RICHMOND Spiders - 2015-16 Blue Ribbon's Preview

LOCATION   Richmond, VA
CONFERENCE   Atlantic 10
LAST SEASON   21-14 (0.600)
CONFERENCE RECORD   12-6 (t-4th)
STARTERS RETURNING/LOST   4/1
NICKNAME Spiders
COLORS   Red & Blue

HOMECOURT   Robins Center (7,201)

COACH   Chris Mooney (Princeton ’94)
RECORD AT SCHOOL 187-144 (10 years)

CAREER RECORD   205-158 (11 years)

ASSISTANTS

Rob Jones (Toccoa Falls ’01) - Marcus Jenkins (Air Force ‘04) - Kim Lewis (Tulane ‘94)
WINS (LAST 5 YRS.)    29-16-19-19-21

RPI (LAST 5 YRS.)        33-131-90-71-64

2014-15 FINISH   Lost in NIT quarter finals.

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS:
BACKCOURT B 

FRONTCOURT A- 

BENCH/DEPTH B- 

INTANGIBLES A

Over the last eight seasons under coach Chris Mooney, the Richmond Spiders have become one of the most consistent programs in the Atlantic 10.

The Spiders have a 79-51 conference record in that span, have finished below .500 in conference play just once (7-9 in 2011-12) and have won at least 19 games in six of those seasons. The Spiders play a unique style, on each end of the court, and in recent seasons have been among the national leaders in turnover avoidance and defensive efficiency.

In short, coach Mooney, who is under contract through 2021, has constructed a program easily respected by its fan base and opponents. The Spiders are solid, tough and dependable. Perhaps the only troublesome deficiency is the lack of NCAA tournament appearances. Despite their consistent winning, the Spiders have reached the ultimate goal — the 68-team March Madness field — only twice.

Last season stung because of the manner in which the Spiders finished, ripping off six wins in a row to close the regular season only to drop a three-point decision in their A-10 tournament opener to cross-city rival VCU, which they had swept during the regular season. Richmond probably needed to reach the A-10 title game to ensure an at-large bid, but was reminded of just how close it might have been when it received one of four No. 1 seeds in the NIT.

“It is a big motivation for us,” coach Mooney said. “You wonder was it one game, two games that cost us a bid? It has helped us have a very good summer.”

What’s promising is the Spiders return the personnel necessary to return to the NCAA tournament for the rst time since a 2011 trip that ended in the Sweet 16.

They have arguably the best frontcourt in the A-10 coming back, and an array of guards both young and old.

“We are very motivated to correct any mistakes we’ve made,” coach Mooney said. “The more guys you have who are older and experienced, the easier it is to deal with the events of a long season—quick turnarounds, travel situations.”

The Spiders will miss guard Kendall Anthony and his 16.4 PPG. He departed the program with 1,909 points, fourth on the school’s career list, graduated and is playing professionally in Turkey.

Coach Mooney feels his returning veterans will absorb the leadership and production void.

TERRY ALLEN

Nobody has traveled down those roads more than senior Terry Allen (13.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 1.3 apg), who is one of the A-10’s top forwards and on the short list of candidates for conference player of the year.

Agile and strong at 6-8 and 240 pounds, Allen led the Spiders in steals (1.37 spg). In A-10 play he was in the top 15 in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage and steals. He made 58.2 percent of his two-point field goals for the season.

“He’s versatile,” coach Mooney said. “He can handle the ball, just a really good all-around player.”

Allen led the Spiders with seven double-doubles and nished the season on a roll, scoring in double gures in 18 of the last 19 games. Mooney has challenged him to build o that momentum and close with air a career that includes 50 starts and 939 points.

 

TJ CLINE
T.J. Cline (11.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.6 apg) is a 6-9, 235-pound junior who started 28 games last season. He certainly has terrific basketball genes. His mother is Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman-Cline, and she met his father, Tim, while both were playing for the Washington Generals, who spent 63 years losing to the Harlem Globetrotters.

Cline spent his freshman season at Niagara, earning All-Rookie honors in the MAAC, but transferred south when coach Joe Mihalich departed for Hofstra.

“He’s an awfully good player,” coach Mooney said. “He can do so many things well. He gives teams problems with his shooting, can pass and handle, has improved defensively. He has a great sense for the game.”

Cline was ninth in the A-10 in 3-point percentage (.388) and 11th in eld-goal percentage (.516) last season. He hit 60.5 percent of his 2-pointers, 77th in the nation at KenPom.com among players who qualified.

TREY DAVIS
On the wing, Trey Davis (4.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.2 spg) is an élite defender and versatile glue guy who makes winning plays. He might be asked to score more in his senior season, and coach Mooney is confident the 6-5, 215-pound Davis can.

“He is strong and can nish in traffic, score the ball in a variety of ways,” coach Mooney said. “I think he will be more aggressive. He’s more confident and realizes this is it. We ask a lot of him. He’s played all five positions in the course of a season, he inbounds the ball for us, he guards the other team’s best player.”

 

DEION TAYLOR
Deion Taylor (2.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg) is the final projected starter in the frontcourt. Another excellent defender, Taylor, who is 6-7 and 215 pounds, had an abysmal year shooting the ball from 3-point range (6 of 41) and the free throw line (28 of 60).

“After a few bad games early it became something mental,” Mooney said. “He has a good feel for the game and a good understanding of what we need from him. He worked hard on his shot once last year was over.”

Taylor eclipsed double gures in scoring only once while going scoreless in 14 games.

Point guard ShawnDre’ Jones (10.3 ppg, 2.6 apg) was a substitute in name only last season. The Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year, he’s expected to slide into Anthony’s spot in the starting lineup.

“He’s one of the better players in the league,” coach Mooney said. “It won’t be a very big transition for him. He has a lot of responsibility, just being a point guard in college there are a lot of things you have to be able to do. He’ll embrace it.”

Jones, a 5-11, 165-pound junior, shot 37.6 percent from 3 last season and led the Spiders with 90 assists. He lit up Duquesne for 27 points in a January romp and A-10 opponents will probably have to deal with more nights like that this winter.

“We want him to focus on getting more layups and easier baskets. He’s a very good cutter, he can hit in-between shots and guarded shots. Scoring comes very naturally to him,” coach Mooney said.

Josh Jones (2.4 ppg, 1.1 rpg) is the last veteran returnee. He played 10.0 minutes per game in 2014-15. Now the 6-4, 190-pound junior should see extended playing time on a regular basis, and become a vital piece of the Spiders’ rotation.

“He’s a good athlete and a good defensive player,” coach Mooney said. “He can hit the ground running coming into this year. He’s a good shooter and you can never have too many.”

Marshall Wood heads the list of newcomers, though he joins the Spiders’ roster with two years of Division I experience. Wood, a 6-8, 220-pound redshirt junior, started 11 games and averaged 4.0 points and 3.5 rebounds as a sophomore at Virginia Tech.

“He’ll compete for a lot of playing time,” coach Mooney said. “He can really shoot the ball, rebounds well, is a good athlete.”

The Spiders have four freshman guards who could contribute in the backcourt.
 

Khwan Fore is in his second year in the program, but he needed a medical redshirt because of a foot injury. He stands 6-0.

Of the true freshmen, Jesse Pistokache is the most touted, earning a three-star rating from ESPN.com. e 6-2 Pistokache is a native of Mission, Tex. who spent his senior year of high school at Johnson Ferry in Georgia, pumping in 23 points per game.

Julius Johnson, 6-2, scored 21 points per game at Florida Air Academy.

KoVien Dominaus is a 6-5 wing with a sweet shooting stroke, as he showed at Independence High in Ohio last season. He averaged 19.6 points and drained a season-high nine 3-pointers in one game.

Paul Friendshuh redshirted last season because of a knee injury. e 6-10, 235-pound Minnesota product will try and earn time in a crowded, experienced frontcourt.

The Spiders are hungry to advance to the NCAA tournament again. They return three double-figure scorers to a unit that set a school record for fewest turnovers. On the other end, they have two veteran defensive specialists grizzled with experience in the Spiders’ matchup zone to anchor a group that was 46th in the nation in defensive efficiency, per KenPom.com. their strength was stiffing opponents behind the 3-point line (30.3 percent, 4.7 made per game). If anything, those numbers could improve in 2015-16.

Richmond returns 72 percent of its minutes played and rebounding, and two-thirds of its scoring.

The key to the season could be as simple as making more shots. Taylor and Davis have to prove they are consistent offensive threats. And the Spiders need to improve on 34 percent 3-point shooting and a 69 percent effort at the free-throw line.

“We have guys who can shoot and guys who will take big shots,” coach Mooney said.

Brian Mull