University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Plays At UMass Saturday At Noon
01/21/2011 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2011
• PRE-GAME: GAME NOTES | GW HIGHLIGHTS
• IN-GAME: LISTEN | GAMETRACKER 
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AMHERST, Mass. - Having won 10 of its last 12 Atlantic 10 road games, the Spiders start a two-game road swing at Massachusetts on Saturday at noon in a game televised on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic; Comcast SportsNet New England and Comcast Sports Southeast at noon.
The game can be heard on ESPN Radio 950AM, The WOLF 93.1FM, Sirius Radio Channel 154, RichmondSpiders.com and on your I-Phone, Blackberry and Droid at espn950am.com/m with Bob Black and Greg Beckwith. There is no internet streaming available for the game.
Richmond is 14-5 overall and 3-1 in the Atlantic 10, off to an identical start as a year ago. The Minutemen are 11-6 overall and 3-1 in the Atlantic 10, off to their best conference start since the 2006-07 season.
THE LATEST
• Richmond has an identical record to last season through 19 games at 14-5 and 3-1 in the A-10. Of Richmond's 5 losses this season, 4 are to teams in the top 100 in the RPI, with the one non top-100 loss coming to a Georgia Tech team that dropped North Carolina by 20 on Sunday. The Spiders are 4-4 vs. top-100 RPI teams, including a top-15 win over Purdue (12).
• Richmond had the best A-10 road record in 2008-09 and 2009-10 and has the best combined A-10 conference road record since 2008-09 at 12-5, having won 10 of its last 12 Atlantic 10 road games.
• 12 of Richmond's 14 victories are by double-figures, including all 3 A-10 wins.
• Richmond is shooting an Atlantic 10-leading 48.3 percent from the field, which ranks 26th in the nation and an A-10-leading 41.6 percent from 3, which ranks 7th in the nation.
• Senior Jermaine Bucknor for 7th. Harper is 9th in career blocks (87).
• For the 3rd-straight year, the Spiders currently claim the Atlantic 10's top scoring duos. For the past 2 seasons it was Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez and this season Justin Harper (17.9 ppg) and Anderson (17.1 ppg) are in the league's top-10.
• Kevin Anderson, the 2010 A-10 Player of Year and AP Honorable Mention pick, moved into 3rd on Richmond's all-time scoring list and now has 1,876 points. Anderson also ranks 3rd in steals (201), 6th in assists (358) and 4th in field goals (670). Anderson was named as one of 20 finalists for the Cousy Award for the nation's top PG last week. He was on the Top-50 lists for the Wooden Award and Naismith Award and is a nominee for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
• The Spiders have 3 players (Anderson, Harper, Dan Geriot) with 1,000 points for the 2nd-straight year and only the 4th time ever (1954-55, 2003-04).
Quick Hitters
Jermaine Bucknor for 7th...Kevin Anderson has 136 career threes, needing 6 to tie Jeff Myers for 10th...Justin Harper ranks 33rd in the nation in field goal percentage (56.3)...the Spiders rank 18th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.37) and 22nd in turnovers per game (11.4)...Richmond has held teams to 20 points or less in a half 5 times this season...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 has won 25 of its last 28 home games...the Spiders finished 14-1 at home last season, the 3rd highest home win total in school history and best winning percentage when playing more than 9 homes games in school history...the Spiders have set the school record for steals in each of the last 2 seasons...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 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 in the A-10 Tournament.
Giant Killers To Giants
Richmond earned a reputation for being Giant Killers with its NCAA Tournament victories, but the Spiders' victories over so-called Giants have become the norm. Richmond has won 4 of 5 games against BCS conference teams this season, matching the 1985-86 team (Providence, Wake Forest, Stanford, Virginia) for most wins against the Power 6 conferences. The Spiders have won 8 of the last 11 games against teams from a BCS conference and Chris Mooney has 13 wins over BCS conference teams in 7 years as a D-I head coach, including 11 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 SEC) in Mooney's tenure, including multiple wins against the ACC, Big East and SEC. 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. The Spiders finished the 2009-10 season ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll and have received top-25 votes in 7 of the 11 weeks this season.
Pulling Rank
Richmond has won 5 of the last 6 games against ranked teams, which is the second-best 6-game stretch in the nation behind Duke (6-0). 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 4 points to No. 17 Temple in the 2010 A-10 title game. 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. The Spiders are 1-0 against ranked teams this season, having handled then No. 8 ranked Purdue 65-54 on Nov. 27 to win the Chicago Invitational.
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 Preseason List, the Wooden Award Preseason Top-50 List, is one of 20 finalists for the Bob Cousy Award for the nation's best point 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 Award and Player of Year Award, joining Jameer Nelson (St. Joe's), Marcus Camby (UMass), Mark Macon (Temple) and Kenny Green (URI). 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 2008-09 with a NBA scout in the Robins Center, earning him Atlantic10 Player of the Week honors. He has scored in double-figures in 25 of his last 29 games, including 17 of 19 games this season. He had 20 points and 13 rebounds against Wake Forest, 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. Harper has 3 double-doubles in his last 6 games and has the 5th highest scoring average in the nation sicne Jan. 1 at 25.2 ppg. An NBA scout told the coaching staff Harper could be a 1st round pick and he is showing why. Harper is shooting 57.4 percent from the field (128-223) and 51.1 percent from three (45-88), and averaging 6.6 rpg.
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 Justin Harper (330) and Derrick Williams (330). Darrius Garrett may look a bit skinny, but he put up 305 pounds, while Darien Brothers hit 300. Six players can jump 40 inches in the two-step vertical led by Brothers, Kevin Anderson and Cedrick Lindsay at 42 inches. Kevin Smith and shot-blocking sensation Garrett got 41 1/2 inches off the ground and Francis-Cedrick Martel, who hafd 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 3rd on Richmond's all-time steals list with 201 career steals, having passed Hall of Famer John Davis and Anderson's former teammates David Gonzalvez and Ryan Butler. Even with losing Gonzalvez and Butler to graduation, the Spiders are still averaging 6.8 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 Cal. The 6-11 Luke Piotrowski, the son of a former NBA player, chose Richmond over Arizona St., Maryland, and Oregon St.
KA, Geriot, Harp Climbing Scoring List
Kevin Anderson is 3rd on Richmond's all-time scoring list (1,876), Dan Geriot is 23rd (1,192) and Justin Harper is 28th (1.137).
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 61.6 points per game so far this season. The Spiders have held opponents to 50 points or less 24 times in 182 games under Mooney, including 3 times this season, and have held teams to 60 points or less 80 times, including 17 times last season and 9 games this season. Richmond has allowed over 70 points in regulation just 42 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 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 39.9 percent shooting, including 30.7 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).
Passing His Way Up The Charts
Kevin Anderson is climbing Richmond's all-time list for assists, currently ranking 6th with 358, needing 19 assists to tie Scott Stapleton for fifth.
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 engaged 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.
