University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Picked Second in A-10 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
10/27/2021 | Men's Basketball
RICHMOND, Va. – The Richmond Spiders men's basketball team is second in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Men's Basketball Poll, which was unveiled by the conference on Wednesday in advance of the league's media day. It is the second-highest preseason ranking for the Spiders since joining the conference in 2001. Richmond trails only St. Bonaventure, who received all 28 first-place votes from a panel of select media members and A-10 head coaches.
Richmond (359 points) finished ahead of Saint Louis (325) and VCU (288), while Dayton (274) rounded out the top five. The only time Richmond has ranked higher in the A-10's Preseason Poll is last season, when the Spiders were first.
The Atlantic 10 also announced its preseason All-Conference teams on Wednesday. Guard Jacob Gilyard and forward Grant Golden were both named to the First Team, while forward Tyler Burton was named to the Second Team.
Head coach Chris Mooney, Gilyard, and Golden will speak at Atlantic 10 Media Day on Wednesday starting at 11:30 AM along with women's basketball head coach Aaron Roussell, forward Addie Budnik, and guard Claire Holt. The session will be streamed live on ESPN Plus and can be viewed at spides.us/A10MediaDay.
2021 is the program-record third Preseason First Team All-A-10 selection for Gilyard, who was named to the team in 2019 and 2020 as well. It is the second Preseason First Team All-A-10 selection for Golden, who was Preseason First Team in 2018. Kevin Anderson (2009-10) is the only other Spider to earn Preseason First Team All-A-10 honors multiple times.
Both Richmond and St. Bonaventure (Kyle Lofton, Osun Osunniyi) had multiple players named to the First Team. The Spiders and Bonnies join Davidson in 2019 (Kellan Grady, Jon Axel Gudmundsson) and St. Bonaventure in 2017 (Jaylen Adams, Matt Mobley) as the only teams with multiple players on a Preseason All-A-10 First Team over the last five years.
Gilyard was also named to the conference's Preseason All-Defense Team Wednesday for a fourth straight year. Gilyard enters the season with 358 career steals, 27 behind the Division I career record held by Providence's John Linehan.
Golden is now a four-time Preseason All-Conference honoree, having been picked to the First Team in 2018 and the Second Team in 2019 and 2020. He enters the season as the sixth-leading scorer (1,739 points) and fifth-leading rebounder (792) in Richmond history.
This is the first Preseason All-Conference selection for Burton, who was named the Most Improved Player in the Atlantic 10 last season after averaging 12.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He is the 17th different Spider to earn Preseason All-Atlantic 10 honors at Richmond.
Both Richmond and St. Bonaventure placed three players on either the Preseason First Team or Preseason Second Team. It's the second straight year the Spiders have had a trio of players represented on the top two preseason teams (Gilyard, Golden, and Blake Francis in 2020). Prior to 2020, no team had placed three players on the A-10 Preseason First Team and Preseason Second Team since Xavier in 2011.
Richmond returns 15 of its 16 players from last year's 14-9 team that reached the NIT Quarterfinals. The Spiders will open their season on November 9 at the Robins Center against North Carolina Central.
Season-ticket packages, mini plans, and single-game tickets are now on sale for the season. Interested parties can call 1-877-SPIDER1 or visit https://spides.us/mbbtix.
2021 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. St. Bonaventure (28) 392
2. Richmond 359
3. Saint Louis 325
4. VCU 288
5. Dayton 274
6. Davidson 260
7. Rhode Island 231
8. George Mason 158
9. Massachusetts 147
10. Saint Joseph's 144
11. Duquesne 129
12. La Salle 105
13. George Washington 96
14. Fordham 32
Richmond (359 points) finished ahead of Saint Louis (325) and VCU (288), while Dayton (274) rounded out the top five. The only time Richmond has ranked higher in the A-10's Preseason Poll is last season, when the Spiders were first.
The Atlantic 10 also announced its preseason All-Conference teams on Wednesday. Guard Jacob Gilyard and forward Grant Golden were both named to the First Team, while forward Tyler Burton was named to the Second Team.
Head coach Chris Mooney, Gilyard, and Golden will speak at Atlantic 10 Media Day on Wednesday starting at 11:30 AM along with women's basketball head coach Aaron Roussell, forward Addie Budnik, and guard Claire Holt. The session will be streamed live on ESPN Plus and can be viewed at spides.us/A10MediaDay.
2021 is the program-record third Preseason First Team All-A-10 selection for Gilyard, who was named to the team in 2019 and 2020 as well. It is the second Preseason First Team All-A-10 selection for Golden, who was Preseason First Team in 2018. Kevin Anderson (2009-10) is the only other Spider to earn Preseason First Team All-A-10 honors multiple times.
Both Richmond and St. Bonaventure (Kyle Lofton, Osun Osunniyi) had multiple players named to the First Team. The Spiders and Bonnies join Davidson in 2019 (Kellan Grady, Jon Axel Gudmundsson) and St. Bonaventure in 2017 (Jaylen Adams, Matt Mobley) as the only teams with multiple players on a Preseason All-A-10 First Team over the last five years.
Gilyard was also named to the conference's Preseason All-Defense Team Wednesday for a fourth straight year. Gilyard enters the season with 358 career steals, 27 behind the Division I career record held by Providence's John Linehan.
Golden is now a four-time Preseason All-Conference honoree, having been picked to the First Team in 2018 and the Second Team in 2019 and 2020. He enters the season as the sixth-leading scorer (1,739 points) and fifth-leading rebounder (792) in Richmond history.
This is the first Preseason All-Conference selection for Burton, who was named the Most Improved Player in the Atlantic 10 last season after averaging 12.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. He is the 17th different Spider to earn Preseason All-Atlantic 10 honors at Richmond.
Both Richmond and St. Bonaventure placed three players on either the Preseason First Team or Preseason Second Team. It's the second straight year the Spiders have had a trio of players represented on the top two preseason teams (Gilyard, Golden, and Blake Francis in 2020). Prior to 2020, no team had placed three players on the A-10 Preseason First Team and Preseason Second Team since Xavier in 2011.
Richmond returns 15 of its 16 players from last year's 14-9 team that reached the NIT Quarterfinals. The Spiders will open their season on November 9 at the Robins Center against North Carolina Central.
Season-ticket packages, mini plans, and single-game tickets are now on sale for the season. Interested parties can call 1-877-SPIDER1 or visit https://spides.us/mbbtix.
2021 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. St. Bonaventure (28) 392
2. Richmond 359
3. Saint Louis 325
4. VCU 288
5. Dayton 274
6. Davidson 260
7. Rhode Island 231
8. George Mason 158
9. Massachusetts 147
10. Saint Joseph's 144
11. Duquesne 129
12. La Salle 105
13. George Washington 96
14. Fordham 32
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