Probably the worst of the year

[VT4700]

Terry Allen was a decent shooting 4, but other than him, there has been no one to fill that type. Thought Sal could maybe be that guy but didn’t pan out.

These guys are out there, and they don’t all go to power programs.

TJ Cline says Hi. And, Marshall Wood as well. I think because we had Grant and Nate play together for awhile, it must have seemed like we had no one since Harper, but Allen, TJ, and Wood show we have. I thought Grant and Nate did pretty good together, and had a lot of success, but I guess 23 is mad because we didn't have somebody else out there instead.

You say these guys are out there. Well, how many of them? 23 uses Harper as an example, and mentioned NBA draft pick. Okay, how many Justin Harper types have been drafted from the A-10 since Harp graduated?

 

[spider23]

Terry Allen shot 24 and 30 % from 3 in his last two seasons. I guess that is outstanding by our standards.

 

[mr.spider]

Yep. Pretty special year, wasn't it? We have never won more regular season games in the history of our program.

2020's 24-7 was a very good season. However, it doesn't count for anything because there was no ncaa tourny. That, my friend, is the only barometer for a successful season. Thankfully, we had 2022 as a replacement year since our team and everyone got screwed in 2020.

We got one 1 NCAA run out of that team, as we would have had the 2020 season not been canceled. Why is this so hard to understand!

 

[VT4700]

Wow, 23, so now you are saying Terry Allen wasn't a good enough player for you? TJ not good enough either? Why? Because they didn't get drafted like Harper? Since Harper got drafted in 2011, only 4 big forwards from the A-10 have been drafted, and only 2 of them, Andrew Nicholson (drafted in 2012) and Obi Toppin (2020) could make the 3. So, since 2012, Obi Toppin is the only A-10 guy that compares to Harper, yet you get on Mooney for not landing them? Sorry, but I stand by my saying there are just not that many Justin Harper types out there, and the ones that are, usually end up at a power school.

 

[whampas]

2020's 24-7 was a very good season. However, it doesn't count for anything because there was no ncaa tourny. That, my friend, is the only barometer for a successful season. Thankfully, we had 2022 as a replacement year since our team and everyone got screwed in 2020.

We got one 1 NCAA run out of that team, as we would have had the 2020 season not been canceled. Why is this so hard to understand!

For most of us it's not hard to understand. Those with limited reasoning ability have great difficulty. My level of frustration with those has gone down considerably by using the ignore feature.

 

[VT4700]

2020's 24-7 was a very good season. However, it doesn't count for anything because there was no ncaa tourny. That, my friend, is the only barometer for a successful season. Thankfully, we had 2022 as a replacement year since our team and everyone got screwed in 2020.

We got one 1 NCAA run out of that team, as we would have had the 2020 season not been canceled. Why is this so hard to understand!

Doesn't count for anything? So, they didn't count Jacob's steals that year? It's not me who needs to understand anything. It's those of you who continue to pretend 2020 never happened. And, had 2020 not been canceled and 2021 not been all messed up, it is more than fair to think we could have had back to back tourney seasons, so this "you can only say 1 good season" crap is just that.....crap. In your ongoing need to be negative and be anti Richmond, you say we can't count something that actually happened and you say 2020 wasn't successful because there was no tourney. Wow. Some fan you are.

 

[97spiderfan]

TJ Cline says Hi. And, Marshall Wood as well. I think because we had Grant and Nate play together for awhile, it must have seemed like we had no one since Harper, but Allen, TJ, and Wood show we have. I thought Grant and Nate did pretty good together, and had a lot of success, but I guess 23 is mad because we didn't have somebody else out there instead.

You say these guys are out there. Well, how many of them? 23 uses Harper as an example, and mentioned NBA draft pick. Okay, how many Justin Harper types have been drafted from the A-10 since Harp graduated?

Did you just say Marshall Wood? I think I just spit my drink all over my computer

 

[spider23]

No, you are extrapolating again, and running wild. TJ was a very good player. But too many years we have had MAJOR holes in the lineup - which I pointed out on this here message board. And those holes were exposed. I liked Terry Allen, he did fade off down the stretch of his career a bit, but I think it was mentioned on here that he had some off court issues - so he gets a pass in my book.

I would like to see our recruiting more on the par with Dayton's. Injuries aside, they have done very well recruiting. Yes, they get more fans, but we have been filling up the RC I am told, and as someone pointed out - Richmond VA is a lot nicer than Dayton OH, which I agree with. But go on and keep lowering the bar.

 

[VT4700]

Did you just say Marshall Wood? I think I just spit my drink all over my computer

Yes. Marshall Wood. He was 6'8 and was 82-217 (37.7%) from 3 for us.

 

[VT4700]

No, you are extrapolating again, and running wild. TJ was a very good player. But too many years we have had MAJOR holes in the lineup - which I pointed out on this here message board. And those holes were exposed. I liked Terry Allen, he did fade off down the stretch of his career a bit, but I think it was mentioned on here that he had some off court issues - so he gets a pass in my book.

I would like to see our recruiting more on the par with Dayton's. Injuries aside, they have done very well recruiting. Yes, they get more fans, but we have been filling up the RC I am told, and as someone pointed out - Richmond VA is a lot nicer than Dayton OH, which I agree with. But go on and keep lowering the bar.

Lowering the bar? All I said was it is not as easy as you say it is to get Justin Harper types in here. That is what you brought up, and that is what I am discussing with you. And, I have shown several facts to back up my point. Obi Toppin is the only Justin Harper type from the A-10 to get drafted since 2012, and you get on Mooney for not landing this type of player??? Yes, that seems strange to me. I mentioned Wood and TJ reminding T that we have had other players with size besides Allen who could hit the 3.

 

[spiderman]

2020's 24-7 was a very good season. However, it doesn't count for anything because there was no ncaa tourny. That, my friend, is the only barometer for a successful season. Thankfully, we had 2022 as a replacement year since our team and everyone got screwed in 2020.

We got one 1 NCAA run out of that team, as we would have had the 2020 season not been canceled. Why is this so hard to understand!

your line of thinking isn't hard to understand. in fact it's pretty simplistic. some of us just disagree with it. is that ok?

you want Mooney gone. I get it. you have plenty of valid ammo. but 2020 was a successful season. so was 2022. you don't need to create some distortion of reality to make your point. stick with "we didn't make 9 consecutive tournaments. that's pretty effective. it's not current, but it's still effective. "we just lost to freaking William & Mary" is more current and equally effective.

 

[mr.spider]

Doesn't count for anything? So, they didn't count Jacob's steals that year? It's not me who needs to understand anything. It's those of you who continue to pretend 2020 never happened. And, had 2020 not been canceled and 2021 not been all messed up, it is more than fair to think we could have had back to back tourney seasons, so this "you can only say 1 good season" crap is just that.....crap. In your ongoing need to be negative and be anti Richmond, you say we can't count something that actually happened and you say 2020 wasn't successful because there was no tourney. Wow. Some fan you are.

The measure of a program is NCAA appearances and runs in the tournament. Plain and simple. We got one last year! Celebrate it! It's awesome! But let's not double count it to make us feel better either. Just aim for more and expect more.

Jacob's individual successes were incredible. Jacob was an awesome player. His successes, however, unfortunately, are not known by anyone outside our program unless the team succeeds. Thankfully, they did last year. I'm quite sure Jacob would say this too. He was a team player. He wanted the team to succeed more than he wanted his individual successes.

Don't EVER question how much of a fan I am. I love the Spiders! Anyone who knows me would probably say I love them too much!

I believe we can do much better. In fact, I know we can. I'm not content to say one NCAA every 10 years is enough. I'm not ok with resting on 1 NCAA every other year. We can always do more, and we should always be looking for ways to build the program further. We have something special here, and I will always believe we can do more. We are not 'poor little 'ole Richmond'. We should expect more. We shouldn't act like we maxed out at winning one game in the NCAAs last year. You act like it is unfathomable to have a longer run or expect to make the tourny more frequently. That doesn't sound like much of a fan to me.

 

[GKiller]

I would like to see our recruiting more on the par with Dayton's. Injuries aside, they have done very well recruiting. Yes, they get more fans, but we have been filling up the RC I am told, and as someone pointed out - Richmond VA is a lot nicer than Dayton OH, which I agree with. But go on and keep lowering the bar.

But Dayton only filling the seats with 2 for $20 tix & free parking on Sat nights for their best OOC game of season. Probably. Maybe.

 

[8legs1dream]

But Dayton only filling the seats with 2 for $20 tix & free parking on Sat nights for their best OOC game of season. Probably. Maybe.

Well we are literally giving away extra tickets to the Drake game to season ticket holders for free 🤷‍♂️

 

[97spiderfan]

Yes. Marshall Wood. He was 6'8 and was 82-217 (37.7%) from 3 for us.

Yes, and he couldn't play a lick of interior defense and had really no other game besides the 3 ball. Still was a better option than Deion Taylor but that is an argument for another day.

 

[spider23]

We missed you on these boards the last few years mr. spider.

 

[spider23]

Yes, and he couldn't play a lick of interior defense and had really no other game besides the 3 ball. Still was a better option than Deion Taylor but that is an argument for another day.

Right, the game I sat next to one Kevin Hovde at Fordham game (which I believe ended up being Wood's best game ever) I overheard him talking to a Columbia coach, basically saying how the UR coaches said Wood was so soft, etc, etc running him down. Another year, I was speaking to our video guy at the Fordham game, expressing some disappointment in the season. He was telling me similar thing about the players, and Moon and staff thought they were mentally soft, and wouldn't play D, etc, etc. I am thinking, these are the guys he recruited. It's not like a travel or youth team you coach where you get who signs up. It really started my disenchantment with Mooney, hearing these things, the passing of the buck. So yes, I get his frustration, but not his biggest fan since.

 

[GKiller]

Well we are literally giving away extra tickets to the Drake game to season ticket holders for free 🤷‍♂️

Mine was a joke, maybe a bad one if nobody got it. I'm confident Dayton isn't doing that. not for their best ooc game on a sat night. Which is what the Drake game is for us. I got an email for 2 for $20 tix + free parking. I didn't realize it was also bring your buddy night for STH.

It's too bad our poor start coming off the NCAA trip has reverted us back to these tactics. Not that I'm against them u have to do what u have to do. For a mid week bad game sure. But maybe the momentum is already gone. Hope not idk.

 

[spider23]

Mine was a joke, maybe a bad one if nobody got it. I'm confident Dayton isn't doing that. not for their best ooc game on a sat night. Which is what the Drake game is for us. I got an email for 2 for $20 tix + free parking. I didn't realize it was also bring your buddy night for STH.

No, i got it, Dayton has pretty much sold out every game.

 

[GKiller]

No, i got it, Dayton has pretty much sold out every game.

TY. Our boy 8legs might be low brow humor only. We'll stick him in the corner drinking Shirley Temples next March in Brooklyn. Just kidding 8legs. Btw I love a Shirley Temple. Very underrated drink.

 

[urmite]

No, you are extrapolating again, and running wild. TJ was a very good player. But too many years we have had MAJOR holes in the lineup - which I pointed out on this here message board. And those holes were exposed. I liked Terry Allen, he did fade off down the stretch of his career a bit, but I think it was mentioned on here that he had some off court issues - so he gets a pass in my book.

I would like to see our recruiting more on the par with Dayton's. Injuries aside, they have done very well recruiting. Yes, they get more fans, but we have been filling up the RC I am told, and as someone pointed out - Richmond VA is a lot nicer than Dayton OH, which I agree with. But go on and keep lowering the bar.

I would lower the bar. I think any UR staff would have a hard time recruiting at Dayton or VCU level. Maybe, just maybe SLU...
But we can do better than anyone else in the A-10 including Davidson & Loyola. We need to do that and do that consistently. I do feel recruiting as picked up for a few years. It just needs to keep improving and be consistent.

 

[spiderman]

But maybe the momentum is already gone. Hope not idk.

momentum shows up in recruiting. we inked Smith and Tanner coming off the high of last year. should have had Reed. but we have 2 spots to fill late and 1 has to have size. it would be a lot easier to land good ones if things start clicking soon.

 

[urmite]

momentum shows up in recruiting. we inked Smith and Tanner coming off the high of last year. should have had Reed. but we have 2 spots to fill late and 1 has to have size. it would be a lot easier to land good ones if things start clicking soon.

How much of recruiting is in December & January vs February & March?

I'd love for things to start clicking as soon as possible, but I think February could be our best month, that gives time together and the schedule is more favorable...

 

[97spiderfan]

Right, the game I sat next to one Kevin Hovde at Fordham game (which I believe ended up being Wood's best game ever) I overheard him talking to a Columbia coach, basically saying how the UR coaches said Wood was so soft, etc, etc running him down. Another year, I was speaking to our video guy at the Fordham game, expressing some disappointment in the season. He was telling me similar thing about the players, and Moon and staff thought they were mentally soft, and wouldn't play D, etc, etc. I am thinking, these are the guys he recruited. It's not like a travel or youth team you coach where you get who signs up. It really started my disenchantment with Mooney, hearing these things, the passing of the buck. So yes, I get his frustration, but not his biggest fan since.

Wow. It's almost like Mooney is not the coach of these players. I mean if the coaches feel some players are "soft" than perhaps do something about that, coach them up demand better. Moon appears to be the consummate nice guy, too nice to tell those under him, what he needs and demands better of them. We see this all of the time from Moon, too afraid to just call out the elephant in the room. We need a leader of men.

 

[GKiller]

momentum shows up in recruiting. we inked Smith and Tanner coming off the high of last year. should have had Reed. but we have 2 spots to fill late and 1 has to have size. it would be a lot easier to land good ones if things start clicking soon.

pretty clear I was talking about the momentum of the fan base. which is definitely a thing. larger, active crowds help. Esp for us that doesn't have a built in large alumni base & student enrollment to rely on like other schools. coming off NCAA I was hoping we weren't back to all the tix deals for sat night of our best ooc game. but 3-5 & losing to W&M does that. Piggybacking off the ncaa run with a solid start would have been ideal, but not to be. We'll probably still have a decent crowd, but a consistent home court advantage no doubt helps. Nice if more organic over artificial too. More staying power.

But the recruiting was only ok when u lose an important big man at a position we needed it. Nothing against those 2 who signed I'm glad to have as Spiders, but we didn't ride recruiting momentum as well as I'd have liked either. I was pushing for 1 more Durkin too.

 

[8legs1dream]

TY. Our boy 8legs might be low brow humor only. We'll stick him in the corner drinking Shirley Temples next March in Brooklyn. Just kidding 8legs. Btw I love a Shirley Temple. Very underrated drink.

I knew they sold a lot of tickets but didn't know how much help they needed doing so. At any rate please keep it low brow for me and I'll have a Tom Collins!

 

[VT4700]

The measure of a program is NCAA appearances and runs in the tournament. Plain and simple. We got one last year! Celebrate it! It's awesome! But let's not double count it to make us feel better either. Just aim for more and expect more.

Jacob's individual successes were incredible. Jacob was an awesome player. His successes, however, unfortunately, are not known by anyone outside our program unless the team succeeds. Thankfully, they did last year. I'm quite sure Jacob would say this too. He was a team player. He wanted the team to succeed more than he wanted his individual successes.

Don't EVER question how much of a fan I am. I love the Spiders! Anyone who knows me would probably say I love them too much!

I believe we can do much better. In fact, I know we can. I'm not content to say one NCAA every 10 years is enough. I'm not ok with resting on 1 NCAA every other year. We can always do more, and we should always be looking for ways to build the program further. We have something special here, and I will always believe we can do more. We are not 'poor little 'ole Richmond'. We should expect more. We shouldn't act like we maxed out at winning one game in the NCAAs last year. You act like it is unfathomable to have a longer run or expect to make the tourny more frequently. That doesn't sound like much of a fan to me.

"It doesn't count for anything because there was no NCAA tourney". Wow. Some fan you are.

 

[spiderman]

Wow. It's almost like Mooney is not the coach of these players. I mean if the coaches feel some players are "soft" than perhaps do something about that, coach them up demand better. Moon appears to be the consummate nice guy, too nice to tell those under him, what he needs and demands better of them. We see this all of the time from Moon, too afraid to just call out the elephant in the room. We need a leader of men.

there's the public persona and the one off camera. I have no doubt Mooney demands a lot of his players. but no, he never throws them under the bus in the media. he "coach speaks" a lot in interviews and shields the players from criticism. some may want the coach to be a little more "honest" in his assessments, but I actually like that how he handles that part of the job.

 

[spiderman]

How much of recruiting is in December & January vs February & March?

I'd love for things to start clicking as soon as possible, but I think February could be our best month, that gives time together and the schedule is more favorable...

agreed, February matters most in March. but I hope it doesn't take until February to get it together.

 

[spider23]

But the recruiting was only ok when u lose an important big man at a position we needed it. Nothing against those 2 who signed I'm glad to have as Spiders, but we didn't ride recruiting momentum as well as I'd have liked either. I was pushing for 1 more Durkin too.

Agree with this. Like both recruits, but I can't say we have necessarily filled our biggest need. If Trevor Smith is going to be the other "guy" in the backcourt eventually, then we are really looking to JayNels Junior season to have a potential NCAA team, if both he and Smith develop as we hope.

 

[urmite]

agreed, February matters most in March. but I hope it doesn't take until February to get it together.

I do too, but I do expect a lot of close wins or losses in January. Hopefully more of the former...

 

[VT4700]

Right, the game I sat next to one Kevin Hovde at Fordham game (which I believe ended up being Wood's best game ever) I overheard him talking to a Columbia coach, basically saying how the UR coaches said Wood was so soft, etc, etc running him down. Another year, I was speaking to our video guy at the Fordham game, expressing some disappointment in the season. He was telling me similar thing about the players, and Moon and staff thought they were mentally soft, and wouldn't play D, etc, etc. I am thinking, these are the guys he recruited. It's not like a travel or youth team you coach where you get who signs up. It really started my disenchantment with Mooney, hearing these things, the passing of the buck. So yes, I get his frustration, but not his biggest fan since.

You blame Mooney for that? Wow. So, he had a soft team. Shocker, everyone. We found an example of a team being soft. So, what about when Bill Self or John Calipari called their teams soft? Or even Nick Saban, who has said that more than once about his teams? They still played their "soft" guys. Is that also on them for not changing their guys and making them all tougher? Not every guy you recruit will have the toughness you are looking for. They just won't. Many times, you don't know this until they get there and/or get time on the court. I continue to be amazed at the many examples you use to get on Mooney when they usually apply to every other coach at some point.

 

[VT4700]

Wow. It's almost like Mooney is not the coach of these players. I mean if the coaches feel some players are "soft" than perhaps do something about that, coach them up demand better. Moon appears to be the consummate nice guy, too nice to tell those under him, what he needs and demands better of them. We see this all of the time from Moon, too afraid to just call out the elephant in the room. We need a leader of men.

LOL....see my previous post. Just coach them up, right? Easy as it can be. Even though every coach out there has faced this at some point and hasn't been able to change some of their guys. But, I guess our coach decided he didn't want to try to do that, right? Every other coach tries, but ours doesn't right? He just accepts softness, right? What another joke of a post.

 

[spiderman]

Agree with this. Like both recruits, but I can't say we have necessarily filled our biggest need. If Trevor Smith is going to be the other "guy" in the backcourt eventually, then we are really looking to JayNels Junior season to have a potential NCAA team, if both he and Smith develop as we hope.

agreed, this recruiting class gets an incomplete grade. Reed was the key piece.
I do really like Smith and Tanner, but we can't evaluate the whole until March. we almost certainly have 2 spots to fill.

 

[mr.spider]

LOL....see my previous post. Just coach them up, right? Easy as it can be. Even though every coach out there has faced this at some point and hasn't been able to change some of their guys. But, I guess our coach decided he didn't want to try to do that, right? Every other coach tries, but ours doesn't right? He just accepts softness, right? What another joke of a post.

Not only that, he creates softness. Many, if not most, of our players come in out of HS or as transfers as way more competitive, aggressive, and determined to win than when they leave our program.

 

[VT4700]

Not only that, he creates softness. Many, if not most, of our players come in out of HS or as transfers as way more competitive, aggressive, and determined to win than when they leave our program.

LOL. Okay. Another cheap shot at our players or coach from a so called fan.

 

[mr.spider]

LOL. Okay. Another cheap shot at our players or coach from a so called fan.

Not a shot at the players. Coach asks them to play that way. Mistakes aren't allowed. All about his system, which reduces aggressiveness and toughness. Doesn't even want to rebound, which has a big impact on aggressiveness and toughness.

 

[mr.spider]

LOL....see my previous post. Just coach them up, right? Easy as it can be. Even though every coach out there has faced this at some point and hasn't been able to change some of their guys. But, I guess our coach decided he didn't want to try to do that, right? Every other coach tries, but ours doesn't right? He just accepts softness, right? What another joke of a post.

Mooney actually tries too hard to change them. If he knew how to coach them where they're at (which is good players who have been playing the game for quite some time) rather than soften them into his mold, he might even be a decent coach.

If the system takes 2+ years to develop, it is not a good system. It might be an ok (even good) system if it could be learned very quickly. But you can't spend 2+ years out of 4 total years in training. Hell, you can't be wasting all of November training for it. You've nulled your season except for the conference tournament by that point.

 

[spider23]

you blame Mooney for that? Wow. So, he had a soft team.

No, 47 you are right. I would never blame Mooney for anything. Not for recruiting a soft team. Not for coaching up a soft team. Not for roster mismanagement year after year that left us getting big men from Chi STate, and CAA that averaged 1 pt and 1 rebound as our big man back up. I don't blame him for all those recruiting misses year after year, because we all know it was the admins fault. I don't blame him for striking out on recruits, because hey this is just Richmond. We could never ever be ST. Mary's could we. Nooooo. I don't blame him for failing to adapt, and sticking with the match up zone (that worked great at first) for 5 years too many - and then changed because Hardt - of all freaking basketball savants - John Jabba the Hardt - gave him an ultimum. WOW. No Mooney is blameless. He is still learning on the job.

I do blame the AD that gave him a 10 year contract. Go back in time and pull up my posts, I was not in favor of that.

 

[VT4700]

Not a shot at the players. Coach asks them to play that way. Mistakes aren't allowed. All about his system, which reduces aggressiveness and toughness. Doesn't even want to rebound, which has a big impact on aggressiveness and toughness.

LOL. Okay.