When Kevin Anderson decided to return to Richmond for his senior season, it assured the Spiders of being a contender in the Atlantic 10 and likely to make a repeat trip to the NCAA Tournament. (By the way, Richmond has the creepiest logo in all of collegiate sports. I hate spiders.)
The Sports Bank’s “99 in 99” ranks the 72 power conference college basketball teams and top 27 mid-majors. Our countdown will lead right up to the start of the season and provide you will all the in-depth information about the top teams in the game. Click here if you missed teams #44-#99.
By: David Kay
Richmond Spiders (3rd, 13-3 in A-10, 26-9 overall)
Projected Depth Chart:
F/C: Darrius Garrett (Jr)/Dan Geriot (Sr)/Josh Duinker (Jr)
PF: Justin Harper (Sr)/Conor Smith (Jr)/Derrick Williams (Fr)
SF: Francis-Cedric Martel (Jr)/Kevin Hovde (Sr)/Greg Robbins (So)
SG: Kevin Smith (Sr)/Darien Brothers (So)/Wayne Sparrow (Fr)
PG: Kevin Anderson (Sr)/Cedrick Lindsay (Fr)
Gone: SG-David Gonzalvez, SF-Ryan Butler
2010-2011 Outlook:
The Spiders return six of their top eight players from a year ago including Atlantic 10 Player of the Year candidate and Wooden Award Finalist Kevin Anderson. The Spiders will have to replace Anderson’s backcourt mates and perimeter threats David Gonzalvez and Ryan Butler. Bench players Kevin Smith and Francis-Cedric Martel will likely step into the starting line-up to fill those vacancies. Senior Kevin Hovde was granted a medical redshirt last season after being sidelined with a broken ankle and figures to be the anchor of a relatively young and inexperienced group of back-up wing players.
Everybody is back in the frontcourt including returning starters Justin Harper and Darius Garrett. Harper is a skilled 6-10 player who can step out and knock down the three. He will need to become even more of a scorer this season since Gonzalvez has moved on. Garrett is a defensive-minded big known for his shot blocking ability but won’t give you much production on the offensive end. Dan Geriot started 16 games a season ago and returns to provide some depth up-front along with little used Josh Duinker and Conor Smith.
The A-10 proved to be very competitive last season and this year should be no different. If Anderson can be even slightly better than the player he was a year ago and Harper steps up to replace the scoring void left behind by Gonzalvez, the Spiders will be in the thick of the conference race with three or four other teams.
Player to Watch: Kevin Anderson, PG
Anderson briefly tested the NBA Draft waters before deciding to return for his senior season. He is an outstanding scorer and not afraid to drive to the basket despite often times being the smallest guy on the court. He is extremely quick and has terrific body control in the lane but needs to improve his outside shooting if he is going to take the next step as a college player and help Richmond win an A-10 title.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/15 vs. William & Mary
11/27 vs. Purdue/Southern Illinois (Chicago Invitational Tournament)
12/1 at Old Dominion
12/5 at Arizona State
12/11 vs. VCU
12/18 vs. Georgia Tech (in the Bahamas)
12/26 at Seton Hall
12/29 vs. Wake Forest
Other 99 in 99’s:
#44 UNLV
#45 Seton Hall
#46 Wichita State
#47 Washington State
#48 St. Louis
#49 Old Dominion
#50 Minnesota
#51 New Mexico
#52 UConn
#53 Northwestern
#54 UCLA
#55 Southern Mississippi
#56 St. Mary’s
#57 Texas A&M
#58 Louisville
#59 Arizona State
#60 Northern Iowa
#61 Creighton
#62 Clemson
#63 Cincinnati
#64 Texas Tech
#65 Miami, FL
#66 Charlotte
#67 UTEP
#68 Ole Miss
#69 George Mason
#70 Colorado
#71 Weber State
#72 Alabama
#73 Bradley
#74 Central Florida
#75 Wake Forest
#76 Georgia Tech
#77 USC
#78 Oklahoma State
#79 Cal
#80 Oklahoma
#81 Virginia
#82 South Carolina
#83 Indiana
#84 Stanford
#85 Oregon
#86 Penn State
#87 South Florida
#88 Arkansas
#89 Boston College
#90 LSU
#91 Providence
#92 Michigan
#93 Oregon State
#94. Nebraska
#95. Auburn
#96. DePaul
#97. Iowa State
#98. Rutgers
#99. Iowa