Richmond Spiders
Atlantic 10 (18-15, 9-7)
RPI: 129
Big Wins: 1/21 Rhode Island (78-75), 2/11 Duquesne (71-67), 3/7 Xavier (80-75)
Bad Losses: 1/17 St. Bonaventure (67-71), 2/4 at Massachusetts (71-80), 2/28 George Washington (57-66)
Coach: Chris Mooney
Probable Starters:
Kevin Anderson, Sophomore, Guard, 16.6 ppg, 2.7 apg
David Gonzalvez, Junior, Guard, 15.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Ryan Butler, Junior, Guard, 5.8 ppg, 1.4 apg
Kevin Smith, Sophomore, Forward, 4.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.6 apg
Jarhon Giddings, Senior, Center, 7.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Josh Duinker, Freshman, Forward, 3.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg
Justin Harper, Sophomore, Forward, 9.6 ppg, 4.7 rpg
Francis-Cedric Martel, Freshman, Forward, 4.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg
Why They Can Surprise:
Richmond has a couple great, and underappreciated, scorers in Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez. Anderson is not much of a shooter, but the 6-0 sophomore managed to improve on his conference Rookie of the Year campaign of 2007-2008. Anderson averaged 16.6 points per game during the regular season and dished out 2.7 assists. His turnovers are a little high, but his decision making continues to improve. And considering that he has taken over a huge chunk of the scoring for the Spiders, committing 2.3 turnovers per game is not that bad.
Gonzalvez is the best shooter on the team and he hit nearly 40 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. However, he will also his 6-4 frame to finish around the basket and he is one of the most dangerous and diverse scorers in the Atlantic-10 Conference. Adding to his impressive resume, Gonzalvez is even the best rebounder on the team, averaging 4.8 per contest.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Yet, it is the rebounding, or lack there of, that has led to some of the Spiders losses. Gonzalvez does more than his part and wing Ryan Butler has plenty of size at 6-7, but the frontcourt does not help very much. Part-time starter Justin Harper is the second best rebounder on the team and he spends most of his time on the perimeter. Richmond has talented scorers like Jarhon Giddings and plenty of depth with Josh Duinker, Francis-Cedric Martel and Kevin Smith, but none of them are great rebounders.
Who To Watch:
It is the players in the frontcourt that will be the difference between a nice little tournament run and quick exit. Giddings is the lone senior on the roster and he has stepped it up this season. The 6-9 center is averaging 7.7 points per game and can stretch out the opposing defense by occasionally hitting the three-pointer. In fact, Coach Chris Mooney likes his big men to be able to step out and hit the three-point shot and everybody who sees quality minutes can do just that. However, this is not a group that is very prolific in that department. Besides Gonzalvez and Harper, nobody hits more than one three-pointer per game and somebody needs to get hot at the right time.
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 70.0 (140th in nation, 7th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.5 (161, 6)
Field-Goal Percentage: 46.1 (68, 4)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.2 (162, 9)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.8 (109, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.7 (176, 10)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.9 (202, 10)
Rebound Margin: -3.9 (298, 12)
Assists Per Game: 12.1 (241, 12)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.2 (33, 1)
Joel’s Bracket Says: Elite Eight loss to College of Charleston
