By
Joel Welser
DePaul took away Coach
Jerry Wainwright, so
Richmond went in a surprising direction and
nabbed Air Force’s Chris Mooney to lead the way for the Spiders.
Mooney was only the head coach at Air Force for one season and
that is all his division I head coaching experience. He’s a
smart and up and coming coach, who is 20th on Princeton’s career
scoring list from his playing days with the Tigers from
1991-1994. Of course with a Princeton man, comes the offensive
namesake. The team better start practice shooting with the shot
clock under five.
Who’s Out:
Forwards Jamaal Scott and Patrick O’Malley were the only two
seniors on the roster last season. Together they averaged 16.2
points and started 32 games. While they will be missed, it will
be the early departures of guards Daon Merritt and Courtney
Nelson that will cause the most problems for Mooney in his first
year at Richmond. Merritt averaged 11.1 points and 4.3 assists
as a sophomore. His floor leadership will be difficult to
replace. Nelson started five games as a freshman, averaging 6.1
points.
Who’s In:
Incoming freshman guard Jose
Garcia will probably be a starter due to necessity. Garcia has
nice range, a solid passing ability and always plays with
energy, seemingly a good fit for the Princeton offense despite
being recruited by the previous administration. Jarhon Giddings,
a 6-8, 215 pound forward, redshirted last season and should be
ready to make an impact this year. As a senior in high school,
Giddings averaged 16 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.2 blocks per
contest. After starting 20 games for Valparaiso two years ago,
Oumar Sylla is eligible to play at Richmond. Sylla is a lanky
6-6 forward who will fight for a starting gig. Ryan Butler is a
late edition to the Spiders. The 6-6 guard doesn’t have
overwhelming skills, but he’s a smart player and has a nice
stroke from behind the arc.
Who to Watch:
Andres Sandoval finds himself
as the frontrunner to run the point after the departures of
Merritt and Nelson. After struggling with a knee injury last
year, Sandoval started 19 games, averaging 6.1 points and 2.5
assists. Given the opportunity, and with the injury behind him,
Sandoval should put up big numbers and be a solid point guard
for the Spiders. Recent rumors of Sandoval transferring out of
Richmond before this season could spell trouble for the Spider
backcourt.
Projected Conference Rank:
Richmond is young
and with the coaching change and the early departures,
expectations will not be high. Nonetheless, the Spiders have
some talent and can be dangerous once the Princeton offense is
fully implemented, understood and bought into by the players. If
that doesn’t take too long, placing 7th in the A10 is feasible.
Projected Post-season
Tournament: none
Projected Starting Five:
Andres Sandoval,
Sophomore, Guard, 6.1 points per game
Jose Garcia, Freshman,
Guard, DNP last season
Jermaine Bucknor, Senior,
Forward, 10.7 points per game
Gaston Moliva, Junior,
Forward, 4.3 points per game
Kevin Steenberge, Senior,
Center, 12.6 points per game
