Interesting that Gilly on the broadcast last night said that Tyler has changed his shooting stroke to try and have a quicker release. I noticed a bit in the first game that it looked like his release was a bit lower and off to the side and mentioned as much in a text thread with Spider friends, but it was kind of slight so I thought I might be imagining it, but Gilly confirmed it last night.

I imagine it was a result of the NBA feedback he got and the somewhat longer windup he had for his catch and shoot jumpers It does seem slight so hopefully not something he needs to work through for weeks to get hot from 3.

Anyone else notice the change?

I converted this to a poll. Much more interesting. Voting closes after election day.

I am not certain where to post this, but there was a active shooting last night on UVA campus. The shooter targeted existing members of the UVA football team, three were fatally shot and two were wounded. Announcements were made by family members. The three were Lavel Davis (WR), DSean Perry (LB), and Devin Chandler. The two wounded, from Louisiana, were RB Mike Hollins and WR Dontayvion Wicks. The shooter was identified as Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a former walk-on forUVA football.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the UVA community.

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this game lost a little of its edge when Coach Rocco was dismissed after last season, but if the once powerful Blue Hens are really the 2nd best team in the CAA and the Spiders the 4th best it should be the usual donnybrook that ensues when these two squads meet in Newark...

former Delaware QB Ryan Carty has been brought in from Sam Houston State to rebuild the once proud program...he doesn't lack swagger...during CAA Media Day he observed that in Newark the program has everything it needs to dominate football at the FCS level...could they become the North Dakota State of the east?

oft injured QB Nolan Henderson returns for a 6th season to lead the Blue Hens offense...four Hens were named to the Preseason All CAA Defensive team, but Delaware's defense was very inconsistent last season...the Spiders scored 51 points last season in a big win over the Blue Hens at The Brick House...that game may have sealed Coach Rocco's fate..

enjoy Episode Ten of the Countdown...thank goodness real football is just over a week away!

Go Spiders!

Save it! Not to be used as a fire starter this year!

Great win today, Spiders! I can't wait to put that playoff parking pass to use again...for the first time in a long time
....maybe even the first weekend of December.

Go Spiders! Beat the Tribe!

The Spiders are #1 in the CAA. It is time to defeat the Indians of William and Mary and win the conference.

It was wonderful that Gilly came back for the raising of the banners. The guy loves U of R and the basketball program. Not only did he give us 5 outstanding years, but he trained his replacement and continues to mentor him. Nelson probably thinks these first 2 games are easy compared to having to go up against Gilly every day in practice. It was great seeing how happy Gilly was to be back and the fans love him. He was being approached for autographs most of the game. It was also great seeing how fired up he was watching the Spiders play and seeing Nelson put up 21.

Gilly was walking around with a beer in his hand and at first I was a little taken back, but then I realized he is in his mid-20s and having a great time. If anyone deserves to drink a beer in the Robin Center it is Gilly.

Looking to add something Richmond Basketball to the man cave, but am having trouble finding anything online. Anyone know of anywhere to grab a good photo to print myself or somewhere that already has framed photos?

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Ha! "Captain Obvious" back for another season...I think Jason Nelson has begun his Spiders career in an impressive manner...it looks like he could develop into the next great Spiders point guard...

and how about the other Jason? Roche!...his three point shooting tonight may be a sign that he really can shoot well against a higher level of competition...

if you didn't see the game, the video clips will give you a good glimpse at what both Jasons did tonight...

finally, Coach Mooney said somewhere along the way in preseason that he thought this squad could be strong defensively...I have no idea how good VMI and Northern Iowa will turn out to be but our defensive effort has smothered both of them...particularly in the second halves when the games were being decided...I expect we'll find out more about the Spiders defense Monday night against Charleston...they put 86 on the board tonight in a losing effort against #1 ranked UNC...

congrats to the team on the promising start to the season...it's been a fun week watching the new era of Spiders basketball...

Beat Delaware!

Go Spiders!

I didn’t see the first game last night. Looking at history Northern Iowa always has a descent team. This game does kinda concern me a bit. I know Northern Iowa didn’t play anyone. Putting over 100 points on anyone is impressive.

Hard to believe we're only a week out! Can't wait to be back at the Robins Center next Monday!

Excited to get these game threads back and going! Give me your predictions for our matchup with the Keydets

Now that we know everyone is back. We are all excited, I would dare to say. What are some lineups(doesn’t have to be starting) you guys would like to see and what are some predictions record wise for the season? SpiderK’s original prediction was 10-21 and not making NIT 😶 I think even SpiderK will revise that prediction now.
As far as lineups “I” would like to see on the floor is Jason, Dji, TB, Matt, & Neal. But I also like replacing Matt out with Bigelow and moving TB to the 4 spot. Bigs is going to rebound, can shoot it and is a solid defender and is a heck of an athlete. I didn’t think TB would be in that spot much but I’ve changed my mind, I think he could be used there at least situationally. Also need the back up for Neal and so Matt gives us the best option at the 5. Not sure about Waltz & if we use him. If Matt sticks at the 4 then we may have to use him but I’m not sure if that realistic since he hasn’t gotten o campus yet or I think he will be starting Sunday . We’ve talked about most of this a lot already. I think we use Roche as matchup based and situational. Kid is absolutely going to play bc he can shoot it and has been doing that in wrkouts. I think Malcolm is also a very very strong guard who can help us in spots. Of course there is still Goose, Aidan, and Marcus but these are lineups of what “I” would like to see, nothing more. I think we have the potential to win 20 reg season games at the end of the day and make an NIT run and BEST case an NCAA shot, but I think with this group the NIT is attainable. Only 143 day remain before the start 😀🕷🏀 Thoughts?

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after six years away from the CAA Championship battle this has been a really fulfilling season for this fan...it seems like we have been playing for our Championship and Playoff hopes every week since Elon...and now we've got what may be the toughest game at all at Delaware!!!....how's it get any better for a football fan!

Huesman and Carty have acknowledged the similarities between the two teams this week...Henderson v. Udinski....WRs Pitts and Townsend v. Herres and Henley...CAA #1 Delaware defense v. #2 Richmond defense....WarrenNolan FCS power rating UR #14 Delaware #15...you get the idea...these are two evenly matched teams...

Coach Huesman doesn't delve into the intangibles of the Spiders very often, but this week he pointed out a giant difference in this squad and some of his previous squads...he said this team "believes" it will win now, as opposed to others who "hoped" they would win...he went on to say how close knit the team was and how they played for each other...something has made a big difference this season...Huesman may be right about this team!

I expect we'll take our best game to "The Tub" and I expect Delaware will bring their best game...this one's got everything I remember about Championship caliber November football...

enjoy the Prologue...it has a special beginning that many Spiders fans may remember...hint, it's pretty exciting!

Go Spiders!

Can anyone tell me can I purchase just the Charleston game or do I have to a monthly thing and then cancel. Not going to be able to get there so this is our only option I see.

I may be wrong or missed an announcement .. but is Greg still in his game analyst role - didn't hear him on the post-game radio show on my drive home from Robins on Monday night ... will miss Greg if he has moved on - had a great chat with him on a plane back from the Drake game last season from Des Moines to MSP.

I’ll get us started…

TB3
The Goose
“Full of Grace”
Dji Latte

Gonna bring this back, my player observations: We will start with the good.

Bigelow: Probably was the least heralded of our 3 transfers and well that was wrong. This guy is a stud. Big, tall, athletic, can run the floor, plays with confidence. He is going to be starting at some point, likely sooner than later this year.
Nelson: I've been holding my breath about him, knowing how important him being good was to our team. He delivered. Really smooth handle, can get himself to the bucket, quick. He is going to be a great player for us. Caveat: 2-8 from the FT is unacceptable particularly as a PG. Needs to clean that up.
Dji: Y'all, I've been high on Dji since he got here and he confirmed that last night. Has a nice stroke from 3 and with his size and handle, he can get himself inside and to the rim against anyone. I REALLY like a back court with Dji and Nelson in it together, like starting together.

They are what they thought they were:

Burton: His defense is still sketchy, please falling for the pump fake. But he is a monster on the class, bring his energy, shot wasn't falling last night but he is what we know he is an all A-10 caliber player.
Grace: Should Grace be starting? His 1 point, 4 rebound game says heck no. I do think he brings some stability to the court with all of these new guys and I see why Mooney is starting him, because Mooney can trust him to implement both our offense and defense.
Goose: Crowd favorite, but yeah he is what his 4 season body of work says he is. Really solid defensively, but we aren't getting much on offense. I think we say last night that offense is what is going to challenge this team. How long does he stay in the starting line up as well, if he can't contribute more on offense:
Roche: So, I see what Roche is not starting. He doesn't have A-10 athleticism. Beside that, his stroke is really frickin nice. He is gonna be a great zone buster for us and he plays scrappy, which you need from players like him.
Randolph: I'm not sure where he fits out there yet, he doesn't do one thing really great, but also doesn't do anything really poorly either. I like his versatility, he plays with confidence and looks like he has a bit of mean streak in him, which I like.

Needs some work:
Quinn: As excited as I was for what Bigelow showed, I was equally disappointed in Quinn. I can see why he was a stud in the Patriot League but my lord he is slow, not agile and not strong and I fear A-10 teams like VCU and Dayton are going to abuse him. I honestly thought Matz is his brief few minutes showed me more than Quinn. When I said Bigelow will be starting soon, it may not be Grace's place he is taking.

Overall: Nice opening season win. VMI looks terrible so I'm not going to get excited over that, but I will say last year's team despite having more talent than this year's would have let VMI hang around even more than this years version. Lots of rust and nerves in the first half. Defense looks really good, offense needs some work and in particular are reliance on the 3 ball needs to decrease. Way too much settlings for 3's last night. Also, FT's. Come on guys, they are free for a reason.

Additional prop: For Mooney for his first half technical. Those refs had lost control and I really liked how Mooney stepped up, got the tech, protected his young team who were obviously getting frustrated from their bad calls.

I think we have a pretty good idea of what most of the guys we expect in the rotation will bring this year. We have a good idea of what Goose, Grace, and Crabtree will give us. We know Burton is a superstar, all A-10, possible POY guy. We even have a good idea of what the transfers will bring. Quinn gives us size, scoring and rebounding down low, and Roche gives us solid 3 point shooting. Bigelow seems versatile and should give us some 3s, some defense, and some rebounding. We don't know a lot about Walz, Randolph, Dread, or Noyes, but I don't think we are counting on huge production from them this year.

So, that leaves the PG spot. We can't expect our point guards to replace Jacob's production this season. But, we do need good, solid point guard play. The position is just too important to try to win without it. We don't need greatness at the PG spot every game. Both Nelson and Dji are young and there is time to get to greatness. Just be good enough to make a difference. Be good enough so we can look at the PG spot and say we have a good PG. Do that, and we will be really really good this coming year.

Dayton reloads w USC transfer

https://www.zagsblog.com/2020/05/25...paign=dayton-lands-usc-transfer-elijah-weaver

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I've been hopeful since preseason that the Spiders would play a game like this one in November...it's been six long years since The Brick House has hosted a November game with CAA Championship implications...

as many have mentioned previously the program has lost a lot of fans, interest and enthusiasm since 2016...I hope what appears to be classic FCS/CAA matchup Saturday begins to turn things around for the program...

Coach Huesman says the Wildcats are a team without a weakness...they'll be the best team we've faced this season, but the Spiders will be the best team they've faced...they'll settle it on the field Saturday...that's the way November football should be...I'm awful glad it's back...

as another great Spiders fan and friend often says: Saturday Richmond will do "just enough" to defeat the Wildcats!

enjoy the Prologue...

Go Spiders!

Saturday, November 5, 2022 Football

I can't tell if the crowd noise at today's game most resembled crickets or cicadas. I think it was more cicadas.

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don't look now, but New Hampshire had a pretty good defense too...I believe they were leading the CAA in rushing defense, sacks and tackles for loss coming into yesterday's battle...

these clips are a taste of what happened yesterday at The Brick House....

our offensive line limited the Wildcats to a single sack and kept the pressure off of Udinski most of the day, thus the typical Udinski game 30-43-287 Yards and 3 TDs...nobody's been able to stop him yet...our wide receivers have to love playing with him...they feast each week too...how about Leroy Henley's line 6- 106Yards and 2TDs!...and finally our rushing game wasn't spectacular, but it gave us 139 yards and some big first downs...I think it was enough to keep the Wildcats defense honest...Smith, Dykes and Udinski all had some important runs...

no doubt Delaware will be another big test for this unit, but after what Spiders fans have seen so far this season, I'm optimistic we'll score some points in Newark!

Go Spiders!