Same Old, Same Old

Caveat emptor, Mr. Wabler.Where to start with this game?  Everything about this one was pretty predictable: Kevin Anderson got his (22 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds), David Gonzalvez was clutch down the stretch, UD out rebounded a team (43-25) but turned the ball over too many times (20) to make it count.  You cannot expect to win a tough road game when you shoot 34% from the field and turn the ball over 20 times, it is as simple as that.  With that being said, I'm gonna go ahead and list out my observations from this game.  I know that most of these are going to be very profound, original ideas to everyone, so here they are:

1.) Kevin Anderson is really fucking good at the game of basketball.  If it weren't for a guy by the name of JC, Anderson would definitely be in the running for POY in the A-10.  The guy is one of the purest shooters in the league and can beat the quickest of quick (London) off the dribble at will.  The shots that this guy was creating, you cannot even get mad about.  There is hope that between Parker and Staten we'll have a PG that is a legit scoring threat, isn't there?

2.) Screw the zone, teams should be putting full court pressure on the Flyers the entire game.  This team is constantly trying to go 100 mph and as a result averages almost 15 turnovers a game.  As we have seen with most games, the Flyer's backcourt does not take care of the rock and seems to panic when faced with a full court pressure scheme.

3.) Dan Geriot is eerily similar to the old, sweaty guy that tries far too hard during a pick up game at the local Y.  I mean between the hiked up shorts, the baggy white undershirt, and being white, he has that role pegged to a T.  It really is a shame that he blew out his ACL because that old man used to be able to play.

4.) Did Chris Wright miss the bus to Richmond?  I'm not sure where he was for this game, because he for damn sure was not out on the court.  For being the leader of this team, he needs to realize that his teammates are relying on him to take charge in a must win game on the road against a formidable opponent.

5.) The Big Dog is soon to be emaciated because no one will let him eat.  I lost track after about 4 or 5, the amount of times that Big Dog was waving his hands in the air, as to say, "Hey guys, I'm wide fucking open, pass me the damn ball."  This team must have a phobia of passing the ball in to the post, because it never happens.  You cannot expect the perimeter to open up if you only swing the ball around the top. Dump the ball into the post every once in a blue moon and see what happens, I think you'll be happy with the result, BG.

6.) I've been weary about taking my shots at BG all season because I think no matter what, it is the players on the court that prosper or fail.  There were two things that I didn't like from him this game. One being his inability to draw up successful sets coming out of a dead ball, and two being at the beginning of the last Flyer timeout, the camera zoomed in on the UD huddle and you could visibly see BG say, "Alright, who's in?"  Less than a minute left, down three and you don't know who you have on the court?  Remove your head from your rectum, Mr. Gregory.

Artist rendering of Geriot7.) I did not know that it was possible to have uglier cheerleaders than UD.  I think Richmond might take the cake on this one.  If I'm not mistaken, there was one, MAYBE two, respectable looking girls.  Kudos to the perv camera man who did an up-skirt shot of THE attractive cheerleader.

8.) How long until it comes out that For-three-zius' knee injury is far worse than any of us thought and has to go under the knife?  Once we are officially invited to the NIT or scrap him now?  Clearly this is far worse than originally reported.  With the Flyers seeing zones left and right, you would think that The Lukeness Monster would be out there for more than three minutes.  Put the lack of defense and athleticism aside, the kid can flat out shoot and needs to be out there against these zones.

9.) The Flyers got JC'd against a team that does not start with X.  Just as Crawford did to London Warren at the end of the game at the Cintas Center, there was nothing that MJ could do to stop David Gonzalvez as he hit fadeaways with a hand in his eye.  Gonzalvez decided to find his jumper at halftime, and coupled with Anderson's stellar play, that was enough to spur the Spiders on to victory.

10.) 20 offensive rebounds is quite impressive.  The announcers kept marveling at this statistic.  The thing that they did not focus on was what caused these rebounds: missed shots.  So yes, Kurt and CJ were crashing the offensive glass, but its pretty easy to snag 5 offensive boards when your team only shoots 34% from the field.

The sad part about this Flyer team is that when they showed the graphic of the A-10 tournament bracket, I could not even convince myself that they have a chance of snagging the A-10 auto bid.  No matter where the Flyers end up in the bracket, I do not see them beating any of the top four teams in the second round.  Sure they are capable of it, but with a team that is so wildly inconsistent it's hard to expect the right team to show up.

I can't wait for this team to blow SLU out to get their 20th win of the season so that BG can add another twenty-win season to his resume, and make the university and some fans alike think that BG is a great coach and the right coach for the future.  If anyone is interested in the NIT pizza party, please send your information to Mr. Donoher as he will be organizing the event.  

I'm not sure which is a bigger surprise to me, that the Flyers are likely not going to be in the NCAA tourney after returning 10 guys or that I was able to come up with 1,100 words after that painful loss.  I guess its perfect timing for Spring Training to start...

Dayton vs. Richmond

Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%): adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal.
Turnover Percentage (TO%): is an estimate of turnovers per 100 plays.
Offensive Rebouning Percentage (OR%): measures a team's ability to get offensive rebounds.
Free Throw Rate (FT Rate): is a measure of both how often a team gets to the line and how often they make them.

		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
	C. Wright	*	32	6	1	7	14.3	1	7	14.2	0	0		4	4	100.0	4	3	7	2	1	2	4	2
	L. Warren	*	25	4	2	3	66.7	2	3	66.6	0	0		0	0		0	2	2	2	0	0	4	4
	K. Huelsman	*	24	7	2	5	40.0	2	5	40.0	0	0		3	5	60.0	5	5	10	0	0	0	1	2
	M. Johnson	*	19	10	3	9	33.3	2	7	28.5	1	2	50.0	3	4	75.0	2	2	4	0	2	0	2	3
	R. Lowery	*	19	9	2	7	28.6	1	3	33.3	1	4	25.0	4	5	80.0	0	1	1	1	1	0	4	2
	C. Johnson		26	13	5	10	50.0	2	4	50.0	3	6	50.0	0	0		5	4	9	0	1	0	2	0
	M. Perry		17	2	1	6	16.7	1	2	50.0	0	4	0.0	0	0		0	2	2	3	0	0	1	3
	P. Williams		16	3	1	3	33.3	0	1	0.0	1	2	50.0	0	0		0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2
	D. Searcy		13	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		1	2	3	0	0	0	2	1
	J. Benson		6	2	1	2	50.0	1	2	50.0	0	0		0	1	0.0	3	2	5	0	0	0	0	0
	L. Fabrizius		3	0	0	1	0.0	0	1	0.0	0	0		0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	UD		200	56	18	53	34.0	12	35	34.2	6	18	33.3	14	19	73.7	20	24	44	9	5	2	20	19
		S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
	RICH		200	60	20	47	42.6	14	29	48.2	6	18	33.3	14	20	70.0	6	19	25	11	14	3	12	18
	K. Anderson	*	38	22	6	14	42.9	5	11	45.4	1	3	33.3	9	10	90.0	0	4	4	3	0	0	1	1
	D. Gonzalvez	*	37	14	6	11	54.5	4	5	80.0	2	6	33.3	0	2	0.0	1	1	2	3	0	0	2	2
	R. Butler	*	36	7	1	5	20.0	1	2	50.0	0	3	0.0	5	6	83.3	0	4	4	2	6	0	5	3
	J. Harper	*	31	13	5	8	62.5	2	5	40.0	3	3	100.0	0	0		1	2	3	0	2	0	1	2
	D. Garrett	*	9	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		1	1	2	0	0	0	1	2
	K. Smith		17	2	1	4	25.0	1	3	33.3	0	1	0.0	0	2	0.0	0	3	3	2	2	3	0	1
	D. Geriot		16	2	1	4	25.0	1	3	33.3	0	1	0.0	0	0		1	2	3	1	1	0	2	2
	F. Martel		14	0	0	0		0	0	0.0	0	0		0	0		2	2	4	0	3	0	0	5
	D. Brothers		2	0	0	1	0.0	0	0	0.0	0	1	0.0	0	0		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Recon: Richmond (and You Thought Miami Was Preppy)

I tried to talk you guys into thinking we were underdogs last week in the worst recon you've ever seen until this one. The truth is we are now officially on the outside looking in for the first time all season. I'm about to tell you something that will rock your world. I actually got multiple anonymous emails about this, that I will not republish for fear of reprisal. Here we go. This game is a must win. WOW. I know right? Here's the kicker, we could win this game, the SLU game, and make it to the championship game of the A10, and still not make the tournament. Prepare for the worst and drink like the best. Lets get right into a detailed description of what we're about to see, regardless of validity.

How we got here: Richmond's rise to the top of the Atlantic Ten isn't surprising. A small school with under 3,000 kids, most of whom have little to no knowledge of the team, and once they graduate work at subpar mortgage firms in midtown Manhattan. Blackburn described the students at Richmond as, "cake eaters who prefer bong rips over college basketball." He forgot to mention the casual cocaine addiction and not so casual madras addiction. I have a lot of friends from Richmond, the type of people that are nice to me, but not nice to the maitre'd at Canal Bar (Ed Gein, anyone?). Anyway, the Spiders take orders from the same type of person they will after graduation, a Princeton grad.

Mooney: his bowel movements could outcoach BGChris Mooney has been the Richmond head coach since 2005 and is in the midst of his second twenty win season with the Spyders. Mooney runs a Princeton offense which is based on passing, movement, and the ability to drain the three from all five positions. On paper, Dayton's defense is built to defeat the Princeton offense (more like the Argyle offense...am I right guys?!!?); we constantly pressure the ball, defend passing lanes with a long, athletic team, and utilize our depth to keep fresh legs on the court. Since '07 "we" are 3-1 against Richmond and have held them to 37%, 40%, 55% (2008 loss), and 37% shooting. Clearly the magic number tomorrow will lie somewhere between 41% and.....54%! That's some crack analysis. Suck it, Doog. 

The Arachnia: One of the reasons Richmond has taken the game to the next level this season has been the health of Dan Geriot. Geriot took a medical redshirt last year after doing to his knee what's...

Errrrrrr (that's a record screeching sound, and not of the remix variety). O'B ingeniously disconnected the sprinkler system in his office building and then committed an act of arson yesterday. All in order to avoid writing this recon (we're struggling to maintain interest just like you). So from here out you'll get a mashup of inferior rambling from myself, Ollie, and the sterling prose of Mr. B., the man with Richmond love juice running down his chin.

I'm not sure where we were going with Geriot, as he's yet to make the impact that his freshman and sophomore years promised (remember, promises are just lies in the making). But after putting up 14 and 5.5 a half as a sophomore on 48% from the field and 40% from three, all thought he was on pace for an All A-10 career and a solid Spanish tenure where he played games twice a week, ate paella daily, and made his way through Spanish women like the Inquisition. Then his ACL popped and his statshave dropped across the board. Which is vexing as nobody was confusing him with Tyrus Thomas. Really, he was a rich man's Pop-A-Shot with superior ball skills. He was Pete Carril's wet dream, a big man with great range, passing ability, and well defined pecs. Now he's, more or less, a confused Kurt Huelsman.

Only Jordan Crawford stands in his wayKevin Anderson is the tiny little heart of the Spiders. He's what makes 'em go. He's the quickest guard in the league and will make a living in the paint. While, not a particularly adept distributor, the threat of him beating his defender leaves gaps for his teammates. He's getting 17.5 a game and does a great deal of his damage at the line, as he's prone to be fouled and, gasp, hits his foul shots like he's paid to (82%). He's not much of a threat from 3, but he'll still fire his fair share. While the Flyers PGs are reputed to be terrors on D, they've been exposed as dredlocked charlatans this season. They're apt to eat some poor, white PG's lunch, but are swinging gates against anyone with a head fake or a crossover. Look for Anderson to have a huge game as he did last season.

David Gonzalvez makes up the second half of the league's best backcourt. His numbers are down a bit from last year, but he's still a solid all around 2 guard. Offensively, he can shoot it a bit (44%/36%), is not afraid to grab a board (4.1), and plays some mean D. Like Anderson, he's grabbing nearly 2 steals a game. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for Gonzalvez to graduate and not because of his basketball, but because of the damned V in his last name. Is he too good to be a Gonzalez?

Justin Harper's continued development has been instrumental in Richmond's rise to glory. Coming into this season, Harper was expected to raise his game and match the hype he entered the Spider program with three years ago. He has done just that this season, scoring 11 points and grabbing 6 boards a game. Additionally, he is a superior defender, the type of player that fills in all the little holes no one else will. The same can be said of senior guard Ryan Butler. Mooney is on record claiming Butler as the best defensive player he has ever coached. I would expect that in the rare moments the Spiders aren't sitting in a zone chuckling amongst each other, Butler will be all up in Chris Johnson's business. Although not a great offensive player, Butler will fire away from the perimeter if left to his own devices. 

The Numbers Game: "A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers."

		PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
	UD	70.2	42.1	66.6	33.7	39.2	12.0	26.8	15.1	14.4	6.2	3.5	19.8
	RICH	68.6	44.6	69.9	34.8	32.7	9.0	23.7	12.7	11.5	8.4	4.9	17.6
	UD Opponents	61.6	39.2	64.6	31.2	32.7	10.1	22.6	11.0	14.2	5.9	3.3	18.8
	RICH Opponents	60.8	39.0	70.4	28.4	37.6	13.1	24.4	9.9	15.7	5.4	3.4	17.9

Rest your worthless bones, your end is nighRichmond is the most efficient team UD will face this season, they never waste a possession. They play very heady basketball, take smart shots and protect the ball. Defensively, they are just as sound, allowing just over 60 points a game. The Spiders are sneaky athletic in the frontcourt. Although the backcourt deservedly gets much of the focus, Butler and Harper are vital to this team's success on the defensive end. The one downfall of this team has been in the rebounding department. Chris Mooney's team routinely gets outrebounded, an area the Flyers can hopefully capitalize on. 

Prediction: WE NEVER LOSE AT HOME...only on the road. If UD comes up short, they will end the year 4-7 on the road, just 2-6 in A-10 play. A roadie against a top-25 caliber team on Senior night? It's safe to say UD's chances are slim to none, and Slim just walked out of the building (my Uncle, the one who did time, used to say that. No clue what it means). Richmond's backcourt will likely be too much for UD to handle, and the fact that Richie excels on the defensive end does not bode well for the Flyers either. The Spiders are 3.5 point favorites, and I think that's giving UD too much credit.

It will be interesting to see what Gregory's mindset will be tonight. Will he stick to his guns, the strategy that has the Flyers sitting at 8-6 in the league, or press on with a different look -- perhaps increasing the minutes for UD's most valuable weapons. Although BG's gameplan is predicated on throwing as many fresh bodies at the opposition as possible, tonight's game would seem to be a rather opportune moment to change things up a bit. There is nothing left to lose, Dayton has painted itself into a corner. Might as well throw everything against the wall and see what, if anything, sticks.

Richmond wins this one, 67-60.

The Hexagon Revisited

Handsome Joe, still suckling from the A-10 teetSeven days have passed since we were first dropped blindly into the Hexagon. Although none of the six teams have reached a positive or negative critical mass, there is a slightly clearer picture of where the conference chips will fall.  No team has done itself enough disserve to earn dismissal from the six-sided circle. We are probably a week or so away from officially eliminating anyone from hexagonal competition. The most likely candidate? Regrettably, I think we all know the answer to that one.

Handsome Joe’s brackets came out earlier today, and the A-10, according to the King Bracketologist, still has six bids on the board (Charlotte’s hold appears to be the most feeble). I still think that four is a more plausible number, five being a stretch. Let’s quickly take a glimpse at last week’s winners and losers before diving back into the Hexagon.

Winners

• Out of any team in the conference, Richmond helped itself the most over the past week. Two victories, roadies against Saint Bonaventure and Rhode Island, catapulted the Spiders up to their rightful spot at the top of the league. 
• In one of its last remaining tests, Temple, led by mystery man Michael Eric, disposed of Rhode Island in its only game last week. 
• Xavier took a trip down to Gainesville and won one for the league, beating the Gators and earning some respect for the Atlantic Ten.

Losers

• Rhode Island harmed itself more than any other member of the Hexagon.  A loss at home to Richmond and a defeat at Temple over the weekend put a major dent in the Rams' post-season hopes.
• Charlotte will continue to fight its image as a pretender in a rocky sea of contenders. In its only matchup this week, the 49ers were absolutely manhandled by the Gem City cagers. No one has a firm grasp on what this Charlotte team is all about.
• Could a banked three-pointer be the difference between the NCAA tournament and the NIT? Depending on how things play out, Kwamain Mitchell’s desperation heave could come back to haunt Dayton come Selection Sunday. The Flyers lost all the momentum they built up over their past two pinksockings against Xavier and Charlotte.



Last week we looked at the Hexagon from an ease of schedule perspective, this week we’re using schedule strength as a predictor for the final standings.

1st) Temple: The Owls have the easiest slate of games left. With only one hexagonal matchup on tap, at home against Dayton, Temple would appear to be in the driver’s seat as far as first place in the league is concerned. The only possible misstep would be at Saint Louis, but I have a feeling the Dunphy’s squad will take care of business and roll in that one.  Currently 8-2, Temple could feasibly run the table and end the year with 14 league wins. Even with a conservative outlook, it’s realistic to think that the Owls end up with at least 13 wins and at least a share of the conference regular season title.   

2nd) Xavier: The Muskies went out and represented the league well, taking down the mighty Gators in Gainesville for their seventeenth win of the season. Xavier has three very winnable games left on their docket – St. Joe’s, @ Fordham and closing out the year with Saint Bonaventure. That’s eleven wins without even breaking a sweat. If they can take down Charlotte on the road this weekend, X has a very good shot of getting 13 wins and challenging Temple for the conference crown. Like the Owls, the Muskies could conceivably win six in a row and end up with 14 W’s. The jury is still very much out on Charlotte and they get Richmond at home.

The Rick will have much to say over the next three weeks.3rd) Richmond: Richie is a near lock to get at least 12 wins in league play. With two cupcakes this week, Fordham and George Washington (both at home), the Spiders will likely move to 11-2 and hold onto first place for the time being. Out of any team in the Hexagon, Richmond closes out with the toughest trifecta of games: at Xavier, against UD, and closing their campaign on the road against Charlotte. Still, even with a win in just one of those three games (likely candidate = Dayton), the Spiders probably walk into the postseason chins held high with twelve conference wins. Reasonably speaking, third place is probably a worst-case scenario for Richie at this juncture.

4th) Rhode Island: URI had some miscues this week, losses to Richmond and Temple, which certainly takes some of the spark out of their surprising season. Still, the worst is clearly behind Jim Baron’s squad as the Rams will be clear favorites in four of their five remaining contests. Better yet, their one remaining Hexagonal opponent is Charlotte; an opponent many feel has a stench of pretense all over it.  If URI gets by Saint Louis on the road this Wednesday, they likely ride a wave of momentum into their matchup with Charlotte (Rhody has Fordham and Saint Bonnie before hosting the Niners). Again, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Rhode Island could close out the season with five wins, as their five remaining games do not pose a sizeable obstacle.

5th) Charlotte: Presently tied for second, the Niners still enjoy a two game lead on the Flyers, a one and a half game cushion on Rhode Isalnd -- this fact cannot be understated.  The best news for the 49ers is that four of their last six games are at Halton Arena. The one downside for Charlotte would appear to be their strength of schedule. So although they may finish in front of Rhody and Dayton in the standings, they may be the sixth team in terms of the NCAA tournament without some quality wins down the stretch.  An excessively conservative estimate would have the Niners going 3-1 over the next two weeks (wins against Duquesne, GW, St. Joe’s, and a loss to Xavier), putting their conference record at 11-3 heading into its final two games. Splitting their last two games, @ URI and at home versus Richmond, would probably put Bobby Lutz’s club in the 3rd/4th place slot.  However, looking at their resume, they would be best served by winning at least two of their three reaming Hexagonal matchups; otherwise the Niners will have some work to do in Atlantic City.  

6th) Dayton: It’s hard to imagine that the current seventh place team in the Atlantic Ten has a shot at an NCAA berth, but that’s the unfortunate state of college basketball in 2010. It will be next to impossible for the Flyers to reach the top four of the conference, so UD will simply have to focus on not tripping over its own feet from here on out. A loss outside the Hexagon puts the Flyers squarely on the bubble, regardless of whether they sweep Richmond and Temple (which, let’s be frank, is an unlikely occurrence anyway). Most observers believe that eleven wins, and one victory in AC (a loss at UD Arena, in the conference tournament, will be the final nail in the Dayton’s coffin) puts them in the Dance with a double-digit seed. Simple math tells us that UD will need to go 5-1 over the next three weeks to solidify a bid, 4-2 won’t cut it. Unfortunately for the Flyers, this means getting a win at either Richmond or Temple, a tall order for a team that has once again struggled to get wins on the road this season.

University of Richmond: A Sleeper Awakened

The University of Richmond basketball program is enjoying almost as much hype as the home team during this offseason. Coming off a 20-16 season (9-7 in the A14), which concluded with a trip to the College Basketball Invitational semi-finals, the Spiders return four starters. Additionally, all-conference performer Dan Geriot returns from a gruesome knee injury that kept him out of action for the entire 2008-09 season. The junior center led the Spiders in scoring in his first two seasons and gives Richmond an inside presence on a squad that already features the A-10’s best backcourt in Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez.

Flyer fans are programmed to anticipate an exhaustive battle with Xavier for this year's conference title.  However, with Derrick Brown's early departure, combined with the graduations of C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond, the Musketeers have opened the door for other challengers to the throne.  Most observers have tapped Dayton to potentially become kings of the mountain.  Still, there will be other formidable opponents on the horizon. 

Enter the Spiders.  By now, Dayton fans should be able to feel Chris Mooney's hot, clammy breath on the nape of their collective necks.  A dangerous proposition for most, as this scenario usually results in a sudden blackout, waking up with your socks inside out.  As for me, I looked certain death in the face, opting to fly to the capital of Virginia in my Gulfstream V (it used to be Arsenio Hall's) in order to mentally beat some answers out of Richmond Times Dispatch reporter John O'Connor.  Like a jailhouse snitch, Mr. O'Connor provided a terse, yet informative, overview of this year's Richmond squad.  

TB:  Like most Americans, I like to live in the past. Let's take a trip down memory lane, all the way back to March, 2009. Richmond wraps up last season with 20 wins, bowing out in the semi-finals of the CBI against UTEP. All things considered, last season had to be considered a resounding success. What's the goal for the Spiders this season?

JO:  A postseason that doesn't include the letters CBI. The last two years, UR has gone to the College Basketball Invitational. The Spiders' realistic goal this season is an NCAA trip because this is the season for which the program has been building since Chris Mooney took over as coach. This is finally a veteran team.

David Gonzalvez and Kevin Anderson make up the Atlantic 10's best backcourt. Anderson's speed and ability to get to the basket completely overpowered Dayton last season, and Gonzalvez is one of the best perimeter players in the conference.  Summer marks the time of year when most college basketball fans are fully engorged on recruiting news and rumors (redundant, I know). Were Anderson and Gonzalvez expected to have such an impact right away, or has their talent level been an unexpectLondon Warren's nightmare averaged 24 points against the Flyers last seasoned surprise?  The duo would seem to prove that all that glitters isn't always gold.

Part of the reason these two guards have become quality players is because they picked a program in which they could play as freshmen. Gonzalvez wasn't a star in prep school in Massachusetts. Anderson was lightly recruited, overshadowed in a huge Atlanta-area market. They were given chances to play immediately, and the team's make-up allowed them to emerge (no scoring inside players last season).

Dan Geriot looks like a commodities broker but plays with the same type of anger Bigfoot probably exhibits after he's been laid-off. On one hand, Geriot's return to the fold is overwhelmingly positive for the Spiders. On the other, who knows how it will affect the team's chemistry. Sure, it's all smiles on team picture day, but a month later Geriot and Gonzalvez could be exchanging haymakers in a Shoney's parking lot. Do you think Geriot's return could disrupt Richmond's guard-oriented attack?

Geriot's comeback will enhance UR's attack. No more defenses geared to defend the guards. And in this Princeton-style offense, Geriot is the ball-distributor of choice in many sets. Plus, he rebounds and defends inside, two things with which UR experienced difficulty last season.

Give me an indication of what the Richmond fanbase is like. With no professional teams in the area, I would think UR would get a decent following from the locals. I am assuming that your typical Richmond students, cake eaters who prefer bong rips over college basketball, don't support the program as much as they probably should.

UR has about 2,900 students. Maybe a quarter regularly attend games. The alumni fan base is fairly limited because UR is a school that draws the majority of its students from the Northeast Corridor. Most return to that area after they graduate.

Justin Harper came into the program with an expectation that he would be one of the conference's better big men. To this point, his play can probably be best described as inconsistent. However, with an increase in playing time last season, Harper did show glimpses of promise. Will Geriot's return, combined with Richmond's reliance on its backcDan Geriot scoring, impressing a bewildered Jimmie Binnie ourt, have a detrimental affect on Harper's further development?

Justin Harper will be better, more assertive. This is because he has made significant weight and strength gains during the offseason. With the strength comes the confidence. He is still only 19, but Harper will be a consistent Spider this season, I believe.

Shifting to this year's schedule, Chris Mooney has appeared to have loosened his belt and decided to take on all comers. Richmond's non-conference schedule features Wake Forest, Mississippi State, Florida, South Carolina and potentially Missouri. Is Mooney's objective to get the Spiders ready for A-10 play, or is he thinking that 2-3 wins among the aforementioned group could put UR in line for an at-large berth?

Coach Mooney recognizes this as a season in which UR has the talent to make a run at an NCAA bid and wants to give the Spiders every possible opportunity for "quality" wins that may impressive a selection committee. This is a toughest overall schedule in school history.

Let's turn to Richmond's incoming freshman class: Darien Brothers and Greg Robbins. What impact, if any, will the two newcomers have this season?

Robbins may be a 3-point threat UR can use. Brothers will be a back-up guard.

Make an embarrassingly early prediction. What is the best and worst case scenarios for this year's Richmond squad?

Richmond can finish third in the A-10 behind Dayton and Xavier, then qualify for the NCAAs. A worst-case scenario would have to involve injuries. There's too much experience and talent to expect a second-half finish in the A-10 any other way.