With the 2010 NIT Season Tip-Off scheduled for November 15th, it is time to count down the Top 25 of hardwood nation.
2009-’10 Result: 26-9 (13-3 Atlantic 10) lost to St. Mary’s 80-71 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Coach: Chris Mooney 102-91 six years (84-80 five years at Richmond).
Two Spiders have crawled the hardwood of the N.B.A.: Johnny Newman and John Schweitz.
The Spiders have made eight appearances in the NCAA Tournament including a spot in the 1988 Sweet Sixteen.
Key Returners:
Kevin Anderson 37.1 mpg, 17.8 ppg, 81.6 FT%
Justin Harper 25 mpg, 10.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Dan Geriot 23.3 mpg, 6.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Kevin Smith 15.2 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg
Francis-Cedric Martel 13.9 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg
Notable Non-Conference Tilts: 11/27 Purdue / So. Illinois (Chicago Invitational), 12/1 at Old Dominion, 12/5 at Arizona State, 12/26 at Seton Hall, 12/29 vs. Wake Forest
Stat of Identity: 39.5 field goal percentage defense.
By Paul Casey Gotham
Chris Mooney begins his sixth season at the helm for the Spiders. Mooney’s teams play a stifling match-up zone that makes them a threat to beat anyone. The ’09-’10 Spiders knocked off three teams from major conferences taking down Mississippi State and Missouri on back-to-back days to take the South Padre Invitational. Three weeks later the Spiders took down #13 Florida. The win over the Gators was one of two for the Spiders over ranked opponents. Richmond also defeated #17 Temple 71-54. The Spiders earned an at-large bid as a number seven seed.
Mooney returns 14 of 16 players from last year’s squad.
Any conversation about the 2010-11 Richmond Spiders should start with senior point guard Kevin Anderson. The Atlanta, Georgia native does it all. Anderson distributes the ball well in transition. The 6′ Anderson can break down a half-court defense and his 45 percent field goal rate is evidence of a mid-range game which keeps opponents honest. His mistakes are those of aggression attempting to lead his teammates into open spaces.
Senior center, Dan Geriot, adds plenty of experience in the front court. After leading the Spiders in scoring as a freshman and sophomore, Geriot sat out his junior campaign with a torn ACL.
Justin Harper hit over 48 percent of his field goals a year ago. The 6’10” center led the Spiders in rebounding.
Freshmen Cedrick Lindsay, Wayne Sparrow and Derrick Williams will vie for playing time.
Richmond? Then I suppose the Fightin’ Irish will be #23 or better. Will wait to see how high you have ’em.
By the way, Casey, how much trouble do you think UConn is in with the NCAA??
I don’t even know how to respond to your first question/assertion.
Things are not looking good for the Huskies. This investigation is past the slap-on-the-wrist stage. It is unfortunate because I respect Jim Calhoun. He always “seemed” to be doing the right thing.
Back to the first topic – do you remember last year when we did this countdown? ND finished somewhere like 21 or 22. Your comment: This seems to high. This would mean the Irish would get a 6 or 7 seed. So now, they are not in the countdown and…? What is it that you want? Can you make up your mind? 🙂
Found it: https://pickinsplinters.com/2009/10/21/college-hoops-countdown-25-notre-dame/
ND is not even in your Top 25??? I’m crushed … but now will stop asking. Thanks for the “quick death”.
By all means – keep asking. If nothing else, it creates interest …and a little humor. 🙂
I thought Notre Dame’s basketball program ended on account of Coach Brey putting it to sleep?