University of Richmond Athletics
Men's Basketball Game Day - JMU
11/12/2015 | Men's Basketball
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond opens the 2015-16 season at home on Friday, Nov. 13 against JMU at 7 p.m.
Richmond won last season's opener, 64-46, over Radford. The Spiders have won 10 straight season openers under head coach Chris Mooney.
Richmond's Terry Allen and ShawnDre' Jones were selected All-Atlantic 10 Preseason Third Team. The Spiders were picked sixth in the preseason coaches poll.
Friday night marks Richmond's debut of Dick Tarrant Court. A legendary coach for the Spiders in the 80s and early 90s, Tarrant led UR to eight 20-win seasons, four Colonial Athletic Association championships, five NCAA Tournament appearances and four trips to the National Invitational Tournament.
The game will be broadcast locally on WTVR CBS 6.2 (Comcast Ch. 207, Verizon Ch. 479) as well as online at Atlantic10.com with Bob Black and Greg Beckwith on the call. The game will be on the radio on ESPN 950 AM and 93.1 HANK FM with Robert Fish and Matt Smith on headset. The audio will be streamed on RichmondSpiders.com.
| 2015-16 SPIDER MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY CENTRAL - JMU |
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| Who | Richmond Spiders (0-0) vs. JMU Dukes (0-0) |
| When | Friday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. |
| Where | Richmond, Va. |
| Venue | Robins Center (7,201) |
| Live Video | WTVR CBS 6.2 | Atlantic10.com |
| On Air | Bob Black, Greg Beckwith |
| Radio | ESPN 950 AM | 93.1 HANK FM | RichmondSpiders.com |
| On Air | Robert Fish, Matt Smith |
| Live Stats | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Notes |
Scouting JMU
James Madison was picked second in the Preseason CAA Poll heading into the 2015-16 season. Senior guard Ron Curry and junior forward Yohanny Dalembert were both named to Preseason All-CAA teams.
The Dukes are coming off a 19-14 season that saw them go 12-6 in conference play and capture a share of the CAA regular-season title for the first time since the 1999-2000 campaign. Nine letterwinners and all five starters return from that squad, joined by incoming transfers Shakir Brown and Devontae Morgan.
Curry, who was named to the Preseason All-CAA First Team, led the Dukes in 2014-15 with 13.9 ppg, buoyed by a 42.2 field goal percentage (62-for-147) from the three-point line.
Series vs. JMU
Richmond leads the all-time series vs. the Dukes, 32-21. JMU won a five-point game over Richmond up in Harrisonburg last year, led by Hari Hall's 12 points. Neither team shot well with field goal percentages under 40. The Dukes were able to use offensive rebounds to create 12 second-chance points and secure the win.
Coach Mooney On Friday
"Well, we are excited. I'd like to think that the experience of the team is something that should help in every facet of the game. So hopefully whether we get down or ahead or playing well or poorly in a stretch, that our guys realize that the part of the game most is important for us is the next play. So hopefully our experience and the fact that we have played well here in our home floor can help us on Friday night."
2014-15 Season Recap
Richmond finished the season at 21-14 after advancing to the NIT Quarterfinals before losing to Miami (Fla.) at the Robins Center. The Spiders earned a one seed in the NIT after being one of the First Four Out of the NCAA Tournament. Richmond played three postseason home games, picking up wins over St. Francis Brooklyn and Arizona State before battling Miami to a two-point loss.
Richmond finished fourth in the Atlantic 10 and earned a bye to the quarterfinal round of the A-10 tournament. The Spiders finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak which included victories over five NCAA tournament teams from the previous season. UR won 16 home games, setting a new record for wins in the Robins Center. The Spiders went 2-1 against ranked opponents, improving to 12-12 against the Top 25 since 2008. UR's strength of schedule ranked 41st in the country with the Spiders playing nine games aginst NCAA Tournament teams for a scoring margin of +0.55.
The Spiders' defense was stout all season, ranking third in the A-10 in scoring defense, third in three-point defense, third in steals and second in turnover margin.
Senior Kendall Anthony led Richmond in his final season, averaging 16.4 points with 30 double-digit scoring games. He became the school's all-time three-pointer leader while earning All-Atlantic 10 First Team honors, NABC All-District First Team honors, RTD All-State accolades and the prestigious Kevin Eastman Award at Richmond.
Who's Coming Back
The Spiders return 72.2 percent of last year's minutes and 66.7 percent of last year's scoring with four starters back on the roster.
Terry Allen will be the team's leader from his forward position, after he averaged 13.0 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds last year. Allen finished with seven double-doubles and 26 double-figure scoring games. He reached double figures in 18 of the final 19 games of the season. Adept at the defensive end as well, Allen led the Spiders in steals (48) and was third on the team in blocks (23). He is just 61 points away from joining Richmond's 1,000-point club.
T.J. Cline and ShawnDre' Jones return as double-figure scorers to bolster the Spider offense. Cline will look to improve on his 11.8 points per game and 3.7 rebounds. He was third on the team with 50 threes and led the squad with a field goal percentage of 51.6. Jones moves into Anthony's role as Richmond's starting point guard. The reigning Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year, Jones led the team with 90 assists against just 40 turnovers, and also hit a team-best 64 three-pointers.
Trey Davis and Deion Taylor are seasoned veterans that can pack a punch on the defensive end. Davis was second on the team with 43 steals to go along with 4.8 rebounds, while Taylor averaged 3.8 boards and had 25 blocks.
Both Allen and Jones were named to the All-Atlantic 10 Preseason Third Team.
Who's New
Richmond has a number of newcomers and newly eligible players who redshirted last season. The most notable among them is Marshall Wood, a transfer from Virginia Tech who will add height and outside shooting to UR's frontcourt. He averaged 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds at VT during his sophomore year of 2013-14.
Redshirt-freshman Khwan Fore is back after earning a medical redshirt for a broken foot that he suffered just a week into last season. Fore scored two points in two games before getting hurt and comes back stronger and faster than ever. He's the fastest player on the team and recorded a 45.5” vertical on a two-step jump.
Another redshirt-freshman who will provide valuable depth is 6-10 forward Paul Friendshuh. He missed last year due to a knee injury.
True freshmen guards Jesse Pistokache (Mission, Texas) and Julius Johnson (Cocoa, Fla.) will battle for playing time at the guard position, while KoVien Dominaus (Columbus, Ohio) provides depth at the wing spot as a 6-7 forward who can shoot.
Best In The Atlantic 10
Over the last eight seasons, Richmond has won 80 conference games, more than any other Atlantic 10 school. Richmond is one of just four A-10 teams to not suffer a losing season in any of the last eight years.
Over that same span, the Spiders have won 12 games against ranked teams, beating out every other Atlantic 10 team. Coach Mooney's 12 Top-25 wins rank higher than any other coach in Richmond history.
Tarrant Court
Richmond will be playing on a newly named court in 2015-16, after Dick Tarrant Court is unveiled on opening night. Tarrant's Spider teams posted a record of 239-126 (.655) during 12 seasons from 1981-1993, including an impressive 127-36 (.779) mark on the Robins Center court. Tarrant led the Spiders to eight 20-win seasons, four Colonial Athletic Association championships, five NCAA Tournament appearances and four trips to the National Invitational Tournament.
Richmond is the first of the 14 NCAA Division I schools in Virginia to name its basketball court for a head coach.
Defense Wins Championships
Richmond posted a strong defensive effort last season, ranking in the top 50 in the country in scoring defense and in the top 100 in steals.
The Spiders force teams to struggle in half-court possessions as UR opponents had the longest average possessions of any team in the A-10, and 24th in the country. Of the 23 teams who forced longer possessions, eight made last year's NCAA Tournament.
Richmond played with the new 30-second shot clock through three NIT games, forcing a number of shot clock violations and rushed possessions.
The Spider defense only allowed 4.1 fast break points per game.
In A-10-only stats, Richmond ranked fourth in scoring defense (61.6), third in scoring margin (+6.6), first in 3PT defense (.260), second in steals (7.7) and second in turnover margin (+4.33).
Protecting The Rock
Richmond was very protective of the ball this season with a stellar backcourt and skilled frontcourt that rarely turns it over. Richmond finished second in the A-10 and 11th in the country for fewest turnovers with 9.9 per game, setting a new school record.
Strength At Home
Richmond is 80-18 at home over the last six seasons, winning six of the last seven home games vs. ranked teams, including a double OT win over No. 22 VCU on 2/25.
Richmond's 16 home wins in 2014-15 is tops for the most wins in any single season at the Robins Center.
Rich Athletic Lineage
Richmond's basketball roster is filled with the sons of standout athletes who passed down their athletic prowess.
Most notably, T.J. Cline is the son of Sacramento Kings assistant coach and Hall of Fame women's basketball player Nancy Lieberman. T.J.'s father, Tim Cline, also played ball with the Washington Generals.
Senior Terry Allen's mom was an All-American basketball player at San Diego State. Classmate Trey Davis' father, John, is in the Richmond Hall of Fame after playing for the Spiders in the 1980's.
ShawnDre' Jones' father played basketball at Virginia State, while Marshall Wood's uncle played football at JMU. Khwan Fore's mother ran track at Emporia State and Paul Friendshuh's mother played volleyball at UW-Eau Claire.
Even in Richmond's incoming freshman class for next year, Nick Sherod's father played basketball at ODU and his grandfather at VCU before playing for the New York Knicks. Golden's father played at Fairfield University and he had two grandfathers that played collegiate football. Buckingham's father played at Jefferson-Huguenot-Wythe High School.
