Ryan Soulis - 2023 Signee

[SFspidur]

I just don't think you can expect much from a guy who thought until recently he was going to be a 2024 and isn't going to get on the court alongside his teammates until late August. Maybe it all clicks and he's a major contributor, but I sure wouldn't bet on it this season.

 

[VT4700]

We are picked to finish 14th in the league. If Mooney isn't getting his young guys some really good developmental minutes this year, that would be a shame.

What does a pre season poll have to do with how you play your guys? Are you assuming these polls are always accurate? They are not. You play to win. Like every year, we should go in trying to win the conference, and a top 4 seed.

 

[SpiderDad75]

I just don't think you can expect much from a guy who thought until recently he was going to be a 2024 and isn't going to get on the court alongside his teammates until late August. Maybe it all clicks and he's a major contributor, but I sure wouldn't bet on it this season.

I tend to agree…let’s get him on campus first and see what he looks like in practice. I def like the pick up and maybe bc he decided to come in late he could have been promised something🤷🏼‍♂️. If he’s a true European player he may pick it up fairly quickly. We will see and I still think he’s a win win type of pick up.

 

[spiderman]

We are picked to finish 14th in the league. If Mooney isn't getting his young guys some really good developmental minutes this year, that would be a shame.

best players play.

guys like King and Harris didn't come here for a long term rebuild. they came to win now.

young guys can beat out old guys, but they shouldn't get handed time just because they're young. they can earn it in practice and when they get the chance in games.

I expect Mooney to try to win every game. as he should. fans on this board (if not Hardt) will certainly hold Mooney accountable for every loss, so play the guys that give us the best chance to win.

don't write off the season as a developmental year in August.

 

[SpiderGuy]

Redshirts in the era of the transfer portal and NIL seems like a really bad idea. We have a roster that is low on upper end talent and is very transitional this year. All of our freshman should be active and seeing minutes.

Yes - seeing minutes on the court and not end of bench or getting mop up mins sparingly.

 

[spider23]

I like that Soulis was offered by St. Mary's ( top 10 Goodman pick) and St. Johns (top 25). That gives me some confidence that what we see on tape is pretty legit. I am trying to be positive here. If he cannot contribute this year, I am fearful that our lack of depth inside will be an issue that plagues us this season.

 

[GKiller]

I'm with VT and sman. Not a big fan of the developmental mins. earn mins and then keep developing. This isn't the pros where u r sandbagging for a draft pick. The model in college is u always have something to play for the whole season, u r not eliminated until your last game. Plus in transfer era those young guys taking developmental mins may not be sticking around anyway. can't count on it like in past.

That said I hope FR can earn legit mins & w this roster they probably should. Overall I just think it's bad culturally if you don't play the best combo of players to win. Find deep bench time in blowouts.

AND...it's just kind of silly when u have only 3 NCAAs going into year 19 to play the long game. No point getting one year grad transfers if that was plan.

I do think they want to get some PR push out of the frosh class tho regardless. The next best class type deal. Feel like its coming. But hopefully that's becaue they r good & contributing and not because we are really struggling instead.

 

[VT4700]

I'm with VT and sman. Not a big fan of the developmental mins. earn mins and then keep developing. This isn't the pros where u r sandbagging for a draft pick. The model in college is u always have something to play for the whole season, u r not eliminated until your last game. Plus in transfer era those young guys taking developmental mins may not be sticking around anyway. can't count on it like in past.

That said I hope FR can earn legit mins & w this roster they probably should. Overall I just think it's bad culturally if you don't play the best combo of players to win. Find deep bench time in blowouts.

AND...it's just kind of silly when u have only 3 NCAAs going into year 19 to play the long game. No point getting one year grad transfers if that was plan.

I do think they want to get some PR push out of the frosh class tho regardless. The next best class type deal. Feel like its coming. But hopefully that's becaue they r good & contributing and not because we are really struggling instead.

Yep. Best players play. Don't play freshman just to play them, but if they are better than seniors, beat out seniors, and give you a better chance to win, of course you play them. Just like I am not a fan of playing young guys just to try to develop them faster, I am also not a fan of playing seniors over young guys just because they are seniors. Best players play.

 

[SFspidur]

I love that Grant's/David's mom is still out there doing stuff like this for just about every commit/signee.

 

[spider23]

I tend to agree…let’s get him on campus first and see what he looks like in practice. I def like the pick up and maybe bc he decided to come in late he could have been promised something🤷🏼‍♂️. If he’s a true European player he may pick it up fairly quickly. We will see and I still think he’s a win win type of pick up.

As King stated in the interview: "Coach Mooney is always telling us to just make plays" paraphrasing - it was something like that.

I do think Moon has simplified things - and there are only so many varieties of a play - the way I see our offense is more about running that little pattern - which most of us can see in our sleep. I don't see any really complicated offensive sets - and in fact that has been a criticism that it is the same offense over and over - though offense is generally much less of a problem than our defense IMO.

I think the adjustment will be more to the speed an physicality of the game vs learning Mooney's complicated systems. We know he simplified the defense after it continually lost effectiveness over a 7-8 year period.

 

[97spiderfan]

best players play.

guys like King and Harris didn't come here for a long term rebuild. they came to win now.

young guys can beat out old guys, but they shouldn't get handed time just because they're young. they can earn it in practice and when they get the chance in games.

I expect Mooney to try to win every game. as he should. fans on this board (if not Hardt) will certainly hold Mooney accountable for every loss, so play the guys that give us the best chance to win.

don't write off the season as a developmental year in August.

I can agree to start the season but like last year, I think it will become clear by mid season, that this a team going nowhere and when that become clear, more minutes need to be given to our future. We all realize that Mooney never does that, which is a shame that he almost always chooses to ride or die with senior players who have shown they can deliver nothing more than mediocre results.

Obviously, if we get mid year and the team is excelling than there is no reason to change course.

 

[GKiller]

As King stated in the interview: "Coach Mooney is always telling us to just make plays" paraphrasing - it was something like that.

I do think Moon has simplified things - and there are only so many varieties of a play - the way I see our offense is more about running that little pattern - which most of us can see in our sleep. I don't see any really complicated offensive sets - and in fact that has been a criticism that it is the same offense over and over - though offense is generally much less of a problem than our defense IMO.

I think the adjustment will be more to the speed an physicality of the game vs learning Mooney's complicated systems. We know he simplified the defense after it continually lost effectiveness over a 7-8 year period.

I don't think O is overly complicated either, but maybe that's because we've watched it for so long. The players have said otherwise however. Seem to hear that every year. Noyes the most recent.

 

[SpiderDad75]

I would say it’s alot of reading and reacting and if you’re IQ isn’t great and you come from a HS or AAU program that doesn’t “teach” you prob will struggle early on.

 

[8legs1dream]

the way I see our offense is more about running that little pattern - which most of us can see in our sleep.

very nearly spit my drink out on that one 🤣

 

[RichmondNative]

I can agree to start the season but like last year, I think it will become clear by mid season, that this a team going nowhere and when that become clear, more minutes need to be given to our future. We all realize that Mooney never does that, which is a shame that he almost always chooses to ride or die with senior players who have shown they can deliver nothing more than mediocre results.

Hoping that we see a much better team identity and chemistry this season. If the transfers aren’t getting the wins, then the only way the Spiders are going to improve is to build something with the young guys. As I said last year, which was deemed a transition year, what exactly is being built?

I am looking forward to seeing the totally new team and we will see if something unprecedented occurs - Mooney quickly assembling a winning team. I think that Tyler transferring may actually help some in that there won’t be any deferring to him and living or dying on his play. I simply don’t see Tyler as a player to build a team around. I expect him to play much better at Villanova than he would have at Richmond.

 

[spider23]

Great points Native. As great as Tyler was for us, I think he ended up being a ball stopper at times. Not blaming him, just the way it was. I do think he has a great opportunity to thrive at Nova. Like last season, I think Mooney has put together a roster that should be able win games in the A10, so the onus is on him to do it. Would have liked to see one more dynamic player like King in the portal.

 

[97spiderfan]

I am looking forward to seeing the totally new team and we will see if something unprecedented occurs - Mooney quickly assembling a winning team. I think that Tyler transferring may actually help some in that there won’t be any deferring to him and living or dying on his play. I simply don’t see Tyler as a player to build a team around. I expect him to play much better at Villanova than he would have at Richmond.

Well said. I think Tyler going to Nova helps both us and Tyler.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

best players play.

guys like King and Harris didn't come here for a long term rebuild. they came to win now.

young guys can beat out old guys, but they shouldn't get handed time just because they're young. they can earn it in practice and when they get the chance in games.

I expect Mooney to try to win every game. as he should. fans on this board (if not Hardt) will certainly hold Mooney accountable for every loss, so play the guys that give us the best chance to win.

don't write off the season as a developmental year in August.

Agree, you play to win. Problem is that Mooney has a long history of struggling to figure out which players, and what combinations will give him the best chance of winning.

Unless he has locks (like Gilyard, Burton, and Golden) Mooney is repetitively all over the place with his playing time (bench coaching). We see it every year, it is plainly a significant struggle for this coach. Captain Obvious told me that this is one of the primary reasons that the team starts slow nearly every year.

There are a lot of unknowns again this year. Because of this, much like last season, we are likely to witness confusion & uncertainty as it relates to the coach utilizing his players in the most effective way.

 

[spider23]

Not a Homer, this is the year Mooney figures it out .

One positive, it does seem like early in the preseason - from insider board musings, King iterview, etc - he does seem like he is running King and Hunt together as a starting guard tandem. So we have that going for us. Would think Bigs/Neal is set for the 4/5. So it would seem only wing forward and then sub pattern after that is up in the air.

 

[Not-A-Homer]

Not a Homer, this is the year Mooney figures it out .

One positive, it does seem like early in the preseason - from insider board musings, King iterview, etc - he does seem like he is running King and Hunt together as a starting guard tandem. So we have that going for us. Would think Bigs/Neal is set for the 4/5. So it would seem only wing forward and then sub pattern after that is up in the air.

I agree that King is locked in for big minutes. It likes like Hunt will start, but it has been implied that he may be offensively challenged, so can he deliver in big minutes? Quinn has got to deliver, but he will need rest (much like Golden), and I don't see Bigelow as highly effective in large minutes as many on here do. Bigelow certainly brings strengths with his rebounding and aggressiveness, but his passing, ball handling, turnovers, and low shooting % may get in the way of him playing 30+ minutes a game.

It is my opinion, that IF Mooney relies on the four mentioned above as his primary team, they won't win nearly enough games. I believe that there must be a much larger contribution from several others (Noyes, Baily, Roche, Tanner, etc.) in order to win more than they lose. That large contribution can only be accomplished if these players grow while getting successful time on the floor.

 

[spider23]

Agree. I think we are going to really need some big contributions from two of the "others" - whoever those may be from your group above - and would throw even the other freshman guards and Soulis.

 

[kneepadmckinney]

Well said. I think Tyler going to Nova helps both us and Tyler.

Maybe offensively, I could buy it. Defensively, he got a LOT of rebounds. I think we are really going to struggle there.

 

[fan2011]

Maybe offensively, I could buy it. Defensively, he got a LOT of rebounds. I think we are really going to struggle there.

Statistically Bigelow is the best rebounder we have had under Mooney, by a long shot. He rebounded the ball on 25.5% of opponent misses when he was on the court, Burton was at 20.6%. Bigelow had the 37th best rebounding rate in the country last year.

 

[97spiderfan]

Maybe offensively, I could buy it. Defensively, he got a LOT of rebounds. I think we are really going to struggle there.

Good point. I was mainly thinking on the offensive side of the ball. Burton was the best rebounder, Mooney has ever had and that will be missed for sure. I do hope by not having him on offense though, our offense becomes a bit more egalitarian. Our offense last year was way to dependent on him making shots. Mooney's offense is at its best when he has guards that can score, I think King will help that this year, and maybe Hunt as well.

 

[kneepadmckinney]

Statistically Bigelow is the best rebounder we have had under Mooney, by a long shot. He rebounded the ball on 25.5% of opponent misses when he was on the court, Burton was at 20.6%. Bigelow had the 37th best rebounding rate in the country last year.

I like your stats.

But doesn't my comment still stand? Tyler was very good, and pure eye test, got a lot of rebounds out of his area, and we could still struggle without him even with Bigelow's great stats.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

Good point. I was mainly thinking on the offensive side of the ball. Burton was the best rebounder, Mooney has ever had and that will be missed for sure. I do hope by not having him on offense though, our offense becomes a bit more egalitarian. Our offense last year was way to dependent on him making shots. Mooney's offense is at its best when he has guards that can score, I think King will help that this year, and maybe Hunt as well.

“Egalitarian “ is a new one me. Is this a new common business term? Does it mean more balanced, then I am all for it.

 

[VT4700]

I like your stats.

But doesn't my comment still stand? Tyler was very good, and pure eye test, got a lot of rebounds out of his area, and we could still struggle without him even with Bigelow's great stats.

But, why can't Bigs get the rebounds out of his area? Bigs got 10.5 rebounds per 40 minutes last year, Tyler 8.5. No question, Tyler was a great rebounder, but I like our rebounding with Bigs and Quinn out there.

 

[fan2011]

I like your stats.

But doesn't my comment still stand? Tyler was very good, and pure eye test, got a lot of rebounds out of his area, and we could still struggle without him even with Bigelow's great stats.

Saying a Mooney team is going to struggle with rebounding isn't super insightful. Last year was our by far our best rebounding year under Mooney, next year we will still be well above the average Mooney team in rebounding.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

I kind of disagree about the offense and them relying on Tyler. I think there were numerous problems - Goose refusing to take some looks he needed to, Nelson over-dribbling. Quinn not being aggressive enough, turnovers across the board, poor 3 point percentage overall, to name a few. Sure if the clock was down to 5s and Tyler had the ball I never wanted him to pass. But if the issues were that other players couldn't make plays to beat their men, that's not over-relying on Tyler, that's not a Tyler issue, that's an other guys issue.

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't blame Tyler for being a great player. I want 5 great players as options, not 1 great player but if given an option to have 1 great player or 5 equal players not at an all-conference level, I'll take the team with 1 great player all day.

 

[whampas]

I kind of disagree about the offense and them relying on Tyler. I think there were numerous problems - Goose refusing to take some looks he needed to, Nelson over-dribbling. Quinn not being aggressive enough, turnovers across the board, poor 3 point percentage overall, to name a few. Sure if the clock was down to 5s and Tyler had the ball I never wanted him to pass. But if the issues were that other players couldn't make plays to beat their men, that's not over-relying on Tyler, that's not a Tyler issue, that's an other guys issue.

I guess what I'm saying is that I don't blame Tyler for being a great player. I want 5 great players as options, not 1 great player but if given an option to have 1 great player or 5 equal players not at an all-conference level, I'll take the team with 1 great player all day.

Interesting. I would take 5 good TEAM players.

 

[97spiderfan]

“Egalitarian “ is a new one me. Is this a new common business term? Does it mean more balanced, then I am all for it.

This is the dictionary definition: "relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities"

So, yes, and I meant it as you defined it. More balanced. And as Brooklyn said, this wasn't all on Tyler but a combo of other players who either weren't good offensive players (Goose) or players who simply didn't step up and play the way they were needed (Nelson, Quinn (early on in particular) and Grace).

So, I think we will have to be more "egalitarian" this year because A. we lack a bonafied stud like Tyler and B. because our offensive players abilities should be better than last year (at least I hope they will).

Our guard play should be a huge improvement (if only because it was terrible last year) and I think Quinn showed really nice improvement last year and am expecting him to be a much bigger force this year.

 

[VT4700]

This is the dictionary definition: "relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities"

So, yes, and I meant it as you defined it. More balanced. And as Brooklyn said, this wasn't all on Tyler but a combo of other players who either weren't good offensive players (Goose) or players who simply didn't step up and play the way they were needed (Nelson, Quinn (early on in particular) and Grace).

So, I think we will have to be more "egalitarian" this year because A. we lack a bonafied stud like Tyler and B. because our offensive players abilities should be better than last year (at least I hope they will).

Our guard play should be a huge improvement (if only because it was terrible last year) and I think Quinn showed really nice improvement last year and am expecting him to be a much bigger force this year.

I don't think you want an offense like that, though. I don't see 5 equal players being a recipe for great success. You better have one or two stars. Our best seasons have had stars that separated themselves. All the way back to Newman, along with guys like Atkinson, Woolfolk, Rice, Blair, Stevenson, KA, Harper, TJ, ShawnDre, Jacob, Blake, and Grant. A few others as well, but the key is all of these guys separated themselves and were not average, but well above average players, who you need for great success. 5 equal players might sound good on paper, but I don't see this winning many games.

I agree with brooklyn. No way should Tyler be blamed for anything last year. Did we rely on Tyler a lot? Of course. You count on your stars to deliver, and most nights he did, but we could not overcome below average guard play. Give me a guy like Tyler each and every year and that gives me my best chance for success. Then, you have to add to that, especially at the guard position. I will build my team around that. I don't want 5 equal guys out there. Put Tyler with King together last year and we win a lot more. For us this year, King needs to be great. I would say we want and need him to be our leading scorer. I think that is why we got him and that is why he came here. We don't want him to be equal to the other guys on the court with him.

 

[spiderman]

you need 2-3 standouts. we had one in Tyler and even he didn't have his best season.
this year we're counting on King, but we haven't seen him yet. we may have 0 standouts.

 

[97spiderfan]

you need 2-3 standouts. we had one in Tyler and even he didn't have his best season.
this year we're counting on King, but we haven't seen him yet. we may have 0 standouts.

I wasn't saying you don't need stars. You need star players. But I think as s-man said our star last year was Tyler. Tyler didn't have his best season and wasn't the type of offensive player that is suited to be a star in the way we play offense. Mooney needs one of his star players to be a guard with the offense we play and it goes without saying that we did not have anything approaching a star player in the guard role last year.

And yes, while I think the sum of our parts could be better this year than last on offense, the fact that we have zero bonafied star players in the roster, should be a if not a huge red flag, someone should be waiver that yellow caution flag with gusto.

If we are to have any shot finishing in even the Top 2/3 of the conference, King needs to be a stud for us, in my opinion, with lots of other players stepping up their games from last year. Tall ask right now, which is why we are probably we are picked to finish at the bottom of the league.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

Without knowing the ins and outs of the offense and where exactly guys are supposed to be when they get the ball (ie where their looks generate) has UR under Moon ever had a guy at Typer’s position be the lead offensive threat? Generally it has been a PG or big, with a guy like Blake being an outlier on the wing but he was for sure more guard than forward. Everyone else going back that I can recall under Moon fits the guard or forward with inside/ post game model. Terry Allen may be closest but he also struggled down the 2nd half his senior year just like Tyler did, and was more inside focused than Tyler. It may be coincidence but it may be the looks the UR offense generates are not made equally.

 

[spiderman]

Harper?

 

[ur2K]

Harper senior year might be the closest but he was playing with KA, not a freshman PG.

 

[brooklyn brownstone]

Yes, going into that season, the game plan was not how do we stop Harper? KA was reigning A10 POY and a clear alpha on UR’s scoring and endgame options. Harper’s development and production that year were awesome but he didn’t shoulder the bullseye like KA did, or that Tyler did. And while Harp hit a bunch of 3s that year he took like 2.5 per game I think. I still think of him as more of a 4 in the traditional sense, not a wing, as Smith and Martel played the 3 that year and Butler the 3 the year prior. Tyler was a clear 3 in the starting lineup last year.

 

[spiderman]

And while Harp hit a bunch of 3s that year he took like 2.5 per game I think.

4.6 per game. very comparable stats to Burton but shot a lot better from 3.

Justin Harper College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Justin Harper - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Tyler Burton College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Tyler Burton - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

 

[VT4700]

4.6 per game. very comparable stats to Burton but shot a lot better from 3.

Justin Harper College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Justin Harper - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Tyler Burton College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Tyler Burton - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Harp had one heck of a year that year. Just outstanding all year long.