What I liked about 2019-20 season!

[CarolinaSpider]

First of all thanks to the Mens Basketball program for a wonderful season, that was played at a high level and I look forward to an even better season in 2020-21. Below are some things about the season I really enjoyed.

1) Your level of competitive play was excellent
2) The never give up attitude
3) Playing with confidence
4) Playing each game with 10 or more players, creating more experience
5) Balanced scoring each game with 4 in double scoring and several more close to double digits
6) DEFENSE was superb and thank you Coach Mooney for your willingness to make this change.
Kudos to how well this team learned to play help defense, making the opposing teams have to
really work for baskets.
7) Rebounding became a strength vs a weakness and we even raised the bar on offensive rebounds

Team, as fans, seemingly fickle at times, we all bleed red and blue and thirst for Spider success in all sports. We are appreciative of your efforts and we are excited for what the future holds. You are going to see even more support from the fan base next season.

 

[spider23]

My favorite things:
1) Gilly picking someone's pocket as they thought they went by him, and Gilly's reverse layups were a thing of beauty - he never seemed to miss one.
2) Cayo's improvement and athletic plays. FT improvement was unreal. Post game and dunks were A+ (even caused 23 to stop looking for a new PF)
3)Sherod bounce back from injury to play at high level
4) Francis alpha dog mentality
5) Golden and Cayo's persistence attacking the basket - kept us a very balanced team.
6) Moderators banning truthers: Ulla and MolivaManiac.

 

[urmite]

My favorite things:
1) Gilly picking someone's pocket as they thought they went by him, and Gilly's reverse layups were a thing of beauty - he never seemed to miss one.
2) Cayo's improvement and athletic plays. FT improvement was unreal. Post game and dunks were A+ (even caused 23 to stop looking for a new PF)
3)Sherod bounce back from injury to play at high level
4) Francis alpha dog mentality
5) Golden and Cayo's persistence attacking the basket - kept us a very balanced team.
6) Moderators banning truthers: Ulla and MolivaManiac.

Moliva is a truther?

But don't want to sidetrack this thread. Somebody describe Goose & Burton...

 

[spider23]

Moliva is a truther?

Trying to see if that guy is paying attention . Spiders are back (for now) hopefully can have a sustained run and bring back some of the fans that have been beaten down and staying away.

 

[fan2011]

We ended the season with a win! What more can you ask for as a fan!

 

[32counter]

Fran knows:

 

[fan2011]

Fran knows:

View embedded media

I found this pretty interesting as a non-technical fan. Fran is very complimentary of Mooney's offense, and compares it many times to offenses in the NBA. Fran was very focused on Grant and how the offense works through the 5.

Looking at our 5s recently, here are the assist percentages throughout there careers at Richmond:

Golden: 16% -> 26% -> 28% (2020)
Cline: 8% (Niagara) -> 18% (2015) -> 28% -> 38% (2017)
Terry Allen: 11% -> 9% -> 10% (2015) -> 13%
ANO: 8% -> 6% -> 10% (2015) -> 2% (Pitt)
DWill: ? (2011) -> 7% -> 13% -> 8%
Darrius Garret: ? -> 3% (2010) -> 4% (2011) -> 8%
Geroit: 16% -> 16% -> 17% (2010) -> 24% (2011)
Harper: 4% -> 4% -> 9% (2010) -> 9% (2011)

I have highlighted the NCAA years (including 2020) in green, and NIT in blue.

Cline saw drastic increases in assist rates year over year throughout his career, and was in a league by himself in terms of passing his senior year (ranked 10th in assist rate in the country as a center!). It will be interesting to see if Golden can get up there as well next year.

Will Weir be a passing 5 like Golden/Cline/Geroit? Do we need a point-center to be successful under Mooney's offense?

 

[97spiderfan]

I found this pretty interesting as a non-technical fan. Fran is very complimentary of Mooney's offense, and compares it many times to offenses in the NBA. Fran was very focused on Grant and how the offense works through the 5.

Looking at our 5s recently, here are the assist percentages throughout there careers at Richmond:

Golden: 16% -> 26% -> 28% (2020)
Cline: 8% (Niagara) -> 18% (2015) -> 28% -> 38% (2017)
Terry Allen: 11% -> 9% -> 10% (2015) -> 13%
ANO: 8% -> 6% -> 10% (2015) -> 2% (Pitt)
DWill: ? (2011) -> 7% -> 13% -> 8%
Darrius Garret: ? -> 3% (2010) -> 4% (2011) -> 8%
Geroit: 16% -> 16% -> 17% (2010) -> 24% (2011)
Harper: 4% -> 4% -> 9% (2010) -> 9% (2011)

I have highlighted the NCAA years (including 2020) in green, and NIT in blue.

Cline saw drastic increases in assist rates year over year throughout his career, and was in a league by himself in terms of passing his senior year (ranked 10th in assist rate in the country as a center!). It will be interesting to see if Golden can get up there as well next year.

Will Weir be a passing 5 like Golden/Cline/Geroit? Do we need a point-center to be successful under Mooney's offense?

I think it pretty obvious that have a big man who can distribute out of the high post makes Mooney's offense operate a peak capacity. Now, what is the million dollar question is can that big man also play defense.

With Geriot that answer was yes, Cline was largely a No, and Golden was a big No until this year. Which to me is why Geriot is still the best center of the Mooney era. Dan could bring it on both ends and coincidentally our defense was not a flaming pile of poop when we had a big man defensive presence. Our defensive improvements this year were the result of many things, but the biggest to me, was Golden's evolution into actually wanting to play defense and then actually being pretty good at it.

 

[LongTimeLurkerFirstTimePoster]

I think it pretty obvious that have a big man who can distribute out of the high post makes Mooney's offense operate a peak capacity. Now, what is the million dollar question is can that big man also play defense.

With Geriot that answer was yes, Cline was largely a No, and Golden was a big No until this year. Which to me is why Geriot is still the best center of the Mooney era. Dan could bring it on both ends and coincidentally our defense was not a flaming pile of poop when we had a big man defensive presence. Our defensive improvements this year were the result of many things, but the biggest to me, was Golden's evolution into actually wanting to play defense and then actually being pretty good at it.

what started out was a thread on good things turned into a dump on Grant Golden. is it any wonder why he tweeted what he did.

and the by the way, Geriot, who was a great player, couldn't hold Grant's jockstrap.

 

[spiderman]

nothing against Geriot, but Golden's a better scorer, rebounder, passer and shot blocker. no idea how you see Geriot as a better player.

 

[plydogg]

nothing against Geriot, but Golden's a better scorer, rebounder, passer and shot blocker. no idea how you see Geriot as a better player.

He explained it and used defense as the crux of his argument. You may disagree but you say you have no idea when he laid out his argument very well and explained it.

Edit: re-read and didn’t mean for this to come off as stand-offish. Also I agree with the post below mine that I didn’t think it was talking down on Grant

 

[spider23]

.I think 97 was being very positive in that Golden turned it around on defense this year. I kind of think that may just be due to Mooney's finally getting better and making the change to man, etc. Golden's interest. Like with TJ, it seemed that Grant was either being told to be careful and not foul, or was doing it on his own based on options behind him. Maybe the load management also allowed Grant to re-set and refresh a few times a game, helping his defense.

 

[Eight Legger]

Look, there's only one way to determine who is right and who is wrong here: A fistfight between Geriot and Golden at center court. Let's go.

 

[spiderman]

He explained it and used defense as the crux of his argument. You may disagree but you say you have no idea when he laid out his argument very well and explained it.

because I still have no idea why he remembers Geriot as a dominant defensive presence.

 

[gospidersgo]

because I still have no idea why he remembers Geriot as a dominant defensive presence.

Geriot played on some great defensive teams but I've never heard him called a great defender. I wouldn't put it at the top of his strengths as a player. He was a smart player, high on the intangibles. He had to use these things to make up for a lack of big time athleticism.

Regarding Grant, in my opinion his career will be judged by his senior year. If we back slide next year and miss the tournament he will be remembered as a great individual player who never had quite the success he should have.

But if we go 25-6 and make the tournament and he has a big year I think we will mention his name among the Spider greats.

 

[spider23]

Yep, Gilly, Grant and Nick are all in this same boat. Next year will tell the tale. Elite 8 and greatest of all time. Miss tournament and really good players that put up big numbers.

 

[PalmTreeSpidUR]

Getting back to the original premise of the question, I liked pretty much everything. EXCEPT the abrupt and unsatisfying ending to the season.

 

[RichmondNative]

I echo most of the comments on the season especially this last one by PalmTree on the abrupt end. Although I must say that during the year I really thought it was possible to lose grad transfers, but now with the season and school year ending abnormally I think there is extra motivation to stay.

Watching the Fran breakdown (thanks 32) gave me more appreciation of Mooney's coaching ability (similar to some of the old clinic videos), which really makes me wonder what the heck the problem has been and I guess it comes down to poor recruiting and reluctance to change the D. Obviously, the D is now changed and recruiting has been trending up. The concern now is "the next 5" and that is going to tell the tale. I agree with others that have stated that the best option for success is a mix of freshman and transfers. Can the recruiting trend hold?

 

[97spiderfan]

what started out was a thread on good things turned into a dump on Grant Golden. is it any wonder why he tweeted what he did.

and the by the way, Geriot, who was a great player, couldn't hold Grant's jockstrap.

Man, you are sensitive. Anytime anyone posts anything remotely constructive or frankly provocative on here, we can count on you to get your panties all wadded up.

I was not dumping on Golden at all, in fact, my post praised his terrific defensive improvement this year.

Nor, did I say Geriot was a dominant defensive presence. I'm saying Geriot was a consistently good player on both ends of the floor. Unlike in my opinion, TJ and Grant's first two years here, where they largely avoided contact on defense to stay out of foul trouble. Geriot welcomed and initiated contact on both ends, often to the pain and detriment of the other team. TJ and Grant are both better offensive players than Geriot (although, Geriot may have been right there had it not been for his ACL injury).

Go back and watch our NCAA games our Sweet 16 year, you are gonna hear the name Dan Geriot a lot on the highlights. Geriot was a big reason we have those two NCAA banners hanging from the rafters. TJ doesn't have won of those and until Grant has one, its a valid debate.

 

[coach fezz]

Look, there's only one way to determine who is right and who is wrong here: A fistfight between Geriot and Golden at center court. Let's go.

Geriot wins this

 

[spiderman]

... until Grant has one, its a valid debate.

pointing to team success as a measure would imply Luc Longley and Bill Wennington were 2 of the best centers in the modern era.

Geriot was a very nice player who played an important role in winning a lot next to 2 all time superstars. the ACL certainly limited him, but he averaged 4 rpg and blocked 27 shots in his entire career. you're overstating his defensive impact.

 

[97spiderfan]

pointing to team success as a measure would imply Luc Longley and Bill Wennington were 2 of the best centers in the modern era.

Geriot was a very nice player who played an important role in winning a lot next to 2 all time superstars. the ACL certainly limited him, but he averaged 4 rpg and blocked 27 shots in his entire career. you're overstating his defensive impact.

Surely, you are not comparing Geriot role on our team to Luc Longley for the Bulls. Geriot averaged 10.4 ppg during this career while Harp averaged 10.6. If you are gonna annoit Harper a superstar than Geriot is right there by that metric.

Personally, neither are all time superstars in my book. Harp had one great year for us. Geriot might have been an all timer, but his ACL injury greatly limited his production his last two years.

All I know, any big man who played against Geriot, left that game bruised and battered. He was a critical cog in two NCAA teams.

And yes, championship teams and their players get far more credit in my and many fans memories. Nick Foles has a damn statue outside of the Linc for his Super Bowl MVP. Is he an all time Eagle great based on individual stats and play, heck no. 20 years from now, Foles will still be a top jersey seller at Eagles games.

Geriot helped us hang two banners and a Sweet 16 bid. If Grant hangs won next year, he is gonna being remembered as one of our all time greats. Likewise, if he doesn't. He is a really good player who put up a lot of great stats. Gotta get and win in the postseason.

 

[Ferrum Spider]

Man, you are sensitive. Anytime anyone posts anything remotely constructive or frankly provocative on here, we can count on you to get your panties all wadded up.

I was not dumping on Golden at all, in fact, my post praised his terrific defensive improvement this year.

Nor, did I say Geriot was a dominant defensive presence. I'm saying Geriot was a consistently good player on both ends of the floor. Unlike in my opinion, TJ and Grant's first two years here, where they largely avoided contact on defense to stay out of foul trouble. Geriot welcomed and initiated contact on both ends, often to the pain and detriment of the other team. TJ and Grant are both better offensive players than Geriot (although, Geriot may have been right there had it not been for his ACL injury).

Go back and watch our NCAA games our Sweet 16 year, you are gonna hear the name Dan Geriot a lot on the highlights. Geriot was a big reason we have those two NCAA banners hanging from the rafters. TJ doesn't have won of those and until Grant has one, its a valid debate.

Personally don't agree Dan was better than TJ or Grant (At least after the injury as an upperclassman) but its not an invalid argument. Dan had the best PG in school history in addition to a lot of other talent TJ didnt have at his disposal as an upper classman. TJ while not a good defender shored up his rebounding the last 1.5 years and was actually pretty good at it compared to other UR bigs. Id argue Grants sub par defense the past two years also was due to lack of depth more so than lack of ability or "will". This was the first season we could kind of afford him getting in early foul trouble without it being a death blow to the teams performance. I expect Grant to have the biggest season for a UR big man in its history next season with what we have on paper. I don't ever recall Dan getting double teamed everytime he touched the ball as Grant was dealing with the last few games of the season.

 

[GKiller]

Mooney's whole defense/offense subbing started with Geriot. Garrett would come in for him. It was ping pong in some games but it worked. D Garrett was unsung hero of the S16 run. garrett was elite on D imo, and Geriot was more limited after his ACL, so that was part of it. Geriot always played hard. Grant made some strides last year on D, if he continue that trend I'd say he could have more positive effect on team D than Geriot D. But I don't know I'm not real big on those individual comparisons from different eras. bestclassever though has a long way to go for team comparison. They need a killer reg season and deep tourney run but they have it in them.