University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Face First Road Test At Davidson
11/14/2011 | Men's Basketball
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Richmond faces its first road test of the season Monday at Davidson at 8:15 p.m.
The Spiders were 10-3 on the road last season and 17-4 away from the Robins Center.
THE LATEST
- Richmond won the season opener Friday night behind freshman Kendall Anthony's 20 points and sophomore Cedrick Lindsay's 17. The Spiders' balanced attach included 12 points and eight rebounds from sophomore Derrick Williams and 11 from senior Francis-Cedric Martel. Senior Darrius Garrett grabbed seven rebounds and had two blocks.
- Despite losing four starters Richmond's opening night was very similar to the past few seasons on the stat sheet other than outside shooting. The Spiders forced turnovers (15), protected the ball themselves (6 turnovers), blocked shots (5) and stole the ball (8). The Spiders did not start last season shooting well from the foul line, but shot 81.8 percent (27-of-33) on Friday.
- The defending Atlantic 10 Champion Spiders are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, including the 2011 Sweet 16 and have won 55 games over the last two years. Richmond has advanced to the Atlantic 10 Championship game in each of the last two seasons and has gone 28-6 in its last 34 Atlantic 10 regular season games, including 13-3 league records each of the last two years. The Spiders did graduate the winningest class in school history and a total of over 5,000 career points with the departure of Kevin Anderson, Justin Harper, Geriot, Kevin Smith and Kevin Hovde. But this year's senior class of Darrius Garrett, Francis-Cedric Martel, Josh Duinker and Conor Smith have played a large part in the Spiders winning 75 games over the last three years. This year's senior class needs 17 wins to surpass last year's class as the winningest class in school history and Garrett (5 blocks) and Martel (4 three-pointers) deserve a lot of credit for the Spiders win over Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament last March.
- Richmond's underclassmen also have plenty of experience in winning big games. Junior Darien Brothers hit key three-pointers in the NCAA Tournament, but is naturally more of a slasher than the shooting specialist he has been through his first two years. Point guard Cedrick Lindsay was on the court in crunch time last year as a freshman with key buckets in the Atlantic 10 Championship run and NCAA Tournament victories.
- Richmond has finished the last two seasons ranked in the final Top-25 poll, finishing 2009-10 as the No. 24 ranked team in the nation in the AP Poll and last season as the No. 21 ranked team in the ESPN/USA Today Poll.
- Richmond has finished in the top-5 in the Atlantic 10 in each of the last four seasons and has received a bye in the A-10 Tournament in three of the last four years. Richmond, Temple and Xavier are the only Atlantic 10 programs to finish in the top-5 in the standings in each of the last four years.Richmond and Temple are the only programs to do so and win a conference tournament title in that span.
- The Spiders have the most wins over the last 2 seasons (55), 3 seasons (75) and 4 seasons (91) as in any other 2, 3 or 4 year spans in 99 seasons of Richmond basketball. Richmond won a school record 29 games last season, passing the previous mark of 26 shared by the 2009-10 and 1987-88 teams.
Quick Hitters
The Spiders have held 8 of the last 10 opponents under 60 points and 11 of the last 16 opponents to 60 points or less...Chris Mooney coached his 200th game at Richmond on Friday against American...Richmond is 29-4 in its last 33 home games..Justin Harper was the 31st pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and was traded to the Orlando Magic...during the lockout, Harper is playing in Strasburg, France, on the same team as Kevin Anderson and Temple's Lavoy Allen...Richmond is 62-20 (.756) in last 82 games...the Spiders led the A-10 and were 9th in the nation in turnovers per game (10.4) and were 9th in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (1.4) last year... Richmond led the A-10 and was 18th in the nation in scoring defense (61.2) last season...Richmond led the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense (.405) and three-point field goal percentage defense (30.6), which ranked 11th in the nation...Richmond is 15-2 in tournament play over the last 2 seasons...the Spiders were 7-2 in neutral court games last year and 11-4 in neutral court games over the last 2 years...the Spiders were 12-2 in February over the past two seasons...the Spiders are 28-6 in their last 34 Atlantic 10 regular-season games.
Giant Killers To Giants
Richmond earned a reputation for being Giant Killers with its NCAA Tournament victories in the 1980s and 90s, but the Spiders' victories over so-called Giants have become the norm. Richmond won 5 of 7 games against BCS conference teams last season, the most in school history. The Spiders have won 9 of the last 13 games against teams from a BCS conference and Chris Mooney has 14 wins over BCS conference teams in 7 years as a D-I head coach, including 12 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 (2), Big East (2) and SEC (3). Richmond broke into the Top-25 on Feb. 15, 2010, for the first time in 24 years. The Spiders finished the 2009-10 season ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll last year and finished last season No. 21 in the USA/Today ESPN Top-25 Poll.
Road Warriors
Richmond had a 10-3 road record last season, tying the 1952-53 and 1985-86 teams for the second most road wins in a season in school history, one win behind the 1934-35 team (11-0). The Spiders were in the top-10 in the nation in road wins last season and finished 17-4 away from the Robins Center. The Spiders went 7-1 on the road in A-10 play, clinching the best A-10 road record for the 3rd-straight year. Richmond has a 16-3 record in the last 19 A-10 road games.
Pulling Rank
Richmond is 7-3 in the last 10 games against ranked teams. Richmond has won 8 of its last 13 games against ranked teams since 2008.
4-Year Run Atop The A-10
Chris Mooney has been the head coach at Richmond for six years and after a quick rebuilding job Mooney has had the Spiders in the top-3 in the league in wins over the last 4 years (2007-08 through 2010-11). Xavier has 55 wins, Temple has 50, Richmond has 44, Rhode Island has 36 and Dayton has 34. Richmond, Temple and Xavier are the only 3 A-10 teams to finish in the top-5 in the standings the last 4 seasons (2008-11).
Stealing The Show
Chris Mooney's Spiders have made a habit of stealing the ball in his tenure in the West End. The Spiders have set the school record and then broke that record, while putting three of Mooney's recruits in the top-6 on Richmond's career steals list. Kevin Anderson ranks third, David Gonzalvez ranks fifth and Ryan Butler sixth.
Block Party
Darrius Garret, who blocked 5 shots in the win over Vanderibilt last March, has the fifth and sixth best single-season shot blocking totals in Richmond history. Garrett blocked an A-10 and school record 14 last season against UMass, the second most shots blocked in college basketball history. Garrett currently has the 2nd-highest blocks per game average (1.49) in school history, behind Tim Faulconer (1.58). Garrett is 7th on Richmond's career list for blocks, needing nine blocks to tie Jonathan Collins for sixth. Garrett needs 60 blocks to break the school record held by Tim Faulconer (183).
Career Blocks
Rank Name Years Blocks
6. Jonathan Collins 1999-03 133
7. Darrius Garrett 2008-pres. 126
8. Justin Harper 2007-11 112
Bulking Up and Bouncing Higher
Thanks to strength & conditioning coach Jay DeMayo, the Spiders have three players who can bench 300 pounds led by Derrick Williams (330). Darrius Garrett put up 305 pounds and Darien Brothers hit 300. Nine players can jump 40 inches in the two-step vertical led by Brothers, Cedrick Lindsay, Garrett, Derick Williams, Francis-Cedric Martel, Jonathan Benjamin, Trey Davis and Alonzo Nelson-Ododa. Freshman Kendall Anthony just missed the cut at 38 inches.
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 more than 68.2 points per game in a season during Mooney's tenure, including holding teams to 62.7 ppg in 2009-10 and 61.2 points per game last season. The Spiders have held opponents to 50 points or less 25 times in 200 games under Mooney, including 5 times last season, and have held teams to 60 points or less 91 times, including 18 times last season and 17 times in 2009-10. The Spiders have held 8 of the last 10 opponents under 60 points and 11 of the last 16 opponents to 60 points or less. Richmond has allowed more than 70 points in regulation just 44 times in Mooney's 7 seasons and has allowed 80 or more points in regulation just 14 times. Richmond held 8 teams to under 35-percent shooting last season, including then No. 8 ranked Purdue to 30.2 percent shooting and 14 first-half points.
Outreach
The Spiders have two 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. 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.
The Champs Are Here
The Spiders have now won three tournaments in the last two seasons. Richmond won won the 2011 Atlantic 10 Tournament, the 2010 Chicago Invitational Challenge in November, defeating No. 8 Purdue in the title game, and 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. The Spiders are 8-0 in regular-season tournament play over the past 2 seasons and 15-3 in tournament play, including the last two NCAA Tournaments. Richmond defeated No. 13 ranked Florida in the 2009 Orange Bowl Classic and led by 30 in a win over VCU in last year's Farm Bureau Insurance Black & Blue Classic.
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.
A Honorary 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 7 years. He attends games and practices and exchanges text messages with the players.
Spiders' Web Reaching NBA
Justin Harper is not the only Spider in the NBA. Three former Richmond 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 fourth 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.
Spiders Sign 2
Richmond signed two high school seniors to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. Terry Allen, a 6-foot-8 forward from Houston can shoot and is very skilled for his size. Deion Taylor, a 6-foot-6 forward from St. Augustine High in New Orleans is an athletic swingman. The Spiders still have two scholarships available for next season.
