Game 1: Richmond

Forum Forum Lehigh Sports Lehigh Men’s Basketball Game 1: Richmond

This topic contains 10 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by  LU65 14 years, 4 months ago.

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  • #1101

    LU65
    Participant

    The 2009-10 season gets underway on Friday when the Mountain Hawks travel south to take on the Spiders of Richmond. This marks the first of three LU / A-10 clashes in OOC play. Others to follow feature the A-10 Preseason #1 pick, Dayton (AP Pick #21) on December 5 and the A-10 Preseason # 10 pick, St. Joe’s on Dec. 20th. All games will be on the road.

    Game One won’t be easy. They never seem to be. Over the past 8 seasons, the Mountain Hawks have dropped six of their opening night assignments – beating only St. Peter’s (2008) and Dartmouth (2002). Often times the losses have come against nationally ranked teams or teams with a strong basketball heritage, e.g., Cornell, Oregon, Northwestern and Penn State – losing each anywhere from 2 to 12 points. This year………..more of the same. The Spiders of Richmond are coming off their 16th 20-win season and have been picked third in every major media preseason poll and by the A-10 conference coaches themselves. Bleacher Report tabbed the Spiders for a 2nd place finish in the A-10 while USA Today included the Spiders in their 2009-10 NCAA Tournament bracket. Yes, it shapes up as yet another difficult start for the Mountain Hawks. But, as a fan anxious to see what your team is made of, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

    In Friday’s game you’ll want to keep an eye on one of the nation’s top guard pairings: Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez. Another Spider sure to give Carrington fits down low will be Dan Geriot. Here are their credentials:

    Junior point guard Kevin Anderson (#14, 6’0”, 175 lbs) who was named to the Preseason All
    A-10 First-Team and called by Arizona Coach, Sean Miller, "one of the elite point guards in the country." Anderson is one of four Richmond players to reach 900 points as a sophomore. He was named the A-10 Rookie of the Year in 2008 and selected to the Second Team A-10 All-Conference Team in 2009.

    Senior guard David Gonzalvez (#5, 6’4", 205 lbs) was named to the Preseason All-A-10 Second-Team, following "Honorable Mention" last year. He’s 8th in scoring in the A-10 with 16.0 ppg and 3rd in the conference in 3pt FG @ .414. He finished his junior year 5th in all-time Richmond 3-point shooters with a tally of 161.

    Junior center Dan Geriot (#41, 6’9", 260 lbs) picked on the Preseason All A-10 Third Team. Geriot led the Spiders in scoring during his freshman and sophomore campaigns but sat last year with a knee injury. He’s back and bigger than ever, as is practically the entire team with 12 members weighing in at 200+ pounds.

    With Anderson, Geriot and Gonzalvez, the Spiders boast three of the nine current Atlantic 10 players who have earned all-conference honors.

    Want more? Link onto the sites below to view:
    A. videos covering Spiders Open Practice, Local Media Day, and Coach Mooney.
    http://www.richmondspiders.com/sports/m … -body.html

    B. An interesting story out of the Richmond Times-Dispatch dateline: October 30, 2009
    http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/sport … 07/302517/

    C. FoxSports.com blog signaling what could be a change in Richmond style of attack this year……..
    "Coach Mooney’s teams in the past – whether it was at Air Force or even in the first couple seasons at Richmond – were built around skill and intelligence. The Spiders averaged just 52 points per game in the A-10 during Mooney’s rookie season. However, don’t be surprised if this year’s team is commonly scoring 70-plus points. "We think we can score in the mid to high 70s," Mooney said. "We’re a fairly explosive offensive team, and a real emphasis will be to score in transition." This group is both smart and athletic. For more line to:
    http://www.richmondspiders.com/sports/m … 09aaa.html

    D. And for fun, check out the high flying antics of 6’5" junior forward, Kevin Smith
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxKhA1ssgaY

    #1103

    LU65
    Participant

    Hooptime’s interview with Coach Brett Reed

    http://hooptime.tumblr.com/post/2359975 … -interview

    #1105

    Mtnhwkfan
    Participant

    With a strong senior class, this is the year for Lehigh to win the league and go to the tournament. If you havn’t noticed, the ’09-’10 Basketball Sports Information Guide has been posted to the website. Also, if you would like to see proofs from photo day, check out the players at: http://www.lehighsports.com/info/photos.asp.

    It will be interesting to see who starts at the four. My guess is freshman Gabe Knutson. I also look for Michael Ojo to be the first guard off the bench.

    #1107
    StablerBum
    StablerBum
    Participant

    I wouldn’t mind seeing John Adams start down low with Zahir to provide some more toughness and rebounding. Depending on how Maneri has progressed, he too might be able to provide some interior muscle.

    Zahir is an offensive focus for us, and we can’t let him get in foul trouble so I think it could be dangerous to start him alongside a freshman where he would be forced to be the physical presence. But I hope Knutson or Greneir prove me wrong!

    #1108
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    I would guess Maneri would start. if he is healthy this year. he will rebound and take middle on D, less pressure and fouls on ZAHIR. Knutson should get lots of PT and he can score. We need Keefer, McCollum someone to be a threat on offense. Hall is a great player but not a shooter. what sort of rotation will Reed use?

    #1117

    LU65
    Participant

    Rich, I would agree…………..Hall is first and foremost a "floor general" (118 assists – 85 turnovers, and a team-leading 48 steals) and secondarily a shooter. While he led the guards in scoring last year (see below), I don’t expect him to repeat this year. It may be in the team’s best interest he doesn’t. I’ve got a feeling we’ll see other small men – including, by the start of PL play, the highly touted frosh/scoring machine (1405 pts in high school), CJ McCollum – step up this year to fill the long range scoring void.

    Here are the scoring stats of the returning guards.
    Name / FG% / 3FG% / ppg
    Hall / .359 / .331 / 13.9
    Keefer / .407 / .308 / 8.8
    Buchberger / .349 / .257 / 7.1
    Small / .303 / .222 / 7.1
    Ojo / .329 / .345 / 5.5
    Shamis / sat-out last year with injury

    Looking at the guard play, it’ll be fun to watch:

    Who will run the offense when Marquis takes a seat (nearly 33min/game last year)?

    Will Small play under control more than out-of-control? Minute for minute of floor time, he leads the team in Assist and Turnovers.

    Will Ojo gain consistency in his game and not go 3-3 one night and 0-5 the next?

    Will junior Rob Keefer, our highest FG percentage shooter, increase his scoring output – averaging only .33 points/minute of court time last year and .31 points in his rookie year?

    Will our best defending guard, senior Dave Buchberger, become more of a two-way player this year and add some scoring punch to the offense?

    What will all-but-forgotten senior Matt Shamis deliver besides his bench and practice leadership – so evident in 2008-09? A true wildcard?

    Will CJ McCollum – perhaps our guard of the future – arrive early and light it up in his freshman year?

    What about our 6’4" / 200 freshman guard and pre-med student, Ryan Peters. Will he come out of the shadows of McCollum and surprise. He certainly doesn’t lack the smarts or leadership qualities.

    And, that’s just the guards. The real action may come from down low when the big boys start throwing their weigh around in support of Carrington. How big? Try…………

    6’6" 220 lbs Adams
    6’6′ 200 lbs Hamilton
    6’7" 210 lbs Greiner
    6’8" 240 lbs Maneri
    6’9" 215 lbs Knutson

    Keeping Zahir out of foul trouble may be the key to the team’s s advance into the NCAAs this year – a well-deserved reward for seniors Hall and Carrington.

    Countdown to tip-off: 2 days. 7 hours, 25 minutes.

    #1118

    TMH
    Participant

    Since my son currently attends an A-10 school, I have watched Richmond grow over the last 3 years. They are a very good, well coached basketball team. Their coach is a former Princeton player and has adopted that system at Richmond. They will play a lot of match-up zone on defense and control the tempo of the game on offense. In order to beat them, Lehigh will need to bring their A game top to bottom but especially Marquis Hall. In order to compete against the match, Lehigh will need a lot of movement, movement from the players, creating matchup problems but especially tight crisp ball movement. Lehigh will also need to hit shots from the outside, early and often. That will bring the match out further and allow for penetration and inside cuts.
    On defence, Lehigh may have some trouble. Richmond is well disciplined and scored points last year without Geriot. I’m not sure how ready he is to begin the season but he will likely be their best player.
    I look forward to a big effort from the Moutainhawks (still have trouble saying that ) to set the tone for the rest of the year.

    #1119
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    Small,Ojo and Hall have quicks to penetrate IF we get some consistent outside shooting. Peters is a solid PG from what I read he has improved each year and has fared well in tougher summer competition. Q is whether he can efficiently speed his game up enuf to go at this level. McKnight for next year at back up point. McCollum and Keefer at 2. Hard for Peters to get minutes.

    #1124

    LU65
    Participant

    Game Notes are up! They list 6’8" freshman Gabe Knutson, a starting forward.

    #1125
    RichH
    RichH
    Participant

    WOW :o

    #1127

    LU65
    Participant

    We’ve got Spider Nation talking. Check out their message board and an assortment of quotes below.
    http://richmond.rivals.com/showmsg.asp? … 99&style=2

    "This is definitely not a pushover team and should be an exciting game."

    "This team scares me. This will not be an easy game."

    "Won’t be a pushover, but we should handle them pretty well."

    "This looks like a very good test for us for the opening game. I’m glad we’re starting at home. They certainly aren’t Randymac."

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