University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Play Illinois In Cancun Challenge Tuesday
11/21/2011 | Men's Basketball
CANCUN, Mexico - Richmond looks to have a third-straight Happy Thanksgiving Week as the Spiders leave the country to play Illinois Tuesday in the Cancun Challenge at 9:30 p.m. ET in a game nationally televised on the CBS Sports Network.
LATEST
- Richmond heads to Cancun looking to continue its recent success in Thanksgiving Week tournaments. The Spiders have had Happy Thanksgiving Weeks the last two years, winning the 2009 South Padre Island Invitational and the 2010 Chicago Invitational Challenge. Richmond defeated Mississippi State and Missouri to win the South Padre Island Invitational on their way to an NCAA Tournament in the 2009-10 season and the Spiders took down No. 8 ranked Purdue in the finals of the Chicago Invitational on the way to last year's Sweet 16 and a second-straight Top-25 finish. A loss in Richmond's first road game of the season in each of the past two seasons - prior to heading to South Padre Island and Chicago - preceeded the Thanksgiving Week success. Richmond lost its first road game of the season on Monday at Davidson.
- The Spiders are 11-0 in regular-season tournament play over the last three seasons, having gone 4-0 on the way to winning the South Padre Island Invtitaional in 2009, 4-0 on the way to winning the Chicago Invitational Challenge last November and 2-0 in this year's Cancun Challenge. Richmond is 17-3 in tournament paly over the last three season, including the Atlantic 10 Tournament and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
- The Spiders were 7-2 in neutral court games last year and 11-4 in neutral court games over the last two years, including 5-1 in Atlantic 10 Tournament play and two NCAA Tournament wins last March.
- With more athleticsm and strength in the lineup, Richmond expected to get to the foul line a lot more this year and the Spiders are doing just that, having taken 111 free throws through four games and connecting on 85 of them for a 76.7 percentage.
- Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week Kendall Anthony is averaging at team-high 17.3 points per game through his first four games. Anthony scored 20 points in his first game, becoming the first Spider to score 20 or more points in his collegiate debut in excactly 50 years.
- Darrius Garrett is tied with Jeff Pehl for third on Richmond's all-time list for blocks with 135. He needs 49 blocks to set the school record.
- The defending Atlantic 10 Champion Spiders are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, including the 2011 Sweet 16 and won 55 games over the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. The Spiders graduated the winningest class in school history and a total of over 5,000 career points with the departure of four starters. But this year's senior class has been around for all those wins and needs 14 victories to surpass that class as the winningest class in school history.
Quick Hitters
Richmond has held its last two opponents to a combined 4-of-31 3FG (.129)...the Spiders have held 9 of the last 12 opponents under 60 points and 12 of the last 18 opponents to 60 points or less...the Spiders are 16-1 vs. non-conference opponents in the Robins Center over the last three season...Richmond is 24-3 in the last 27 non-conference home games dating back to the 2007-08 season...Richmond is 31-4 in its last 35 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 64-21 (.753) in last 85 games...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.
Easy As A (Anthony)-B (Brothers)-C (Ced)
Richmond has boasted one of the best backcourts in the Atlantic 10 over the last few years, but even after graduating two of the top-6 scorers in school history (Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez) over the last two years, it looks like Richmond might have its deepest backcourt yet under Chris Mooney. Sophomore Cedrick Lindsay starts at point guard and is averaging 12.7 points and 4.7 assists through the first two games after playing a key role in Richmond's run to the A-10 Championship and NCAA Sweet 16 last March. Junior Darien Brothers is the only returning starter and led Richmond with 15 points in the win over Hampton. Freshman Kendall Anthony has quickly established himself as a high-level scorer off the bench. The runner-up for Mr. Basketball in Tennessee last year, Anthony leads the team in scoring at 17.0 points per game.
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).
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.
Block Party
Darrius Garret, who blocked a game-changing 5 shots in the NCAA Tournament 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 tied for 3rd on Richmond's career list for blocks with Jeff Pehl. Garrett needs 48 blocks to break the school record held by Tim Faulconer (183).
Career Blocks
Rank Name Years Blocks
1. Tim Faulconer 1998-02 183
2. Kevin Steenberge 2002-06 154
3. Jeff Pehl 1979-83 135
3. Darrius Garrett 2008-pres. 135
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 203 games under Mooney, including 5 times last season, and have held teams to 60 points or less 93 times, including three of the four games this season. The Spiders have held 10 of the last 13 opponents under 60 points and 13 of the last 19 opponents to 60 points or less. Richmond has allowed more than 70 points in regulation just 45 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
