University of Richmond Athletics
Mooney Named National Coach of the Year Finalist, NABC District Coach of the Year
03/19/2024 | Men's Basketball
King Picked as First Team All-District
RICHMOND, Va. — Spiders men's basketball coach Chris Mooney has been named a finalist for the Jim Phelan Award, given to the top coach in Division I, as well as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Coach of the Year for District 4, it was announced Tuesday.
Tuesday afternoon, Mooney was revealed as one of 20 finalists for the 2023-24 Jim Phelan Award, given to the National Coach of the Year by College Insider. This is the second time Mooney has been a finalist for the honor during his time at Richmond, joining 2009-10, when he led UR to a 26-9 record and the highest NCAA Tournament seed (7) in program history.
Tuesday morning, Mooney became the first Spiders coach to be named an NABC District Coach of the Year, winning the award in District 4, which is composed of the 15 teams in the Atlantic 10. He led Richmond to a 15-3 record in conference play and the program's first regular season title since joining the A-10 in 2001. Richmond's 15 conference wins were a program record, and its 11 straight wins from December 16 to January 31 were the longest win streak for the Spiders since 1935. Richmond's 23 wins this season are eight more than in 2022-23, when the Spiders finished 15-18 as Mooney was forced to leave the team in mid-February to undergo a heart procedure. Mooney was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year by the conference last Tuesday.
Spiders guard Jordan King was alson honored by the NABC. King was one of five A-10 players named First Team All-District, along with Keyshawn Hall (George Mason), DaRon Holmes II (Dayton), Erik Reynolds (Saint Joseph's), and Max Shulga (VCU). King has averaged 18.4 points per game, second most in the A-10, and shot 42.1 percent from three, also second best in the conference. King is the second Spider to be named First Team NABC All-District in the last seven seasons, joining Tyler Burton in 2021-22.
Richmond will face Virginia Tech in the First Round of the NIT tonight at 9 PM on ESPN2.
Jim Phelan Award Finalists
Amir Abdur-Rahim, South Florida
Rick Barnes, Tennessee
Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Mark Byington, James Madison
Chris Collins, Northwestern
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska
Dan Hurley, Connecticut
Dustin Kerns, Appalachian State
Chris Mooney, Richmond
T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State
Matt Painter, Purdue
Lamont Paris, South Carolina
Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Josh Schertz, Indiana State
Kyle Smith, Washington State
Danny Sprinkle, Utah State
Will Wade, McNeese
NABC District 4 Honorees
First Team
Keyshawn Hall - George Mason
DaRon Holmes II - Dayton
Jordan King - Richmond
Erik Reynolds II - St. Joseph's
Max Shulga - VCU
Second Team
James Bishop IV - George Washington
Josh Cohen - Massachusetts
Matt Cross - Massachusetts
Chad Venning - St. Bonaventure
Des Watson - Loyola Chicago
Coach of the Year: Chris Mooney - Richmond
Tuesday afternoon, Mooney was revealed as one of 20 finalists for the 2023-24 Jim Phelan Award, given to the National Coach of the Year by College Insider. This is the second time Mooney has been a finalist for the honor during his time at Richmond, joining 2009-10, when he led UR to a 26-9 record and the highest NCAA Tournament seed (7) in program history.
Tuesday morning, Mooney became the first Spiders coach to be named an NABC District Coach of the Year, winning the award in District 4, which is composed of the 15 teams in the Atlantic 10. He led Richmond to a 15-3 record in conference play and the program's first regular season title since joining the A-10 in 2001. Richmond's 15 conference wins were a program record, and its 11 straight wins from December 16 to January 31 were the longest win streak for the Spiders since 1935. Richmond's 23 wins this season are eight more than in 2022-23, when the Spiders finished 15-18 as Mooney was forced to leave the team in mid-February to undergo a heart procedure. Mooney was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year by the conference last Tuesday.
Spiders guard Jordan King was alson honored by the NABC. King was one of five A-10 players named First Team All-District, along with Keyshawn Hall (George Mason), DaRon Holmes II (Dayton), Erik Reynolds (Saint Joseph's), and Max Shulga (VCU). King has averaged 18.4 points per game, second most in the A-10, and shot 42.1 percent from three, also second best in the conference. King is the second Spider to be named First Team NABC All-District in the last seven seasons, joining Tyler Burton in 2021-22.
Richmond will face Virginia Tech in the First Round of the NIT tonight at 9 PM on ESPN2.
Jim Phelan Award Finalists
Amir Abdur-Rahim, South Florida
Rick Barnes, Tennessee
Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Mark Byington, James Madison
Chris Collins, Northwestern
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska
Dan Hurley, Connecticut
Dustin Kerns, Appalachian State
Chris Mooney, Richmond
T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State
Matt Painter, Purdue
Lamont Paris, South Carolina
Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Josh Schertz, Indiana State
Kyle Smith, Washington State
Danny Sprinkle, Utah State
Will Wade, McNeese
NABC District 4 Honorees
First Team
Keyshawn Hall - George Mason
DaRon Holmes II - Dayton
Jordan King - Richmond
Erik Reynolds II - St. Joseph's
Max Shulga - VCU
Second Team
James Bishop IV - George Washington
Josh Cohen - Massachusetts
Matt Cross - Massachusetts
Chad Venning - St. Bonaventure
Des Watson - Loyola Chicago
Coach of the Year: Chris Mooney - Richmond
Players Mentioned
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