Spiders Play At VCU Friday On ESPN2
12/07/2011 | Men's Basketball
RICHMOND, Va. - Hoopstown USA will be back in the national spotlight when Richmond plays at VCU in the Farm Bureau Insurance Black & Blue Classic Friday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
THE LATEST
• The Spiders play their 3rd-straight road game and 5th-straight outside the Robins Center in the annual Farm Bureau Insurance Black & Blue Classic on Friday at 8 p.m. when ESPN2 puts Hoopstown USA back in the national spotlight. Last March the Spiders and Rams both reached the Sweet 16 in the Southwest Regional with the Rams advancing to the Final Four. Richmond won last year's meeting with the Rams in the Robins Center, leading by as many as 30 in the second half (49-19). The Spiders have led by double-figures in the last three meetings with the Rams, including a 12-point 2nd half lead that VCU overcame in Richmond's last visit to the Siegel Center.
• Richmond has won 5 of their last 6 games with the 1 loss coming to currently ranked Illinois (8-0) when the Spiders spotted the Illini an 18-point halftime lead but cut the lead to 5 and left the outcome in doubt until the final minute. Richmond's only other loss of the year was in its first road game at Davidson (6-1), who's only loss is at Duke in a game they led in the 2nd half.
• After finishing top-10 in the in the nation in road wins last year with 10 and being the best road team in the Atlantic 10 over the previous three seasons, Richmond has been playing well away from the Robins Center in 2011-12. The Spiders are playing their 5th-straight game away from home, but take a three-game winning streak into Friday's game at VCU. Richmond led by 23 points in its win at Wake Forest and led by 36 in its win at William & Mary. Richmond is 20-7 outside of the Robins Center in the last two seasons.
• Richmond has the 11th most victories in college basketball over the last 3 seasons with 61 wins, 1 win ahead of VCU, which is tied for 12th in the nation.
• Richmond picked up its first win at an ACC school since Nov. 28, 1988 when it defeated Wake Forest on Saturday. It was Richmond's third win over an ACC School during Chris Mooney's tenure and the Spiders improved to 11-5 in the 16 games against BCS Conference teams, including 1-1 this season.
• With more athleticism 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 192 free throws through 8 games, for an average of 24.0 free throws per game. Last year the Spiders averaged 17.2 free throw attempts per game. Richmond is connecting on 75.5 percent of its free throws this season.
• The Spiders lead the Atlantic 10 and are 19th in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.368) and are 2nd in the A-10 in 3FG Defense (.284).
• Freshman point guard Kendall Anthony, leads the Spiders in scoring at 15.6 points per game and has scored in double-figures in 7 of his 8 collegiate games. He has been the A-10 Rookie of the Week in 3 of 4 weeks of the season and is shooting 44.4 percent from 3 (16-of-36).
• Senior Darrius Garrett, who blocked an A-10 record 14 shots against UMass in 2009-10, needs 1 block to tie Kevin Steenberge for 2nd all-time at Richmond.
Quick Hitters
The Spiders have led from start to finish in its last 5 victories...Richmond is 67-22 (.753) in last 89 games...you can't defend a free throw, the Spiders rank 343rd out of 350 Division I teams in FT% defense with opponents shooting 81.8 percent from the line...Richmond ranks 19th in the nation in free throw percentage (75.5)...Richmond has held its last 5 opponents to a combined 17-of-76 3FG (.224)...the Spiders have held 19 of the last 27 opponents to 62 points or less, including six of the eight opponents this season...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, the 31st pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, begins training camp with Orlando this week...the Spiders current senior class needs 11 victories to pass last year's senior class as the winningest in school history...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 11.5 points and 4.4 assists 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 is averaging 10.5 points per game while shooting 48.6 percent from 3 (17-35). 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 15.4 points per game and has won three of the first four A-10 Rookie of the Week awards.
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 are 11-5 in their last 16 games against BCS conference teams, including 1-1 this season and Chris Mooney has 16 wins over BCS conference teams in 8 years as a D-I head coach, including 14 in 7 seasons at Richmond. The Spiders have defeated a team from all 6 BCS conferences in Mooney's tenure, including multiple wins against the Big East (5), SEC (3) and ACC (3). Many of these recent BCS wins have not been upsets, the Spiders finished the 2009-10 season ranked No. 24 in the nation and finished last season ranked No. 21.
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 17-5 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 previous 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 in a single-game against UMass, the second most shots blocked in college basketball history. Garrett currently has the highest blocks per game average (1.66) in school history, ahead of Tim Faulconer (1.58). Garrett is 3rd on Richmond's career list for blocks, needing 1 block to tie Kevin Steenberge for second and 31 blocks to break the school record held by Faulconer (183). Like a streaky shooter, Garrett tends to get his blocks in bunches.
Career Blocks
Rank Name Years Blocks
1. Tim Faulconer 1998-02 183
2. Kevin Steenberge 2002-06 154
3. Darrius Garrett 2008-pres. 153
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 206 games under Mooney, including 5 times last season, and have held teams to 60 points or less 94 times, including four of the seven games this season. The Spiders have held 19 of the last 27 opponents to 62 points or less. Richmond has allowed more than 70 points in regulation just 46 times in Mooney's 7 seasons and has allowed 80 or more points in regulation just 14 times. Richmond is holding the opposition to an Atlantic 10 best 36.8 percent shooting this season, which ranks 19th in the nation, and limiting teams to 28.4 percent shooting from behind the arc.
The Champs Are Here
The Spiders have won three tournaments in the last three seasons. Richmond 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 11-1 in regular-season tournament play over the past 3 seasons and 17-4 in tournament play, including the last two NCAA Tournaments. Richmond also 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.
