741) since Feb. 18, 2009...the Spiders are 18th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio at 1.43...Richmond has won 5 of the last 6 games vs. ranked teams with the one loss coming by four to No. 17 ranked Temple in the Atlantic 10 title game last March...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 under Chris Mooney...Richmond is 8-0 in regular-season tournament games over the last 2 seasons...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 have won 5 of the last 7 games against BCS conference teams, including this year's win over Purdue...Chris Mooney has 10 victories over teams from a BCS conference in 7 years as a D-I head coach, including 8 in his 6 seasons at UR...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 nine 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 21 of its last 22 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... the 1981-82 team went 15-3 and the 1954-55 team was 15-5...the Spiders are getting 22.0 points per game from the bench through the first 8 games, compared to 9.8 for their opponents...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 third-place league finish and 13-3 record were Richmond's best since joining the Atlantic 10 in 2001-02...Richmond led the A-10 and was 26th in the nation in steals (8.3) and had more steals than turnovers in 12 games last season...the Spiders tied the school record for steals in 2008-09 with 262 and broke that record last season with 289...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 16 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 fourth-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...the Spiders have had the best A-10 conference road record in each of the past 2 seasons...Richmond has the best A-10 road record over the past 2 seasons at 11-5, having won 9 of their last 11 A-10 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 the University of 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 sixth Atlantic 10 player to repeat as Player of the Year and is just the fifth 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).
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. Harper also had 20 points and 8 rebounds in Richmond's win over No. 17 ranked Xavier in March of 2009. He has scored in double-figures in 13 of his last 17 games, including 5 of 7 games this season. An NBA scout told the Richmond coaching staff he could be a first round pick in this spring's draft. Harper is shooting 59.7 percent from the field (40-of-67) and 48.0 percent from three (12-of-25), along with averaging 5.9 rebounds through the first 8 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 tied Ryan Butler for fifth on Richmond's all-time career list with 174 career steals and is just one steal behind former teammate David Gonzalvez (175) for fourth. Even with losing Gonzalvez and Butler to graduation, the Spiders are still averaging 6.9 steals per game this season.
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. Greg Stevenson for 28th and 16 points to tie John Telepo for 27th.
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 56.1 points per game so far this season. The Spiders have held opponents to 50 points or less 24 times in 170 games under Mooney, including 3 times this season, and have held teams to 60 points or less 76 times, including 17 times last season and 5 of 8 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 37.8 percent shooting, including 28.5 percent from behind the arc.
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, practices and 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.
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.
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 assistant at Beaver College and hsi full-time job was stuffing envelopes in a cramped office in the basement of the castle.
The Spiders On National TV
The Spiders will play on national television seven times in 2010-11, highlighted by two home games on ESPN2 against Xavier and Saint Louis and a road game on ESPNU against Dayton. The Spiders will play Purdue on The Big Ten Network and will play on CBS College Sports three times, vs. Rhode Island and Duquesne at home and on the road at Temple. The Spiders played nine 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.
