Richmond Times-Dispatch UR’s Mooney sees the 30-second shot clock on horizon John O’Connor March 31, 2015

Chris Mooney, the University of Richmond coach whose team played three NIT games with a 30-second shot clock, sees the day when a shortened shot clock will be standard in NCAA basketball. That could be opening day of next season, he said.

The NCAA shot clock has been 35 seconds since the 1993-94 season. All NIT games, as well as those in the College Basketball Invitational and CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament, used a 30-second shot clock at the request of the NCAA.

“My sense is that it will be adopted,” Mooney said.

Because the experimental rule was used in the NIT, “I have no knowledge of this, but that would be an indication that we’re moving in that direction,” Mooney said. “I like it. I think it’s the time that makes the most sense.”

The NCAA Rules Committee requested the experiment in the postseason tournaments to gauge the effect of a 30-second clock on scoring and pace of play. The NCAA appears interested in increasing both. Mooney and the other coaches involved in the NIT were asked to complete surveys regarding the shot clock. Those surveys will be analyzed by the NCAA Rules Committee.

That committee will meet in mid-May and at that time could recommend that the shot clock go to 30 seconds. If the committee does so, June approval from the Playing Rules Oversight Panel would be required to change the rule.

In general, scoring and the number of possessions increased in NIT games, although not greatly, compared to regular-season games in which the 35-second clock was used. At least in UR’s three NIT games, there was an increased frequency of offenses rushing in order to beat the shot clock. That seemed to occur three or four possessions per game.

“It had an effect because it was surprising a number of times,” said Mooney.

Richmond learned it would be playing in the NIT on a Sunday night and played St. Francis Brooklyn in the tournament’s first round three days later. The Spiders won that game 84-74 and eliminated Arizona State 76-70 in overtime in the second round before falling to Miami 63-61 in the quarterfinals. All three games were played during a seven-day stretch.

If teams had more time to prepare for the 30-second shot clock and adjust strategy accordingly, its effect wouldn’t have been as obvious, according to Mooney.

Should the rule be adopted for next season, “I don’t think it will have a huge impact on the game, especially when everybody is used to it,” Mooney said.

In a poll conducted by ESPN and published in February, nearly 60 percent of 500 college coaches (head coaches and assistants) favored a 30-second shot clock. Some preferred a 24-second clock, and others wanted to keep the 35-second clock.

Notable in Richmond’s NIT games were pressing defenses utilized largely to force opponents to spend time getting the ball past mid-court, reducing probing time in the offensive zone. Richmond lost an 18-point lead in the second half against Miami, which exerted full-court pressure for the NIT quarterfinal’s final 10 minutes. UR committed only seven turnovers in that game. But the Hurricanes’ press combined with the 30-second shot clock disrupted the Spiders.

“When we were pressing them and they got it through the press, there was eight or nine seconds off the clock, then they’ve got to get organized and into their half-court sets,” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said in his postgame interview. “They didn’t have as much time to do what they normally do.”

Notes: Mooney said All-A-10 senior guard Kendall Anthony is meeting with potential agents. “I think he will certainly have some great options and be able, if he chooses, to have a great career overseas,” Mooney said.

The Spiders have two scholarships available with the decisions by freshmen Kadeem Smithen and Chandler Diekvoss to transfer. Coming in next season is 6-foot-3 freshman Julius Johnson and Anthony was UR’s only scholarship senior.

Richmond Times-Dispatch As defensive resolve dissolved, UR’s season of improvement ended John O’Connor March 25, 2015

University of Richmond forward Terry Allen didn’t just block the driving shot of Miami’s Deandre Burnett. Allen sent the ball to the Robins Center court so forcefully that it bounced high in bounds and carried out of bounds.

That first-half highlight on Tuesday night illustrated the Spiders’ aggressive, confident deportment. They were defensively dominant in taking an 18-point lead (36-18) with 16:30 left, playing as well as they had all season. A rollicking home crowd had their backs. Miami coach Jim Larranaga felt the need to call two timeouts in the first 3:20 of the second half.

That’s what makes the ensuing breakdown so difficult to stomach for UR. Miami, with an energized offense, full-court pressure and rebounding mastery, rallied in the NIT quarterfinal to win 63-61, denying Richmond (21-14) its first trip to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

UR allowed 18 points in the first half and 45 in the second. Defense was the elbow grease that propelled Richmond into late March, and then it wore off without warning.

The Spiders, after the hangover fades, are left to consider the season, a 35-game set with momentum swings that paralleled Tuesday’s NIT quarterfinal. They were a game over .500 in mid-February, and then won eight of their last 10.

“I think it’s a really competitive group and to me, that’s probably the most important element to have,” said UR coach Chris Mooney. “That means you’ll be competitive in the summer, it means you’ll be competitive in the fall getting ready, and next year.”

Richmond loses only one scholarship senior, 5-foot-8 Kendall Anthony, who was the team’s top scorer. Anthony, a four-year regular, finished his career as the school’s record holder in 3-point baskets and as the fourth-leading scorer in UR history.

Anthony raised the bar for returning Spiders, said Mooney, and “that will help. ... I do feel like we have a chance to be good (next season). I think Terry Allen has emerged as a great player. T.J. Cline is a guy who could really become a great player. We have some guys who have played a ton of games who can defend. I feel like we’ll be optimistic when the time comes.” Richmond played 20 games that were decided by six or fewer points and went 8-12 in them.

“They easily could be in the NCAA tournament and if they somehow had gotten a bid, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me or many who follow college basketball if they’d still be playing in that tournament,” said Herb Sendek, who coached Arizona State in Richmond’s overtime NIT win over the Sun Devils on Sunday night.

Getting a No. 1 seed in the NIT, which translated into being among the last four eliminated from NCAA tournament consideration, allowed UR to play three home games. Those Robins Center postseason dates revealed among Spiders fans fresh passion that was noted by Sendek, Larranaga and Hurricanes guard Sheldon McClellan.

“I wish we had a home crowd like that,” said McClellan. “That crowd was fantastic, and (the Spiders) feed off that crowd a lot.”

Richmond, which went 12-6 and placed fourth in the A-10, finished 16-4 at home and 4-9 on the road.

Richmond Times-Dispatch All Spiders disappointed at end of Anthony’s career Paul Woody March 24, 2015

One by one they left the arena.

Their faces were filled with disappointment, their shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

They had given the last full measure of their energy and effort. Their quiet exits were in dramatic contrast to the outpouring of emotion they had displayed from the opening tip to almost the final buzzer.

And that was just the University of Richmond fans.

If there has been a noticeable difference at the Robins Center during the postseason, it has been the fans.

They’ve been frantic, riled up. You’d think each of the past two games in the NIT had been against VCU. The atmosphere the Spiders’ fans created was a force with which opponents had to reckon.

“Just like Cameron (Indoor Stadium, home court of the Duke Blue Devils),” said Miami coach Jim Larranaga. “They’re not quite on top of you as much as Cameron is.

“I would say they’re a little more polite. Cameron is crazy. Good crazy but still wildly crazy. I thought the atmosphere was tremendous. Our guys love that.”

For much of the game, the Richmond fans, players and coaches were loving life. The semifinals of the NIT in New York City and Madison Square Garden looked dead ahead.

Instead, when the game ended, the Spiders’ disappointment was even more pronounced than that of their fans.

Seasons and careers end. But the Spiders envisioned neither the end of the 2014-15 season nor of Kendall Anthony’s time in a Richmond uniform quite like this. Richmond had control of this quarterfinal round game in the NIT against Miami. The Spiders’ cylinders were clicking more smoothly than those in the cars of Jimmie Johnson when he was in the midst of his run of NASCAR championships.

Then the Hurricanes started to play. They imposed their will on defense, got better shots on offense and pounded the offensive boards.

The Spiders made two 3-pointers in the first 1:12 of the game. They made just three more in the next 38:48.

Miami shot no free throws in the first half. The Hurricanes made 23 of 28 in the second half.

The Hurricanes made just two of 16 3-point shots in the game, and one, by Sheldon McClellan, came with 2:03 left and tied the game at 55.

By then Miami had too much momentum. The crowd couldn’t carry the Spiders. Anthony, Richmond’s 5- foot-8 senior leader, could not save the day.

Richmond ended its season with a 63-61 loss.

“I wish we had a little bit more for Kendall,” said Richmond coach Chris Mooney. “The loss stings, of course, but it’s exacerbated by not being able to coach Kendall again.

“He’s a very special player, a very special kid. That makes it even harder.”

Good players come and go in good programs. Mooney has seen his share of standouts. He holds Anthony in the highest regard. He views him as a unique player.

Mooney is a different kind of college coach in many ways. He recruits players who best fit his program and the school.

He often doesn’t recruit “measurables,” and that’s for the best.

Most coaches would have looked at Anthony in high school and thought, “He’ll have a very nice Division III career.”

Mooney looked at Anthony and saw an excellent fit for the Spiders in every way.

“If there’s one kid I’ve coached where I talk to our younger guys or my children on how to act, he’s the example,” Mooney said of Anthony.

“It just seems like in every situation, he acts appropriately. He’s intense and competitive on the court. He’s incredibly polite and a gentleman off the court. He just does things right.

“He attacks his personal game with a great enthusiasm, and his impact has made everybody better. While we’ll lose a great player, his impact still will be felt.”

Mooney and all the Spiders are just sorry they won’t feel Anthony’s impact for at least one more game.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Spiders have guarded outlook for NIT success Paul Woody March 22, 2015

Some teams just don’t want the season to end.

Sunday night in the Robins Center, it seemed the Richmond Spiders and Arizona State Sun Devils not only didn’t want the season to end, they also didn’t want the game to end.

They were having such a good time they decided to play an overtime period.

Fellows, it’s the NIT. The NCAA holds the NIT in such high regard it experiments with the rules. This year, games are played with a 30-second shot clock.

The NCAA seems more interested in learning what impact such changes will have on the game than who actually wins the games.

Oh well. That’s an improvement on the days when NIT brackets were set on the fly and looked suspiciously like they were arranged to get the four teams to New York that would draw the biggest crowds in Madison Square Garden.

However, to think the NIT is insignificant to the teams involved is to underestimate how much winning means to the players and coaches.

And if the reaction of the crowd Sunday night in the Robins Center is any indication, the games mean something to the fans.

The attendance figure was 4,507, almost 2,700 under capacity. But those 4,507 made enough noise to cover for those empty seats.

“Great atmosphere, great game,” Richmond coach Chris Mooney said of his team’s 76-70 victory.

Richmond’s outlook for success is guarded, as well it should be.

In overtime, Kendall Anthony, Richmond’s 5-foot-8 senior, made up for a night of frustration.

The Sun Devils noticed Anthony is vertically challenged. Anthony got off to a fast start, sinking two field goals in less than two minutes.

He made two more field goals the remainder of regulation.

When Anthony used his quickness to beat his man off the dribble or got the ball in the open court and zoomed toward the rim, Arizona State’s big men had an answer.

They waited for Anthony to release his shot, then knocked it off the backboard or rejected it toward a Sun Devils player on the perimeter.

In regulation, Anthony made 4 of 13 field goal attempts.

“If I get my shot blocked, I just keep going in,” Anthony said. In overtime, he was 2 for 2. And the biggest one came with 1:39 left when he let loose a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key. He also drew a foul and converted the free throw for a four-point play. That gave Richmond a 69-65 advantage.

But Arizona State had capable guards as well, and Gerry Blakes made a 3-pointer 17 seconds later.

The Spiders could have said “Curses, foiled again” because the Sun Devils had been making comebacks, grabbing the lead and thwarting every effort Richmond made to take and hold the lead.

But along came ShawnDre’ Jones, a sophomore guard.

All he did was drive the baseline and put up what is known as a “floater” — the shooter floats through the air as does his shot — which hit the bottom of the net.

“That was not an easy shot,” Arizona State coach Herb Sendek said.

“Those were two big plays,” Mooney said. “ShawnDre’ makes those kind of shots. Some guys you’ll say, ‘Push through that drive and get to the rim.’ He can make that shot even though he’s fading and it’s not such an easy play to make.”

The Spiders seem intent on making two things happen — extend Anthony’s career as long as possible and get to New York so they’ll have a chance to win the tournament.

Their outlook, no doubt, will remain guarded.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Spiders’ Jones shows growth on offense John O’Connor March 20, 2015

Two of Josh Jones’ four field goals Wednesday in the University of Richmond’s 84-74 win over St. Francis Brooklyn illustrated elevated offensive impact.

UR guard ShawnDre’ Jones threw a cross-court pass to Josh Jones in transition. He took off from the right wing and threw down “as good a dunk as we’ve had here in a little while,” said Spiders coach Chris Mooney. “That was really impressive.”

Jones’ jam juiced up the Robins Center crowd and sparked an 8-0 Richmond run in the second half.

Though far less flashy, a more important Jones basket for the current and future health of UR offense came in the first half. Jones, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, received a pass near the right sideline, dribbled hard to the free throw line and hit a pull-up jumper. It was a confident, creative move from a player who rarely has shown that initiative.

“I thought it was the best game of his career,” Mooney said.

Jones, who was averaging 2.1 points and 10 minutes, scored 11 in 16 minutes. He made all four of his shots from the field and all three of his free throws in the NIT first-round game.

Six Spiders scored in double-figures. Richmond shot 65.2 percent in the first half. UR was averaging 24 field goals and 16 free throw attempts. The Spiders scored 28 field goals and went to the line 33 times against St. Francis. Some of that may be linked to the NIT’s use of a 30-second shot clock. “I thought our guys played with great energy right from the start,” Mooney said. “I know that traditionally, the host team in the NIT sometimes comes out flat. There were no signs of that.

“I thought our energy was great, and I think it’ll just be improved on Sunday.”

Richmond (20-13) on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. faces visiting Arizona State (18-15) in a second-round NIT game. The programs have previously met two times, both at ASU. UR beat the Sun Devils on Dec. 5, 1987, and advanced to the 1988 Sweet 16. UR defeated Arizona State again on Dec. 5, 2010, and advanced to the 2011 Sweet 16.

In the third meeting, the Spiders hope for the same, or superior, Robins Center support they received in the St. Francis game. The attendance was 3,624, the sixth-most among the 16 first-round games, and Spiders’ fans were involved.

“I thought our crowd was great, really great, right from the beginning of the game,” Mooney said. “I told our guys they should be proud of that and grateful.”

If tall young men in Arizona State gear were spotted in Richmond as early as Thursday afternoon, those were the Sun Devils. It wasn’t sensible for the Arizona State travel party to return to the ASU campus after Wednesday night’s 68-61 win at Connecticut, then fly back to the East Coast for a Sunday night game. The Sun Devils relocated from Boston to Richmond on Thursday.

Sunday night’s game will be televised by ESPNU. The winner faces the winner of the second-rounder between Alabama (19-14) and Miami (22-12). They play today at 11 a.m. in Miami.

As one of four No. 1 seeds in the 32-team NIT, Richmond will play a quarterfinal home game if it defeats Arizona State.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Video coordinator sets up Spiders for success John O’Connor March 16, 2015

St. Francis Brooklyn is a member of the Northeast Conference and last played a postseason game in 1963.

So when the National Invitation Tournament selection committee Sunday night paired the Terriers and the University of Richmond in a first-round game, Spiders supporters scrambled for insight about this relatively unknown team.

Richmond’s coaches did not need to do that, thanks to Tommy Strine, the program’s video coordinator.

By the time the NIT selection show started at 8:30 p.m. on ESPNU, Strine “had DVDs of like 25 different opponents that we could possibly play,” Spiders assistant coach Kim Lewis said.

Among those videos were several St. Francis games.

Richmond lost to VCU in the A-10 tournament quarterfinals Friday, a result that made the NIT a probability for the Spiders (19-13). Strine was in his Robins Center office Saturday, downloading videos of potential UR opponents from a server that specializes in college basketball and continued that task starting at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday. “I had a list of 25 teams and got five games for each of them and put them onto DVDs,” said Strine. “It was definitely a tedious process.”

He finished about an hour before the selection show began.

“Tommy works his butt off, not only just (Sunday), but throughout the year,” Lewis said.

For Strine, this is volunteer duty. No pay. None. Strine estimates he works 65 hours a week during the season.

Strine, 24, and an Indiana native, was a high school assistant coach and AAU coach who determined he wanted to become a college coach. Video coordinator can be an entry-level portal into the coaching business.

“Last January, I sent out about 500 emails to different college coaches throughout the country,” Strine said. UR had an opening. Strine arrived at Richmond at the beginning of this school year.

Lewis and Richmond’s other assistants prepare scouting reports on each UR opponent. Lewis typically asks Strine to compile short video clips of each opposing player who is a regular contributor. Lewis requests some analytics, too.

“Which direction he prefers to go, how does he shoot going one way compared to the other way, that type of stuff,” Lewis said.

UR coach Chris Mooney appreciates Strine because of his knack with video and his hoops savvy.

“If you work hard, you can get the (job) accomplished. But if you have an understanding of basketball, now you know a little bit more about what the coaches are looking for, particularly things that might apply to us specifically,” Mooney said. “(Strine) is very good.”

Strine intends to transition to a position somewhere in Division I as a director of basketball operations, an administrative job, and then work his way on to a college coaching staff.

“He has a great future in coaching,” Mooney said.

Strine doesn’t just burn videos. He watches them. All of them. So he has a pretty good sense of what the Spiders will encounter Wednesday night against St. Francis at the Robins Center.

“They like to press and they like to get up and down the floor,” Strine said. “Just from watching the (video), they’re tough New York kids. We’re going to have to bring it physically and mentally, and be ready to go.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Big day little consolation for UR’s Anthony Tim Pearrell March 13, 2015

NEW YORK — Kendall Anthony pulled out his jersey and walked slowly to the handshake line.

As VCU coach Shaka Smart got to Anthony near the end, he pulled him aside and told him he was one of the best competitors he’s even seen and that he enjoyed coaching against him. That was little consolation to Richmond’s senior guard. The 5-foot-8, 150-pound whirlwind was fabulous against the Rams once again, but it wasn’t enough to keep VCU from eliminating the Spiders in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament for the second consecutive year.

UR couldn’t hold a five-point lead in the final three minutes and fell 70-67. Anthony was 12 of 16 from the floor, 2 of 2 on 3-pointers and scored 26 points in 40 minutes. He had six assists, four steals and two turnovers.

“It’s just disappointing,” he said. “We didn’t come out with a win. That’s all that really matters. It’s hard, but we’ve just got to move on to the next game and get ready for the tournament, whatever we get in to.”

The Spiders (19-13) likely will play in the NIT.

Smart said he was “just really glad we don’t have to play against (Anthony) ever again.”

“This is the ninth time we’ve played him, and I think eight out of the nine times he’s played phenomenal,” he said. “I’m just so impressed with him.”

Anthony has averaged 16 points against VCU during his career, with a high of 31. He scored 35 points in Richmond’s two wins over the Rams this season.

His speed with the ball has defeated VCU’s pressing defenders, and his jet-quick moves, quick releases on floaters and overall toughness after drawing contact have frustrated shot blockers.

“He’s just tremendous,” UR coach Chris Mooney said. “He is so competitive, so tough and he’s asked to do so much.”

UR may have left wondering how it lost this game. The Spiders led by eight with 13½ minutes left and by five with 3 minutes to play. Along with Anthony’s stellar stats, they shot 57.4 percent, had a 48-18 scoring advantage in the paint and a 19-2 scoring advantage on fast breaks.

The two major disadvantages: 3-pointers and free throws. VCU made 10 of 21 treys and 16 of 19 free throws. UR made 5 of 10 3-pointers and was 0 for 5 at the line.

Anthony pulled up in transition after dribbling behind his back and made a ridiculous 18-footer that put the Spiders ahead 60-55 with a little more than three minutes remaining. VCU scored the next seven points. UR briefly tied the score, but the Spiders never regained the lead.

In the last minute, Anthony, a 77.9 percent free throw shooter, missed the front end of a one-and-one and turned the ball over after slipping on what he said was a wet spot. His 3-pointer with :0.9 seconds made it 69-67. The Spiders fouled JeQuan Lewis, who made the first throw and missed the second.

T.J. Cline’s long heave banged off the backboard and hit the rim.

“The other two (games against VCU) didn’t really matter,” Anthony said. “The one that counted was this one today. Hats off to them. They played a really good game. We were right there. We had the lead. It was just hard at the end.”

New York Times Richmond Player Has Basketball and Perseverance in His Blood Harvey Araton March 12, 2015

His parents met while playing for the Washington Generals, eternal foils of the Harlem Globetrotters, but this is no losers’ narrative, not by a long shot.

Although the very existence of T. J. Cline might be attributed to his mother’s being a basketball superstar born a generation too soon, Nancy Lieberman would also admit that her bad timing and worse luck helped provide life’s greatest gift.

That would be motherhood.

“I was so single-minded — all I wanted to be was the best women’s basketball player in the world,” Lieberman, Cline’s mother, said. “But I didn’t get a Plan A in my life. I had to have a Plan B. And I did get T. J.”

At the height of Lieberman’s Hall of Fame career, long before anyone had the commercial brainstorm of adding a W to N.B.A., women’s professional leagues came and went seemingly in the blink of an eye. Having played as a teenager in the 1976 Montreal Summer Games, she was primed to be an Olympic star — nicknamed Lady Magic — but the United States boycotted the 1980 Moscow Games.

When the Games came to Los Angeles four years later, she had surrendered her then-required amateur status for the professional fling. But as John Lennon wrote during the years when Lieberman had on her basketball blinders, with a singular goal, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

Looking for a game anywhere she could find one, she wound up with the ever-martyred Generals in 1987, and that was how she met Tim Cline, whom she married soon after.

T. J. was born in 1994. On Friday, he will take the court as a big man for Richmond (19-12) in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the borough of his mother’s birth before she moved to Far Rockaway, Queens.

“Being so focused on the postseason, I don’t really feel an attachment to playing there — though my mom is coming up for a game, and I know she’s excited,” Cline said in a telephone interview.

He grew up tall in Plano, Tex., near Dallas, and is now listed on the Richmond roster as 6 feet 8 inches, the same as his father. A sports marketing executive who did not play college basketball, Tim Cline grew 6 inches between his junior and senior years of high school. T. J. had a 4-inch spurt that helped turn a junior varsity player at Plano West Senior High School into a Division I recruit at Niagara.

“To that point, he kind of had skills more applicable as a guard,” Tim Cline said. “He was a pretty good shooter, had won a national free-throw shooting contest.”

The business of college basketball intruded after a solid freshman season at Niagara, where T. J. was a teammate of Antoine Mason, son of Anthony. The coach, Joe Mihalich, left for Hofstra.

“When he found out that Mihalich was leaving, he was devastated,” Tim Cline said. “But there’s another part of it. By transferring to Richmond and sitting out a year, he was able to work on his body, get a lot stronger. And now he’s part of a terrific program. It makes you believe that things do happen for a reason.” Crashing the starting lineup, Cline has averaged 11.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in about 23 minutes a game this season. Recently, with his team down by 2 in the dying seconds of overtime against nationally ranked Virginia Commonwealth, he cut to the basket on an out-of-bounds play for a layup. Richmond pulled off the upset in double overtime, and the heady maneuver made the television highlight rounds.

“My phone blew up,” Lieberman said.

She has long maintained a presence around the sport, on both sides of the gender line, fighting to stay active, relevant or at least not retired. Beyond the Generals, she played with men in the old United States Basketball League. She returned as a player at 39 to join the Phoenix Mercury of the newly introduced W.N.B.A. and again at 50 for a cameo run with the Detroit Shock, a team she coached.

Maybe none of that would have been necessary had Lieberman had the kind of career pathway available to contemporary female stars, thanks in large part to pioneers like her. The pay may not be great in the W.N.B.A., but the work has been steady for almost two decades. And the most gifted and talented players can make plenty more overseas.

In Lieberman’s time, Tim Cline said, “it probably wasn’t worth it to leave the country to make $30,000.”

“So just to play and to keep her name out there, she signed up to play against the Globetrotters,” he continued. “It was just a show, but I guess you can say again that everything happens for a reason. If it had been a different time, we probably never meet and there is no T. J.”

To that end, Lieberman knows her career misfortune was a personal blessing in disguise. She was at least spared a complex decision for a female athlete with earning potential.

“To have children in your prime earning years, what you have to give up, at least for a while, is your body, and it’s your body that earns you the money,” she said. “Men can have it all. They don’t have to sacrifice their bodies and hope that it responds afterward.”

Lieberman and Tim Cline divorced in 2001 but said they remained united in parenthood (Cline also has three children from a second marriage). In describing himself, T. J. said that he had his mother’s fire on the court but that “over all, I’m more like my dad, laid-back.”

He was born into a basketball life, in tow on Lieberman’s road trips as a player and a coach in the W.N.B.A. and the N.B.A. Development League, and on her travels all over the map as a television analyst. Working in San Antonio during his early adolescence, she looked up to find her son rising to the basket in the Spurs’ layup line.

“They told me I could,” he said when she raced to haul him away.

Cline is not the first child of a well-known female basketball player to dribble across America’s television screens. JaVale McGee — the son of Pamela McGee, the second pick in the inaugural W.N.B.A. draft, in 1997 — was the first son of a former W.N.B.A. player to reach the N.B.A., in 2008.

Without getting ahead of himself, Cline said he would not mind being the second player to make such a formidable leap. Challenges of having a child while still a professional aside, there figure to be more progeny of female stars drawn into the life, the way it has long been for men.

If that doesn’t happen, he can pursue a marketing major, because his father’s sports marketing work interests him, too. Either way, he said, he’d consider it a no-lose proposition — far from his parents’ joint experience with the Generals. Style Magazine UR’s Kendall Anthony enters the A-10 tourney as the point guard to watch Brent Baldwin March 12, 2015

Forget about stats. It’s the intense eyes that don’t lie.

On the basketball court, University of Richmond’s senior star Kendall Anthony may look small -- a compact 5 feet 8 inches tall and 150 pounds -- but that calm, killer look in his eyes plainly says: “You will not stop me.”

It’s a big reason why Anthony, just named All-Atlantic 10 first team, is considered by many to be the best point guard in the city this year.

He’s proven it with gutsy performances in game after game of his career, throwing his small frame into the middle of trees, bouncing off huge players and finishing plays, as well as draining 3-pointers and silencing opposing crowds. Anthony is averaging 16.3 points a game, which ranks eighth in the league. He’s had 26 double-figure scoring games this year, nailing 54 3s and becoming UR's all-time 3-point leader in the process.

Virginia Commonwealth University fans may not like him, but they’ve learned to respect him. He’s a big reason the Spiders defeated the more imposing Rams twice this season. And now he's leading a confident team that could upset the A-10 tournament. A team on a six-game winning streak.

“He has extremely high character. He sets a high standard for himself and holds himself to that standard in everything he does,” coach Chris Mooney says in an email. “He doesn't just rely on his speed and talent. He has been in the gym working at the same shots nearly every night of his career. He is meticulous in his preparation and his work ethic.”

With the Spiders on a winning streak and poised to do damage in the A-10 tourney in Brooklyn, Style spoke with Anthony while he was finishing one of his last practices in Richmond.

Style: How’s the wear-and-tear right now, how are your legs feeling?

Anthony: I’m pretty good. I’ve been taking care of my body a lot better this year than I have any other year. I don’t feel as tired as I did last year. I feel pretty good going into this [tournament]. We’ve had a couple days off, it’s been good to rest and get treatment.

Whenever you play, you seem to have the most heart of anyone on the floor. Where does that toughness come from?

Just growing up I had to play people a lot taller than me – you couldn’t not play hard against the older guys. Growing up in Jackson, Tennessee, that made me be a tougher person; made me not scared to challenge people taller.

On the radio, Coach Mooney called you "the toughest player he’s ever coached."

I think we have a great relationship. He’s kind of a father figure to me. He really puts a lot of trust in me which I’m grateful for. He’s definitely somebody I’ve had a good relationship with here in Richmond.

You’ve had a hall-of-fame career and great success as a leader there, how would you describe your leadership style? First few years I wasn’t really a vocal leader, just did it. This year coach has challenged me to be more of a leader, talk to my teammates, get them ready to play. Just been taking on more of a vocal leadership [role] that some of the guys before me had.

It looks like UR often leaves offensive rebounds and just gets back – is that planned?

I mean sometimes, but I think we just want to get back and set up in our defense. [Often] we’re not the bigger team so we’re not going to get every rebound. We recognize that, take a shot and want to get back on defense. That’s the thing, just not giving up fast break points. Getting back is a big thing. ... We’re looking forward to having Alonzo [Nelson-Ododa] back [Friday].

Is there a guiding philosophy beneath UR’s unique defensive match-up zone -- you sometimes get switched onto a bigger player up top. Then occasionally you will follow a player out of your area. It can be confusing.

I mean if you get hit with a screen, you find the next man coming up. So you’re playing defense on somebody, you come up and somebody sets a screen on you, you gotta either stay with the man if they tell you there’s nobody on the same side as you, or you get the man coming up on the same side. You can get bumped off, sometimes we just switch because the big man wants the big man to stay in the paint, little guys or guards to stay outside. So you kinda got to find ways to do that. ... It’s different. I think it’s good though, it keeps the guards out of foul trouble cause we don’t have to guard the bigger players.

How do your performances against VCU stack up for you? What will be going through your mind if you meet up on Friday?

Just taking one game, one opponent at a time. I enjoy playing VCU, but on Friday I’m just focusing on getting a win no matter who we play. I’m very used to playing them, played them for four years. I know their style of play, know what to expect and that’s a big thing for me. Handling the pressure for my team, being able to make sure my team runs offense sets right and plays team defense.

You have any pregame rituals or things you do in Brooklyn?

Before every game I take a nap, and before the game I play. I’ve already played up in Brooklyn three times. It’s a really nice arena, NBA arena. Its somewhere that I really enjoy playing, have the privilege to play. It’s a really big stage, so I just want to come up and compete.

Do you know about your plans after school?

I want to continue to play basketball, wherever that is. I’ll figure that out when the season is over. We’ll see what happens.

So is there anything you pursue with as much passion as basketball?

I don’t think I do anything as much as basketball.

Richmond Times-Dispatch UR security officers Taylor and Davis supervise lock-down John O’Connor March 12, 2015

NEW YORK — If the face of Richmond basketball is Kendall Anthony, Trey Davis and Deion Taylor are the hands in the face, a pair of defensive security officers who best represent UR’s late-season emergence. Anthony, an all-A-10 guard, leads UR in scoring and is the team’s lone scholarship senior. But the Spiders (19-12) have won six consecutive games heading into today’s A-10 quarterfinal against VCU (23-9) primarily because of their defense. Richmond has allowed an average of 54.7 points in its winning streak.

Those at Barclays Center who are unfamiliar with the Spiders may study their offensive stats and wonder why UR starts Davis, a 6-foot-5 junior; and Taylor, a 6-7 junior. Davis averages 4.5 points and has made 42.3 percent of his free throws. Taylor (2.6 ppg) has hit 6 of 39 attempts from 3-point distance (15.4 percent). He shoots 28.9 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from the foul line.

Chris Mooney is pleased to provide the explanation.

“They’re both tremendous defenders,” said Richmond’s 10th-year coach. “We’ve had some really good defenders since we’ve been here. Those two are up there as close to the top as anyone.”

Taylor was named the 2012 Metro New Orleans Player of the year as a high school senior. That kind of recognition is not based on defense. Yet he did not have a problem with a modified role as a Spider.

“I just came in with an open mind. Whatever I can do to help the team, I’ll do it,” Taylor said. “It’s fun for me to help my teammates get stops. Defense converts into offense, so you’ve got to start somewhere.”

Davis scored 15 points per game as a senior at Benedictine. Like Taylor, Davis didn’t feel the need to become a prolific offensive player as a Spider. There were other vital requirements for success. Davis gets a kick out of locking down opponents.

“We realize how important defense is on this team,” Davis said. “I take pride in defense.”

Richmond may be even tougher to score against today with the return of 6-9 Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, the team’s top shot-blocker, who comes back following a recovery from a fractured bone around his right eye.

Most teams play man-to-man defense, and defenders have clear assignments. Not so at Richmond. The Spiders use a matchup defense that confuses opponents by constantly switching men. Davis said it took him about two years to fully understand the concepts, and believes that’s typical for Spiders.

Taylor and Davis are well-suited for such a system because they have size and strength to deal with interior players and quickness to guard on the perimeter. However, characterizing Taylor and Davis solely as defensive specialists would be inappropriate, Mooney said.

“They have a great sense of how to play. That helps them on defense, but it also really helps our offense run,” he said. “When we’re moving well, it’s often the other guys scoring, but those guys making sure we’re doing the things we’re supposed to do.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Mother and son passing time together sparks Spiders John O’Connor March 11, 2015

Nancy Lieberman coached the Texas Legends of the NBA Developmental League while T.J. Cline, her son, was a high-school player in Plano, Texas.

Mom often brought her work home.

“I grew up watching a lot of film,” said Cline, a University of Richmond 6-foot-9 sophomore forward. Lieberman, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was one of the finest women’s players of all time and stressed to her son the importance of the assist. The Spiders are the beneficiaries.

Cline, who transferred from Niagara, said Lieberman helped with “the angles … the passing lanes that are open. And (Richmond) coaches since I got here last year really opened my eyes about passing lanes that are open. What passing lanes should be there, what passes won’t be there.”

The ball-distribution ability of Richmond’s forwards have allowed the Spiders (19-12) to make an important in-season adjustment, one reason they head into this week’s A-10 tournament as the fourth seed with a six- game winning streak.

As the season progressed, defenses paid an increasing amount of perimeter attention to UR’s 3-point- shooting guards, Kendall Anthony and ShawnDre’ Jones. The Spiders used that defensive pressure to their advantage.

Anthony and Jones in recent games scored a number of baskets on back-door layups, cutting hard to the rim as defenders extended to prevent 3-pointers. In a 56-53 win at Massachusetts on March 4, two of Richmond’s first three field goals were Anthony back-door layups off bounce passes from Cline, who had four assists.

“They always throw it right there where I can catch it,” Anthony said of the passes delivered by Spiders forwards Terry Allen (1.5 apg), Deion Taylor (1.4 apg) and Cline (1.6 apg). Cline dished seven assists in a late-January win over Duquesne.

“As his career goes on, I think that’s what he’ll be really celebrated for as much as the other things he does well,” UR coach Chris Mooney said of Cline, a 40-percent shooter from 3-point distance. “We’re very confident throwing him the ball because he’s a big target and he’s got great hands. But he also has a sense of where the next open player is. To have that from (a big man) is unique and I think we have to take advantage of that as much as we can.”

The back-door layup is among the foundations of the Princeton Offense, a variation of which is used my Mooney, a former Princeton forward. Richmond features a handful of players who can hit 3-pointers, forcing defenders to choose whether they tightly guard at the arc, or back off to avoid getting burned on back-door cuts.

“They’re so comfortable and they’re so aggressive and the spacing’s perfect,” La Salle coach John Giannini said of the Spiders. “And of course that Princeton style has been proven to be hard to guard for many, many years. They have difficult personnel to guard and they have a difficult offense to guard. There are a lot of challenges there.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Return of Nelson-Ododa pumps up Spiders’ promising A-10 profile John O’Connor March 10, 2015

The University of Richmond has a six-game winning streak, history on its side, and a player returning from injury heading into this week’s A-10 tournament in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Spiders (19-12, 12-6) are seeded fourth, and the fourth seed has won the conference tournament two of the past three years. UR is expected to have 6-foot-9 junior Alonzo Nelson-Ododa back in its rotation, coach Chris Mooney said Tuesday. Nelson-Ododa, wearing goggles, practiced with the Spiders on Tuesday. He’s been out since Feb. 8 because of a broken bone around his right eye, an injury suffered when he was hit by the elbow of a Rhode Island player going up for a follow.

Mooney estimated that 10 or 12 minutes in Friday’s quarterfinal, Richmond’s first game of the tournament, probably would be as much as could be expected from a player regaining his aerobic capacity after being out more than a month.

“I think we put him in there and see how he does,” Mooney said. “I think honestly that one of the biggest things I’m excited about is I think the (other Spiders) are going to be so pumped up about it. That’s a nice boost of energy at a time when you don’t necessarily expect it. ”

Nelson-Ododa started seven of the 23 games he played this season, averaging 24 minutes, seven points and 5.2 rebounds. He is UR’s top shot blocker (1.6 bpg). Nelson-Ododa has played in 90 Spiders games, starting 69.

Saint Joseph’s won the A-10 championship as a fourth seed last season. St. Bonaventure won the 2012 league title as a fourth seed.

“I just think you need to be playing well going in. You need momentum,” said SBU coach Mark Schmidt. The 2011-12 Bonnies won their final four regular-season games and five of their last six.

Saint Joseph’s last year won six of its last eight regular-season games before winning three times at Barclays Center to take the league title.

VCU (22-9, 12-6) enters the tournament as the fifth seed and on Thursday afternoon faces the winner of today’s opening-round game between No. 12 Fordham (9-20, 4-14) and No. 13 George Mason (9-21, 4-14). Richmond on Friday plays the winner of the VCU-Fordham/GMU first-rounder.

“I think we’ve gotten, obviously, a lot of confidence now and that’s always going to be the biggest factor,” Mooney said.

Examine the last five A-10 championship games, and if Richmond can get to Sunday’s final, the Spiders’ defense matches the champions’ profiles.

The losers of the last five A-10 championship games scored 61, 56, 56, 54 and 52. During its six-game winning streak, Richmond has limited opponents to an average of 54.7 points.

This is the third consecutive season the A-10 tournament will be played at Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Spiders rediscover room without a roof John O’Connor March 8, 2015

Employing a rotation heavy with freshmen and sophomores, Rhode Island bruised an experienced University of Richmond team 79-74 on Feb. 8. Before a capacity crowd of 7,201 at the Robins Center, Richmond never led. UR was outrebounded 44-29 and surrendered 16 offensive boards. Two Spiders fouled out, Richmond made two 3-pointers, and lost its shot-blocker. Alonzo Nelson-Ododa caught an elbow from Ram Jarelle Reischel as he went up for a follow. The 6-foot-9 Nelson-Ododa suffered a fractured bone around his right eye, required surgery, and was indefinitely incapacitated for basketball purposes.

Following that defeat, Richmond was 12-11, 5-5 in the A-10. There was minimal evidence to support a Spiders resurrection. Rise, however, they did, with improved defense.

“When Alonzo went down, I don’t think we held our heads,” Richmond guard Kendall Anthony said. “We had to make up for him being out. Some guys stepped up, that was the biggest thing. ... We’ve been playing better team defense. Sometimes we were relying on Zo too much for blocking shots. We’d take defensive plays off.”

UR (19-12, 12-6) heads into this week’s A-10 tournament at Barclays Center in New York as the fourth seed, a winner of six consecutive games and seven of its past eight since that deflating loss to Rhode Island. Finishing among the league’s top four means the streaking Spiders earned a bye and need to win three times starting Friday, rather than four times starting Thursday, to capture an A-10 championship.

UR coach Chris Mooney called the bye “supercritical. ... No. 1, I think it’s a significant accomplishment. This is a great conference. This is one of the best conferences in the country, and to place in the top four means you’ve really accomplished something with your regular season.

“And then I think having that extra day, especially for us with our rotation what it is, is very nice and it gives us a chance to relax and enjoy this for a couple of days and then get prepared.”

The Spiders enter the tournament feeling they can handle anybody in the field. Davidson, the top seed, visited Richmond on Jan. 17. Fourteen days earlier, the Spiders were humbled 81-67 at Davidson. In the rematch, UR blasted the Wildcats 89-63. Three Spiders scored 21 or more points. UR shot 57.4 percent and hit 14 3-pointers.

“They sucked it in and made us defend the post, then they threw it outside and made us defend the arc,” Davidson coach Bob McKillop said after the game.

A timeout interrupted the second half of Richmond’s finest performance of the season. The Robins Center PA system played “Happy,” the uplifting pop song by Pharrell Williams.

“Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof. Because I’m happy,” Williams sang as Richmond fans put their hands together.

That positive vibe faded for the Spiders during the subsequent five-game stretch, during which they went 2- 3, dropping to 12-11 and .500 in the league after Rhode Island pushed them around. Nelson-Ododa was gone. UR, 1-8 on the road at that point, still had four remaining obligations as a visitor.

There didn’t seem to be any reason for the Spiders to be happy. Now, they’re feeling like a room without a roof.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Anthony silenced doubters, became Spiders’ small wonder John O’Connor March 5, 2015 VCU coach Shaka Smart has dealt with University of Richmond guard Kendall Anthony for eight games in four seasons. Smart no longer has to watch Spiders video to write a scouting report on Anthony.

“He’s better going right than he is going left,” Smart said. “But even when you know that, he still beats you right with regularity.”

The legacy of Anthony, 5-foot-8, who will be celebrated Saturday on senior night before the Spiders (18-12, 11-6 A-10) meet Saint Louis (11-19, 3-14), begins with his height. Has to. Then comes that speed, which rendered defensive pressure inconsequential.

“Make him go left,” seems like such a simple defensive command, until execution is required.

If the Robins Center court appears a bit worn out around the right ends of the free throw lines, it’s Anthony’s fault. Those elbows have been his sweet spots. He’s dropped dozens of 15-footers after using top- of-the-key screens and dribbling right, just as scouting reports projected he would.

“Keep the ball away from him as much as you can, if you can overplay and deny him the ball,” St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt said of the Bonnies’ plan against Anthony. “If he doesn’t have the ball, he can’t score. But it’s really hard with his quickness.”

After the height and the speed, next on Anthony’s legacy list is that textbook, quick-trigger shot that made him UR’s king of 3s. Nobody in program history hit as many 3-pointers as Anthony (262), who built 3-point confidence as a catch-and-shoot freshman.

UR point guard Cedrick Lindsay would drive, drawing defenders, and then kick to Anthony at the arc.

“Cedrick made it easy for me,” said Anthony, the fifth-leading scorer in UR history (1,824 points).

The Anthony legacy will be accented by his competitive streak, apparent in everything “from school to video games,” teammate Terry Allen said.

On the way to senior night, Anthony became one of the most popular players who ever played at Richmond. Who wouldn’t cheer for a vertically challenged underdog, a star who looks more like a manager?

Anthony averaged 13 points as a freshman, 11.5 as a sophomore, 15.9 last season, and checks in at 16.3 this season for the Spiders, who have won five consecutive and six of seven.

Anthony chose Richmond’s scholarship offer over those extended by South Alabama, Lipscomb and Wright State. When coach Chris Mooney started recruiting for Richmond in 2005, he focused on tall guards. Kevin Anderson changed that approach.

Anderson, a 6-footer, chose UR over Appalachian State, Wofford and UNC Greensboro. He became the second-leading scorer in Spiders history (2,165 points, from 2008 to 2011). When Richmond recruited Anthony (13.1 ppg), he was shown video of Anderson.

“Coach gave me a chance. He felt I belonged here,” Anthony said of Mooney. “I proved I belong here.”

It didn’t take long. Anthony’s debut as a Spider came against American in November 2011. UR won 66-56 and Anthony scored 20 points in 23 minutes, becoming the first Spider in 50 years to score 20 or more in his opening act. Jeff Jones, then AU’s coach, noticed three things about Anthony. “One was, he’s really little. The second was that he’s really fast. And the third is he scores the ball,” Jones said.

Anthony, referred to as “this little ball of energy” by former teammate Derrick Williams, went on to be named the 2012 A-10 rookie of the year, and then second team all-league last season.

“He plays so much bigger than 5-8 or 5-9, or 5-7, or whatever he is,” Schmidt said. “He can shoot the 3. He can take you off the bounce. (The Spiders) space the court. It’s not like they run a ton of (plays) for him, but with the spacing, he can create off of ball screens. He’s a smart player.”

Has to be, right? How else can a 5-8 player do what Anthony has done?

“Everybody always doubted me. When I came here, I wasn’t anything. Nobody really knew who I was. Nothing,” he said. “But now I think after four years, things have changed. I’ve done pretty good for myself.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Allen’s consistency helps Spiders find late-season groove John O’Connor March 3, 2015

As La Salle coach John Giannini prepared for an early February game against the University of Richmond, he recognized the value of Spiders forward T.J. Cline, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Niagara with 3-point shooting range.

“The addition of Cline takes them up another level, especially in terms of being difficult to guard,” said Giannini.

Cline has maintained his impact as March competition begins for UR tonight at Massachusetts (17-12, 10-6 A-10). Another forward has stepped forward to provide Richmond (17-12, 10-6) with a late-season push. Fresh tenacity from 6-8 junior Terry Allen helped the Spiders win four consecutive games and five of their past six.

Allen’s influence has been particularly evident on the glass. Through UR’s first 22 games, he averaged 11.9 points and 5.5 rebounds. In the past seven, Allen averaged 14 points and nine rebounds.

“I realized that for us to win more games, I need to rebound more,” said Allen, who weighs 240 pounds.

Had he grabbed one more rebound in Saturday’s 63-57 win at Saint Joseph’s, Allen would head to UMass with a string of four consecutive double-doubles.

“When he’s locked in and attacking, which he’s been doing lately, he’s a much better player,” said Richmond guard Kendall Anthony.

UR has two regular-season games remaining before entering next week’s A-10 tournament in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“I think they’ve stayed true to who they are and they’re doing it at a higher level now,” said UMass coach Derek Kellogg.

Since Allen arrived at Richmond, he has displayed uncommon quickness and athleticism for a player his size. At Saint Joseph’s, Allen cleanly picked the ball from DeAndre’ Bembry, the Hawks’ 6-6 star, dribbling near the top of the key. Allen did the same to Rhode Island’s all-conference candidate, 6-5 E.C. Matthews, on Feb. 8.

How many 6-8 players can make steals on crossover moves 20 feet from the hoop?

“He’s a difficult guy to match up with because he has strength and speed, but can also handle the ball and do some things on the perimeter,” Richmond coach Chris Mooney said.

Allen’s potential on the glass, however, has sometimes been unrealized. Eleven times this season, he finished with five or fewer boards, but not recently.

“He’s a very committed player, a guy who wants to be good, who works very hard at it,” said Mooney. “And I think that’s probably why he has developed this consistency that we’re seeing.”

UMass won six consecutive games, then dropped three in a row before beating Fordham Saturday.

“You’d like to be going into the conference tournament with some momentum and feel like you’re playing well,” said Kellogg. “This would be a good time here to get on a little run and try to play your best basketball.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch UR lost some close-game frustration in win over VCU John O’Connor Feb. 26, 2015

Fourteen University of Richmond games had been decided by six or fewer points heading into Wednesday’s meeting with No. 22 VCU.

The Spiders were 4-10 in those games, and the victories were over William and Mary, Pepperdine, IUPUI and Fordham. UR coach Chris Mooney didn’t seem crushed. He appreciated the fact that Richmond was in position to win all 14.

Mooney recognized the 10 defeats as “very bad outcomes,” but added, “I would say the process of it wasn’t so bad. I thought we competed and did a lot of good things.”

Against VCU at the sold-out Robins Center, the Spiders rid themselves of some close-game frustration. Richmond prevailed 67-63 in double overtime to sweep the home-and-home series. Those 10 tough losses earlier in the season played a role in Wednesday’s win, according to UR forward T.J. Cline.

“It certainly is good to have experience in close games for exact situations like this,” Cline said after scoring 11 against the Rams. “We knew it was going to be a battle the whole time, and it was.

“I think those past games helped us tremendously. … No one on our team really got rattled.”

The Spiders (16-12, 9-6 A-10) have won three consecutive games and four of five, their most successful league stretch of the season, heading into Saturday night’s visit to Saint Joseph’s (12-15, 6-9).

Richmond’s resiliency showed up against the Rams, who trailed by 16 early in the second half and rode into overtime with momentum provided by Treveon Graham’s 25-footer with 3.5 seconds left in regulation. “Basketball is a roller-coaster game, and (Wednesday) especially,” Mooney said. “I thought we didn’t get too high even though it was an incredible atmosphere. And then when we botched some things and we didn’t do everything well, I don’t think we got too low.”

Richmond used only seven players. The Spiders have eight who are healthy and not redshirting. VCU was without two contributors in reserve, freshman forwards Justin Tillman (shoulder injury) and Michael Gilmore (absent because of a family issue).

Ten players, five from each team, were on the floor for 35 or more minutes.

“It says a lot about our guys the way we responded after being down 16 points early in the second half,” said Rams coach Shaka Smart, whose team fell to 21-7, 11-4 in the A-10. Dayton (21-6, 11-4) plays at the Siegel Center on Saturday at 2 p.m.

UR won 64-55 at VCU on Jan. 31, and Richmond’s 3-point shooting stabbed VCU in both ends of the season sweep. In the two games, the Spiders converted a combined 15 shots from beyond the arc to the Rams’ six. Wednesday, UR outscored VCU 27-9 from 3-point distance.

Also, the Spiders prohibited the Rams from going on runs fueled by steals. VCU, most effective in transition, scored four fast-break points in the first game and zero fast-break points in the rematch.

The Rams average 73.5 points. They averaged 59 against the Spiders.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Spiders have just enough energy to slip past Rams Paul Woody Feb. 25, 2015

Practically everyone was drained.

Every bit of energy had been expended in the course of almost three hours.

Richmond sprinted to a commanding lead over VCU.

VCU dug in and fought back.

JeQuan Lewis was outstanding. VCU would have been lost without the performance of the sophomore point guard.

Treveon Graham was at his best when VCU needed it most.

He sank a 25-foot jump shot to send the game into overtime.

The first overtime.

Momentum belonged to VCU. The game belonged to VCU. All the Rams had to do was thwart a final, desperate inbounds play by Richmond with 2.8 seconds left.

But along came T.J. Cline. He sliced into the paint as he took the inbounds pass from Trey Davis and banked a layup off the board. And that forced the second overtime.

When the game finally ended, hardly anyone had the strength to take a step.

And that was just the fans in the sold-out Robins Center.

Well, the students had enough energy to rush onto the court.

Students always seem to have energy, unless it’s 7:45 a.m. and an 8 o’clock class is pending.

As for the players, everyone on both teams gave the last full measure of their resolve. They had reached deep into their reserves in a game that was won and lost and won and lost too many times to count.

“We were just trying to keep it together,” said Spiders sophomore guard ShawnDre’ Jones. “We kept looking to each other for motivation.”

The Rams and Spiders played a game that was won and lost almost too many times to count.

When the clock hit all zeroes at the end of the second overtime, Richmond had the advantage, 67-63, and, finally, there was nothing more VCU could do.

For almost 32 of the 40 minutes of regulation, things went against VCU. The Spiders took advantage of every mismatch. On defense, the Spiders’ length bothered VCU in the halfcourt, and Richmond’s ability to handle the press denied VCU fastbreak points.

Things were going so well for the Spiders, coach Chris Mooney rarely had to stand to call out instructions or exhort his team.

“The game is very emotional, and I just wanted to be sure I was conveying to my team that I was calm,” Mooney said. “And we were very efficient offensively for a long time.”

No one was more efficient than Jones. He finished with 22 points. He made 6 of 10 3-pointers. A year ago against VCU, he struggled in a game Richmond almost had won.

This time, he was a star in a game Richmond won.

“Last year, I just started to get minutes at this time of the season,” Jones said. “It (VCU) was a big game, but there’s no excuse why I didn’t play well. I just didn’t.

“This year, I’m more confident. The team believes in me. I believe in myself. All that helped me have a good game tonight.”

VCU and Richmond are in the same city and same conference, the Atlantic 10. It’s easy to say they are rivals.

But when one team holds the upper hand for an extended period, “rivalry” doesn’t fit. VCU held a 45-27 advantage in the series when the game began.

When it ended, Richmond had done something rarely seen since Shaka Smart arrived at VCU six years ago — swept the Rams in the regular season. “It was a great game, and VCU competed so well and is so tough and came back to force overtime on a great shot by a great player,” Mooney said. “I think the world of VCU, Shaka and their program.

“I’m so proud of my team. There are so many highs and lows in a college basketball game, and we got through them.”

Now, Richmond has to return to planet Earth. VCU has to work on what Smart has been stressing all season — responding when things go against you.

This game will not soon be forgotten, but it is done, and more basketball is coming very quickly.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Freight train, K Zero provide heart, soul for VCU, UR Paul Woody Feb. 24, 2015

They are the heart and soul, the long and short, the yin and yang of their teams.

They are “Freight Train” and “K Zero.”

“Freight Train” is Treveon Graham, VCU’s multifaceted, 6-foot-6 senior star, capable of playing any position from point guard to power forward.

“K Zero” is Kendall Anthony, Richmond’s 5-8 senior guard who plays as if he’s 6-4 and isn’t averse to driving to the basket and challenging players more than a foot taller.

Neither is perfectly comfortable in the limelight. They’d rather play than talk. And both play so well they are indispensable to their teams.

Tonight, they meet in an Atlantic 10 regular-season game for the final time in their college careers.

Neither will leave the court without giving the maximum effort.

“He’s never going to back down from the moment, no matter how big it is,” VCU coach Shaka Smart said of Anthony. “You don’t see him dropping his head or feeling sorry for himself.

“He comes to work, puts on his hard hat, doesn’t really concern himself with any type of measurables and just attacks. He’s extremely quick, good with the ball, a very good shooter and finisher. He’s a heck of a player.”

Even though he’s 5-8, Anthony is a shooting guard and, with each passing year, he has taken on more of a scoring and leadership role.

He plays 36 of the 40 minutes of game time and averages 16.9 points.

“I’ve had to develop more as the one guy my teammates can depend on to make plays and keep the team together,” Anthony said.

Graham is playing with a high ankle sprain that is, he said, about 90 percent healed. He missed three games because of the injury. VCU struggled to find points and lost twice in his absence. It will take debilitating pain to keep him off the floor the rest of the season.

“Adrenaline helps a lot, and knowing my team needs me,” Graham said. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to play. Even if I’m not scoring, just being out there talking, trying to get people through (an opponent’s) runs or just playing defense, I’ll do it.

“Whatever the team needs, that’s what I’m going to do.”

VCU needs Graham’s ability to find ways to score. He has the uncanny knack to locate open spots in the lane as well as drop in 3-pointers from anywhere on the court. He provides confidence and a calming effect for his young teammates.

His 15.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game lead the Rams.

“He’s our captain, and he takes a lot of pressure off me and everyone else,” sophomore point guard JeQuan Lewis said. “He makes my job easier, just by being himself, just being ‘Freight Train.’ ”

“Freight Train”?

“You can’t stop him,” Lewis said. “He makes his way to the basket even if somebody’s in front of him.”

Anthony eschews nicknames, but they practically are unavoidable in sports.

“K Zero” comes from the initial letter of his first name and his uniform number. And that number is the only zero Anthony brings to the program.

“It’s a privilege to play with Kendall,” said Trey Davis, a redshirt junior. “He’s our hardest worker and brings that attitude every day in practice, lifting weights, whatever it is, he does it 100 percent. He holds himself to the highest standard in school and on and off the court.

“We feel comfortable when the ball’s in his hands. Most of the time something good is going to happen.”

For all the comfort Graham provides to his teammates, he has a way of making opposing coaches feel uncomfortable.

In a game where consistently high level performances are difficult to achieve, Richmond coach Chris Mooney said Graham is, “Incredibly consistent, relentlessly consistent. I love the way he plays. I love his demeanor on the court.”

Smart and Mooney also love having someone who is the yin and yang, long and short and heart and soul of their teams.

The Collegian Kendall Anthony’s legacy lies beyond basketball Charlie Broaddus Feb. 24, 2015

Before he was Richmond’s all-time leader in 3-point field goals, before he was a McDonald’s All-American nominee, before he took his high school basketball team to the state championship game, Kendall Anthony was a high school kid going on a date.

To prepare, he asked his grandfather Romeo Stewart for money, and Stewart complied. But riding in his grandfather’s car on the way to dinner, Anthony noticed a man on the side of the street. The man appeared homeless and was holding a sign asking for support.

“Stop,” Anthony said to his grandfather.

“Stop for what?” Stewart asked.

“Back up.”

Anthony decided to give the homeless man some of the money that was intended for his date.

“That’s the type of person he is,” Stewart says after telling the story. “If he can help you, he will help you.”

"A guy who's as committed to winning and being a great player as anyone I’ve ever seen."

Anthony is selfless. He does volunteer work, has a strong, Christian faith and shows unwavering loyalty to his family, friends and teammates. But he doesn’t talk about that side of himself. He prefers to stay in the gym and shoot, and when he does talk to those he isn’t close to, he prefers to speak about basketball. Even then the focus hardly remains on him – I challenge you to find a post-game press conference when he doesn’t mention his teammates multiple times.

This unselfish, team-first demeanor has forced Anthony’s basketball legacy to revolve solely around his play. He doesn’t draw national attention for himself unless he’s making clutch shots in big games.

It’s uncertain whether Anthony’s playing career will extend beyond the Robins Center. Not only does he seem to fly well under the radar, he’s also just 5-foot-8-inches tall – not the stereotypical NBA player. His height will be a major hurdle for him. As will coming from Richmond. It’s not exactly Kentucky or Duke.

But these factors haven’t stopped him so far. He’s found outstanding success and stood out even within the storied history of Richmond basketball. And he’s only getting better. He took control of the biggest stage he’s played on during his senior season, scoring 20 second-half points to lead the Spiders to a road win over No. 14 Virginia Commonwealth University Rams. He led his team to an 89-63 blowout over Davidson and broke Richmond’s career 3-point record that same night. He’s averaging about 17 points per game and 36 minutes, both testaments to his talent and desire to be on the court at all times.

Anthony lets his play do the talking, as he always has. The combination of his work ethic, excellent shooting and quickness could lift him over the height and popularity hurdles and into a professional career. But he hasn’t always been the stellar point guard he is today – and he certainly didn’t come all this way on his own.

“He'd slip out there in the rain shooting that ball.”

Kendall Anthony was born and raised in Jackson, Tennessee. Through his childhood he was raised primarily by his mother, Karen Phelps, and her parents, the Stewarts. From as far back as his mother and grandfather can remember, Anthony has loved basketball. Since he could walk, he would seek out a ball each time he was in a store and dribble it around. When he went to his grandparents’ house, he would shoot a ball into a big popcorn can because that was the most accessible hoop.

Though basketball was a part of Anthony’s life from an early age, his mother and grandparents more heavily emphasized religion and education while raising him and his younger sister, Kara.

From an early age, Anthony was involved with his church in Jackson, ushering and participating in different programs. Even there he found ways to play basketball, competing in the church’s 3-point contest every year, his mother said.

Phelps and her father saw Anthony’s passion early and began providing him opportunities to play and learn basketball when he was about seven years old. His mother got him involved in YMCA leagues during elementary school, and brought him with her when she worked at the YMCA part-time. His grandfather bought a hoop for the driveway. “He’d get out there rain, shine, sleet or snow,” Stewart said. “He’d slip out there in the rain shooting that ball.”

All the while, alongside basketball, Anthony was learning how to embrace his Christian faith thanks in large part to his grandfather. “They had to go to church,” Stewart said. “We didn’t send them, we carried them. We stayed there with them and talked to them about what was right and what was wrong.”

Stewart also made sure that basketball didn’t interfere with his grandchildren’s education. After school each day, Anthony and his sister would head to their grandparents’ house, where they did their homework.

“Before they would do anything, they had to sit down and get their homework done,” Stewart said. “We told them that’s the only thing that’s really going to count in life, to get your education.”

As Anthony continued through elementary school, his passion for basketball continued to grow and his mother continued to help him improve his game by providing him with learning opportunities.

She remembers buying him a tape of Michael Jordan highlights that he would watch and study repeatedly. He wanted to be like Jordan, and even got called a “Michael Jordan wannabe” by a classmate.

The studying paid higher dividends, as Anthony’s talent in middle school caught the attention of his eventual high school coach Dexter Williams. “I hadn’t seen a middle school kid score like that,” Williams said.

Once Anthony made it to Liberty Technology Magnet High School, he stopped growing. He had been about the same height as his classmates until then, but when he reached high school, a new and unexpected challenge arose. “It was just something that didn’t go my way,” Anthony said. “Once you get to high school you start to see, ‘Hey, I’m not growing anymore.’”

But he was in the hands of Williams, who would help to shape him into a fierce competitor and teach him the necessary attributes for overcoming his short stature. Williams was purposefully tough on Anthony, because he saw a talented kid who could use a lesson in discipline and work ethic.

“I know there’s probably a lot of times when Kendall didn’t like me very well,” Williams said. “But I think now, looking back, I think he probably appreciated it.”

Anthony credits Williams with teaching him the intangibles: work ethic and the mentality of a winner. “Nothing was ever given in high school,” Anthony said. “You had to earn everything. It was pretty rough.” The hard work paid off. Anthony found success in high school, leading his team to the Tennessee state championship game his senior year and being named the runner up for the Mr. Basketball Tennessee award.

His accolade-filled senior season drew the attention of a number of college coaches, though none had the prestige of Coach K at Duke or Jim Boeheim at Syracuse. Richmond head coach Chris Mooney admired Anthony’s competitiveness and composure, and decided that those attributes, as well as his rare shooting ability, warranted a scholarship.

“He was immediately a big offensive weapon for us.”

The Robins Center was electric, full of screaming fans dressed in red rooting for their Spiders in a 2013 edition of the “Black and Blue Classic,” the school’s biannual game against VCU.

But the Spiders were down by six points and there were only 22 seconds left on the clock. Not the most favorable odds – especially against a 19th-ranked VCU team.

That’s when Anthony became a star. He was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws. On the next possession, he pulled up for a jump shot well behind the 3-point line and made it with 15 seconds left to bring his team within one point.

Then his teammate and close friend Darien Brothers finished the job, making an even longer shot than Anthony’s to push the game into overtime. By this time, the Robins Center was as loud as it’s been in years, and the Spiders had too much momentum to go down. Richmond defeated No. 19 VCU in overtime, 86- 74, fans rushed the court and Anthony and his teammates had a memory that would stick with them for years to come.

(Full highlights from Richmond’s 2013 victory over VCU can be found here.)

Anthony called that game, which occurred during his sophomore year, the most memorable of his career at Richmond. But it didn’t take that long after joining the Spiders for him to make an impact – Anthony had been a valuable scorer long before his performance against VCU.

“He was immediately a big offensive weapon for us,” Mooney said. “Probably almost too much, in terms of like we were fairly dependent on him to score as a freshman.”

Anthony continued to shine as a scorer during his sophomore year, scoring a career-high 31 points against Air Force and averaging 11.5 points per game. He improved during his junior season, scoring about 16 points per game.

With all of the success Anthony has on the court, coupled with his quiet personality, it’s easy to forget that there’s much more to his life than basketball. Throughout his first three years at Richmond, Anthony made countless shots, but he also made friendships with his teammates, and those friendships far outweigh any shot for Anthony.

His closest friend since coming to Richmond has been Cedrick Lindsay, who speaks as highly of Anthony as anyone. Lindsay calls him one of the hardest working, funniest and most loyal people he’s ever met. “He’s like my little brother,” Lindsay said. He also made it clear that basketball is not Anthony’s top priority – God, family, friends and education all come first.

"I think some of his best days might be ahead of him."

Anthony is notoriously hardworking—as Mooney and any Richmond teammate will attest—and he dedicates much of his time to improving as a basketball player, but his priorities extend beyond the game. His professors say he is articulate and thoughtful in the classroom. He does volunteer work during the summer. He travels to Jackson when he has the opportunity and speaks with high school players. He dedicates one day during each of his short trips home to spend with his mother, and another day with his grandparents. And he goes to church every Sunday when he is home in Tennessee.

Anthony will finish his last season of Richmond basketball in March and will graduate from the university in May. His legacy will likely lie well beyond his 14.2 points per game, his 39 percent 3-point shooting or his 5-foot-8-inch stature.

“A guy who’s as committed to winning and being a great player as anyone I’ve ever seen,” Mooney said, commenting on how he believes Anthony should be remembered.

Anthony has done about as much as a 5-foot-8 point guard can do to give himself an opportunity to extend his basketball career past Richmond. Both Lindsay and Williams said they thought he had the talent to play professionally, whether it be in the NBA or in an overseas professional league.

Until then, Anthony will spend just about every day in the gym perfecting his craft. But he will continue to be defined as much more than just a basketball player.

“I think he genuinely cares for people,” Williams said. “I just think Kendall has a love for people and a love for life. That’s special right there. The scary thing about it is, I think some of his best days might be ahead of him.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Taylor, Spiders standing their ground on defense John O’Connor Feb. 22, 2015

The University of Richmond’s top shot-blocker is out, but UR hasn’t gone soft inside.

In the absence of injured 6-foot-9 junior Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, the Spiders have received physical and effective post resistance from 6-7, 210-pound junior Deion Taylor.

In Richmond’s past two games, both victories accented by rugged defense, Taylor dealt with St. Bonaventure’s 7-0, 250-pound Youssou Ndoye and George Washington’s 6-10, 260-pound Kevin Larsen.

No wonder Taylor said he was looking forward to a day off after Saturday’s 56-48 victory over GW.

“We talk about being aggressive and not letting people bully us,” Taylor said. “Since we don’t have Zo, people are always going to try to pound us. So we have to stand our ground.” Next for UR (15-12, 8-6 A-10) and Taylor is Wednesday night’s Robins Center meeting with VCU (21-6, 11-3) and 6-6, 250-pound Mo Alie-Cox.

Against GW, Taylor did not score and had four rebounds. But he was a key component, limiting the touches of Larsen (nine shots, 16 points) and bothering him when he did catch the ball in the low post. In Wednesday’s 71-56 win at St. Bonaventure, Ndoye scored 12.

Neither of those big men dominated Richmond, which was a possibility without Nelson-Ododa, gone indefinitely following Feb. 10 surgery to address a fractured bone around his right eye.

Taylor receives substantial support in Richmond’s matchup defense, but he is often the Spider between opposing centers and the hoop. His defensive impact is vital because the minutes of UR’s tallest active player, 6-9 T.J. Cline, have frequently been limited by foul trouble.

“Deion is a tremendous defensive player, just tremendous,” Richmond coach Chris Mooney said. “While he’s long and appears to be lean, he’s very, very strong, might be our strongest guy. So he can kind of take the punishment, but then he has good enough feet to defend both inside and out.”

Richmond’s hybrid, switching, confusion-causing defense recently has carried the Spiders, who caused 19 turnovers at St. Bonaventure, 14 against George Washington. UR scored 21 points off turnovers at SBU and 14 against the Colonials. Richmond made 11 steals in each of those games.

And, as GW coach Mike Lonergan pointed out, Richmond is forcing TOs without pressing.

“That was not VCU,” Lonergan said, referring to the Rams’ full-court defensive pressure. “That was a team that plays matchup zone and we’re throwing passes right to them.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch S. Jones’ hot hand helps generate more UR balance John O’Connor Feb. 20, 2015

The hot hand that University of Richmond guard ShawnDre’ Jones brings into Saturday’s game against visiting George Washington warmed up in an urgent situation.

The Spiders on Feb. 11 trailed Fordham 59-51 with six minutes remaining. Richmond’s next two baskets were 3-pointers from Jones. He converted four 3s in the last six minutes as the Spiders rallied for a 73-71 win at the Robins Center.

“I got a few open looks and it really helped my confidence,” Jones, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, said before Thursday’s practice. “Ever since then, shots have been going in.”

In Richmond’s last three games, the first being the victory over Fordham, Jones has hit 15 of 25 attempts from the field (60 percent) and nine of 13 from 3-point distance (69 percent). Jones averaged 15 points during that 2-1 Spiders’ stretch.

UR coach Chris Mooney said he prefers Jones, Richmond’s first backcourt substitute, to be aggressive, but also poised to minimize turnovers.

“He wants me to move as fast as I can, but he still kind of wants me to control it,” said Jones. “It’s hard sometimes, but I understand why he wants me to dial it back.” Jones, who averages 9.9 points, scored 17 in the Spiders’ 71-56 Wednesday win at St. Bonaventure, where forward Terry Allen added 15 and forward Deion Taylor, who was averaging 2.6 points, scored 11. Guard Kendall Anthony scored only 10, about seven fewer than his average.

The balance is a welcome development for the Spiders, who have been very heavily dependent on the scoring of the 5-8 Anthony at times this season.

“When everybody is able to contribute more, it takes a lot of pressure off Kendall and he doesn’t have to force as many shots,” said Taylor. “He can take more shots in his comfort zone. It helps everybody.”

Anthony took only seven shots at St. Bonaventure, but had five assists for the second consecutive game.

“We found a really good rhythm to our offense,” said Mooney. “Even on opportunities that we didn’t score, we felt like we moved the ball, we were aggressive.”

St. Bonaventure’s defensive game plan started with denying Anthony the ball, according to Bonnies’ coach Mark Schmidt. That is the approach more A-10 opponents have adopted against the Spiders.

“Kendall is fully capable of carrying us,” said Jones. “But the rest of the guys, including myself, we have to take as much off him as possible. Game in and game out, he’s going to do what he does best, which is score and put us in position to win. We just want to help him out as much as we can.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Another season of unsatisfying trips poisoning Spiders John O’Connor Feb. 16, 2015

Kendall Anthony has seen this movie before. He requests a script change.

Anthony, the University of Richmond’s lone scholarship senior, was a regular on the last three Spiders teams that experienced home success and road strain that repeatedly poisoned promising seasons.

It’s happening again.

Richmond (13-12, 6-6 A-10) is 5-1 in league home games and 1-5 as an A-10 guest heading into Wednesday night’s game at St. Bonaventure (13-10, 6-6). Since the 2011-12 season, UR has played 30 A-10 home games and 30 A-10 road games. The Spiders went 23-7 at the Robins Center and 6-24 on the road.

“We just have to be better, that’s it,” Anthony said Monday. “On the road, we just don’t shoot the ball as well. That’s a really a big problem for us.”

In its last 30 league home games, Richmond averaged 72 points. In its last 30 league road games, UR averaged 63 points. This season, the Spiders average 76 points at home in A-10 play, 65 on the road.

Against A-10 teams, Richmond went 7-9 in 2012, 8-8 in 2013, 8-8 last season, and is 6-6 this season. Some teams would celebrate reaching .500 in their leagues. The Spiders are aching to climb another rung. The plain explanation for their .500 trend is home success countered by lack of road success.

Overall this season, Richmond is 1-9 as a guest.

“We haven’t completed wins on the road,” UR coach Chris Mooney said, referring to this season. “I think it would be shortsighted to say we haven’t played well on the road, or been competitive, because we have.” Four of Richmond’s five A-10 road losses were determined by four or fewer points. The Spiders fell in double-overtime (Jan. 15 at George Washington) and in overtime (Saturday at George Mason).

“Obviously we’re searching hard for the answers, trying to figure out exactly what we need to do, whether it’s down the stretch or at the start of the game,” said Mooney, whose team won 64-55 at VCU on Jan. 31. “It’s frustrating, but it could be much worse. It could be where we were just playing terribly and not competing.”

Richmond was a terrific A-10 road team not so long ago. The Spiders went 6-2 in 2010 and 7-1 in 2011.

When the Spiders visit St. Bonaventure, each team will be missing a significant player because of injury. UR is without 6-foot-9 Alonzo Nelson-Ododa (fractured bone around right eye) and the Bonnies won’t have starting point guard Jaylen Adams (10 ppg, 4.5 assists), who’s out with a fractured finger.

“It’s difficult when you lose your quarterback,” said Bonnies coach Mark Schmidt. “But injuries are part of the game and everybody’s going through them.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Alonzo Nelson-Ododa hopes to play again this season John O’Connor Feb. 16, 2015

University of Richmond forward Alonzo Nelson-Ododa said Monday he hopes to be back in uniform this season. But whether he’ll be medically cleared to return to basketball activity and when that could be have not been determined.

Nelson-Ododa, a 6-foot-9 junior who has been the Spiders’ first interior player off the bench for most of this season, suffered a concussion and a fractured bone around his right eye against Rhode Island on Feb. 8. He averages 24 minutes, 7.0 points and 5.2 rebounds, and is among the A-10’s top inside defenders and shot- blockers.

Nelson-Ododa was injured while trying to block a shot, hit by the elbow of a Rhode Island player elevating on a follow attempt.

“I’d love to play before the end of the season,” Nelson-Ododa, wearing a tan patch over his right eye, said Monday before observing Richmond’s practice. “I’m not going to get my hopes up, but if it happens, I’d be happy.”

Surgery was performed on the eye area Feb. 10. Nelson-Ododa returned to class and meets with medical personnel again later this week. That appointment may give the Spiders a clearer understanding if and when Nelson-Ododa could return, according to UR coach Chris Mooney.

The Spiders (13-12, 6-6), who play at St. Bonaventure (13-10, 6-6) on Wednesday, have six regular-season games remaining in a three-week stretch. The A-10 tournament runs March 11-15 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

USA TODAY Richmond’s T.J. Cline, Nancy Lieberman’s son, creates own identity Nicole Auerbach Feb. 13, 2015 T.J. Cline didn't really realize until his teenage years just how important his mother had been to the sport of basketball.

He'd found it pretty awesome that, throughout his childhood, he'd gotten to go to big-time basketball events and that he'd met all sorts of stars, from Grant Hill when he was practically a toddler to John Wall in recent years.

But only until Cline entered high school and started to get serious about basketball did he fully comprehend it: His mother was a pretty big deal, one of the most influential women in basketball history. One of the first things he did once this realization hit? Ask her to train him, so he could maybe land a Division I scholarship after all.

Fast forward nearly four years, past his breakout senior season of high school and first collegiate pit stop at Niagara and through last season's redshirt year. Now, Cline is creating a basketball identity for himself — at the University of Richmond, where the 6-8, 240-pound sophomore is averaging 10.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in just over 22 minutes a game.

Nancy Lieberman couldn't be prouder.

Cline grew up in and around the game, of course, leading to plenty of stories that Lieberman can't help but tell with laughter. When he was 2, he'd push a basketball around along the side of the court while his mother hosted basketball camps. When he was 3, he traveled with Lieberman and her WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury, dragging his little roller bag around airports trying to keep up with the team. "His little feet!" Lieberman says, cracking up. "T.J., hurry up!"

When Lieberman became the general manager and coach of the Detroit Shock in 1998, Cline came along, too. He'd wear a Detroit Pistons jersey around his neck like a cape, flying around the facility. Pistons players, such as Grant Hill and Jerry Stackhouse, would help the young Cline with his shooting if they saw him around. He was only 4 or 5 years old at the time, but he'd hoist an NBA ball up from beyond the arc, "slinging it up there," Lieberman said. "We'd be like, 'Can you believe this little rat?' Not saying he's making them — but he was taking them."

A few years later, when Lieberman was working during a television broadcast of an NBA playoff game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks, she sent Cline out to the court while she was in the green room doing pregame interviews alongside Charles Barkley. She told her son to stay put courtside. The next thing Lieberman knew, he was in the Spurs' layup lines.

"I was like, 'I'm going to get fired,' " Lieberman says, laughing. "I run out in my heels ... and you know that fake mom 'smile' where you don't look like you're yelling at your kid? 'T.J., get over here!' "

Cline ran over. She asked him what he was doing, and he told her Manu Ginobili had invited him to shoot with the Spurs. The young Cline couldn't quite pronounce Ginobili's name just yet — "Mr. Gino-go-li," he put it at the time.

Throughout his childhood, Cline spent countless hours in various gyms, either hanging around private lessons his mom would give or working on his shot with his dad, Tim, who had an extensive basketball background himself. (Tim Cline and Lieberman met playing alongside each other on the Washington Generals, the longtime nemesis and punching bag of the Harlem Globetrotters. Though Tim and Lieberman divorced in 2001, they've remained close and on good terms.)

Still, neither parent rode Cline too hard, or made basketball feel like a chore for him. "My mom never reached out to me and made me go through workouts; she always waited for me to go to her," Cline says. "There wasn't really a push to the sport. I just fell in love with it, being around it so much."

Even a sport that's a labor of love requires, well, labor. And Cline didn't always work hard at the game, he and his mother both admit.

By the time his junior year of high school rolled around, Cline was still playing on his high school's junior varsity squad. At the end of that school year, Cline had an epiphany.

"It kind of dawned on me that if I wanted to play at the next level, D-I — which I wanted to — I needed to improve my game drastically," Cline says.

Cline went to his mother and asked her to train him. He promised not to get mad or yell or pout if she pushed him too hard. She and a few fellow coaches worked with him all summer, spending time on fundamentals and also film. They taught Cline to "respect the game," as Lieberman puts it. "Scholarships are not your birthright. Scholarships have to be earned."

So Cline worked to earn one. He finally made the varsity team at Plano West (Texas) his senior year and averaged 16.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals, earning him District 8-5A Offensive Player of the Year honors.

A few D-I schools came calling after Cline's breakout season, and Cline eventually chose Niagara and then- coach Joe Mihalich.

"I'd gotten a blast email," Mihalich recalls. "I know every college coach in the country got it. I got a blast email about him. Then, I really didn't do anything with it." Not until one of his assistants heard Cline's name again, from another buddy in coaching. This time, Mihalich and his staff got their hands on some tape.

"He doesn't have your prototypical jump shot — he doesn't get off his feet, he doesn't have a high release," Mihalich says. "But daggone, he makes it. You notice that when you're watching tape. He wasn't incredibly athletic, but he always seemed to get where he had to be. But the charm with T.J. was more once you got to know him and be around him. He certainly had that twinkle in his eye and that passion for the game.

"One of my questions when I'm recruiting somebody is, 'Do they really love basketball?' Was he playing because his mom played? That certainly wasn't the case. He really loves the game."

During his freshman season at Niagara, Cline earned MAAC All-Rookie honors while averaging 7.9 points and 4.6 rebounds — all after his parents figured their son might need to redshirt that year. Instead, Cline was a crucial cog on a team that won the MAAC regular-season championship.

After Mihalich left for the head coaching gig at Hofstra, Cline transferred to Richmond. Forced to sit out last season because of NCAA transfer rules, Cline spent a year away from competition, just practicing and training — a blessing in disguise. Cline worked hard in the weight room, getting in better shape and getting stronger, both things Richmond coach Chris Mooney thought would pay dividends later.

"His body totally changed," Lieberman says. "He went from boy body to, like, ripped, abs. I joke, what'd they do — get you a Gut-B-Gone? A thighmaster? What'd they do at Richmond? He found this next level.

"It's unbelievable how strong he is."

Mooney said all that effort paid off; it put Cline in position to be an impact player this season, his first with eligibility for the Spiders. And that's exactly what Cline has become. He can score from all over the court, and Mooney says his best asset is his passing. "He puts pressure on the defense because he forces you to guard him on the perimeter," Mooney says. "He forces you to pay extra attention to him when he's in the low post." Twice this season, Cline has scored more than 20 points.

Cline knows he's not a finished project, and he's got plenty of time to keep improving. He and his Hall of Fame mother dissect his play by watching Synergy video clips together; she's come to see him play in person this year, too. But they also chat and catch up like any regular mother and son would, too — without a single mention of basketball.

"It just warms my heart to see the things he's been able to do," Lieberman says. "To be a good teammate, to do well academically and to see the man he's developed into. ... We are so blessed to have had this amazing life through sports, and now T.J. is carving his own identity. ... And I'll be applauding every step of the way.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch For UR’s J. Jones, productive may equal disruptive John O’Connor Feb. 13, 2015

When it comes to Josh Jones, productive may equal disruptive.

While Jones, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, has been at the University of Richmond, it’s been difficult to determine the primary role he fills. He hit an occasional 3-pointer and contributed in some other ways in limited opportunities. But Jones hadn’t exerted much influence until Wednesday’s 73-71 win over Fordham at the Robins Center.

He grabbed nine rebounds. With his long arms and speed in open-court situations, Jones made ball control very difficult for the Rams, who committed 17 turnovers.

“He got all the hustle plays,” UR guard ShawnDre’ Jones said of Josh Jones (the two are unrelated). “He really stuck his nose in there, and we really needed that.”

With 6-9 junior Alonzo Nelson-Ododa out indefinitely because of a concussion and broken bone around his right eye, Jones appears to be the Spiders’ reserve who will be more involved.

“I’m up to the challenge,” Josh Jones said. “The coaches, they just told me to step up, do whatever I’ve got to do to help the team out. So I’m just looking forward to it. … If it’s scoring, rebounding, whatever I’ve got to do, that’s what I’ve got to do.”

He was averaging about seven minutes before logging 22 against Fordham, the first opponent Richmond faced in three seasons without Nelson-Ododa.

“(Jones) played with great energy,” said UR coach Chris Mooney, whose team is 13-11, 6-5 in the A-10. “He just was a tremendous asset to us.”

Roles commonly change when high school stars elevate to college competition, and that’s clearly been the case for Jones. As a high school senior in Memphis, he averaged 22 points and scored 52 in a game.

Jones scored 52 points in his first 44 games at UR before scoring four against Fordham in his 45th. “Everybody wants to play all 40 minutes. Of course, that can’t happen all the time,” Mooney said. “When you don’t get as much opportunity, you have to stay focused, stay positive. You have to do all these things and you don’t feel like you’re getting enough minutes.

“He’s done that, to his credit. It showed through (Wednesday), and we’re going to need him here.”

Although Jones is a guard, his rebounding will be a key tonight at George Mason (7-16, 2-9). UR defeated GMU 75-65 at the Robins Center on Jan. 8 despite being outrebounded 39-19. Mason’s Shevon Thompson, a 6-11 junior, had 19 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks.

Richmond is 1-8 on the road, with the lone victory as a visitor coming at VCU on Jan. 31.

Richmond Times-Dispatch UR seeks to speed up slow offensive starts John O’Connor Feb. 10, 2015

The basket's diameter is 18 inches. It can, however, appear bigger, or smaller, depending on how a team is playing offensively.

University of Richmond guard Kendall Anthony is all in favor of a hoop that looks big to the Spiders early in their game against visiting Fordham (6-15, 1-9 A-10) Wednesday night.

Richmond (12-11, 5-5) has been slowed by rocky offensive starts through its league season. The Spiders split their last eight games, averaging 29 points in first halves and 39 in second halves. In six of the eight first halves, Richmond averaged 24 points.

“When we make shots, we get a little pep in our step, a little balance, and we get to moving faster on offense. The goal starts to look a little bit wider,” said Anthony a 5-foot-8 senior who averages 17 points.

He advocates more easy baskets in transition during the first few minutes as a way to get the Spiders confidently rolling.

In Sunday’s 79-74 loss to Rhode Island, Richmond scored 26 in the first half and 48 in the second. In last Thursday’s 64-62 loss at La Salle, UR scored 26 in the first half and 36 in the second. In a 64-55 win at VCU on Jan. 31, Richmond scored 22 in the first half and 42 in the second. Dayton led the Spiders by 10 at halftime on Jan. 24, and Richmond fell 63-60.

Prior to A-10 competition, UR fell to Wake Forest 65-63 after trailing by eight at the break. The Spiders lost 55-50 at Northern Iowa, which led 30-15 at halftime.

“I think there are a lot of ways to address it,” UR coach Chris Mooney said of the slow-starting trend. “I think probably just having a more intense day-before-the-game practice, a more intense warm-up on the day of the game, a more fiery pregame speech. I think all of those things, obviously we’ve done those things.”

The Spiders early-game issues are not caused by being unprepared to compete physically or emotionally, according to Anthony.

“We might be ready to play, but when we have slow starts, we end up not moving the ball as well and sometimes we get stagnant,” he said. “So just being able to come out and move faster from the get-go and get people open, that’s the biggest thing. Be aggressive.” The basket, for some reason, has looked bigger to the Spiders in second halves during games in which they have trailed at the break.

“I think part of it is we’ve had our back to the wall. We’re kind of just letting everything out because we have nothing to lose at that point,” said junior Trey Davis.

Richmond has played well from behind, but often not well enough to win. Twelve of 23 games have been decided by six or fewer points. In those games, the Spiders are 3-9.

“Obviously it can be frustrating, but there are encouraging signs,” Mooney said. “I would have to think some things will go our way, or break our way. We have to do everything we can to make those breaks go our way.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Green lights outnumber red lights from 3 for UR John O’Connor Feb. 4, 2015

When Terry Allen was a teenager in the Houston area, he didn’t practice post moves. Allen shot jumpers, not jump-hooks, even as he grew to 6-foot-8.

Allen did this on his own and in high school competition. For his team, Allen handled the ball and scored inside and on 3-pointers, even though he was his team’s tallest player.

This made him a natural for the University of Richmond, whose offense encourages 3-point shooting and ballhandling among big men. That’s a major reason Allen chose UR. He liked how the Spiders used the perimeter talent of 6-9 Justin Harper and 6-9 Dan Geriot, former standouts known for their 3s.

“I would say I have the green light,” Allen said of 3-point shooting, “but I’m not going to go out there and just shoot a bunch of 3s.”

The Spiders’ ability to hit a string of 3s, some from their tallest players, provided a spark at VCU last Saturday and may again Thursday night at La Salle. At VCU, UR trailed 28-17 with 1:22 left in the first half. Richmond guard ShawnDre’ Jones hit a 3 and UR’s first three baskets of the second half were 3s, two from 6-foot-9 T.J. Cline and one from Allen.

Those 3s were part of an 18-2 run that gave Richmond a 35-30 lead on the way to a 64-55 win.

“When the ball goes in from 3, the scoreboard moves faster,” said VCU coach Shaka Smart. “We were a half-step behind, and Richmond did a good job of making us pay.”

Five Spiders hit at least one 3-pointer at VCU, and that unpredictability is one of Richmond’s strengths as it heads into a two-game stretch against two of the A-10’s best defensive teams.

The Spiders (12-9, 5-3) tonight play at La Salle (12-9, 4-4), which allows 60.7 points per game. Rhode Island (15-5, 7-2) visits the Robins Center on Sunday and the Rams allow 57.1 points per game.

“I think the most underrated thing in college basketball success is the ability to shoot the 3,” said La Salle coach John Giannini.

Guards Kendall Anthony (39.4 percent on 3s) and Jones (36 percent) are UR’s leaders in 3s, but Cline (41.3 percent) and Allen (32.4 percent) also are frequent 3-point shooters. “It’s something we really work on a lot and certainly try to recruit to. I would say not every guy we recruit has been a good shooter necessarily, but it is something that’s important to us,” said UR coach Chris Mooney. “It really helps, obviously, if your frontcourt players can make 3s.”

The shooting range of Cline and Allen may be highly valuable at La Salle, which starts 6-8, 245-pound Jerrell Wright and 6-11, 240-pound Steve Zack. Each is most comfortable as a post player.

“It’s going to help us on offense, getting them out on the perimeter,” said Allen, a junior. “It makes the offense easier.”

Because of Richmond’s 3-point potential from various positions, opponents gamble when they provide defensive assistance on a driving Spider. That can leave open one of UR’s dependable shooters.

Jackson Sun Liberty alum Anthony excelling at Richmond Brandon Shields Feb. 3, 2015

Liberty alum Kendall Anthony has a little more than a month remaining in his senior regular season to help his current team, Richmond University, make a mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference, but Anthony has already made his mark on the Spiders’ record books.

As of Jan. 17, Anthony is the leading 3-point shooter in school history as he hit seven from behind the arc to lead the Spiders past Davidson.

“It’s a blessing and an accomplishment for me,” Anthony said during a phone interview on Monday. “It’s a record that’s been held for quite a while, so I feel very blessed to be able to take that away from college and be able to say, ‘I did that.’”

Anthony has a 42 percent 3-point percentage and has hit 82 percent from the free throw line. He said shooting is something he works on a lot each week.

“Outside of our normal practices, I’ll come in and try to get some work in with the coaches, but then I’ll come in and work on my game by myself if I have to,” said Anthony, who is typically the smallest guy on the court at 5-feet-8-inches.

He helped the team to another big win this past weekend as the Spiders knocked off ranked cross-town rival Virginia Commonwealth. Richmond had to come back for the win, and Anthony scored 20 of 22 points in the second half.

“That was a big game for us, and I didn’t play my best early on,” Anthony said. “So I had to play more aggressive in the second half, and my teammates found me in open spaces.”

The win was the first for the Spiders on the road, which has been a place that’s been tough to win. They’re usually close before coming up short each game.

“It can be frustrating when you lose in two overtimes to George Washington or lose a few times on a last- second shot,” Anthony said. “But we can’t let that get to us. At least we’re in the game, and we just have to play better down the stretch to get some of those wins.”

Anthony isn’t sure yet of what he plans to do after his college days are done. All he knows is he does want to continue playing. “I haven’t really thought much about it yet because I’m focused on the team and winning now,” Anthony said. “But yeah, I want to play.”

Right now, the focus for Anthony and the rest of the team is on conference opponent La Salle.

“We’re trying to get better in the conference and be ready to play well going into the conference tournament,” Anthony said. “I know La Salle is really good and will be playing hard to get that win.

“We’ve got to match them and get it ourselves.”

Richmond and La Salle tip off at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, and the game will be televised on the NBC Sports Network.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Spiders drive into February with refreshed confidence, cohesion John O’Connor Feb. 1, 2015

The University of Richmond team that won at VCU on Saturday bore little resemblance to the Spiders who lost to Old Dominion, James Madison and Northeastern before New Year’s Day.

Those were three of seven UR defeats decided by six or fewer points, results suggesting an experienced team with sound talent was searching for some binding event to alter the season’s flow.

Maybe the 64-55 victory at No. 14 VCU will be UR’s pivot point. The Spiders (12-9, 5-3 A-10) drive into the final third of their regular season with refreshed confidence and cohesion.

“I think those tough losses just helped us learn,” said Richmond guard/forward Trey Davis, a 6-foot-5 junior who had 10 rebounds at VCU. “We felt like it was just a matter of time before the ball would bounce our way. We just had to keep fighting and keep plugging.”

UR’s big men kept the Spiders in the game at VCU and guard Kendall Anthony won it, scoring 20 second- half points, nine from the free throw line as the Rams failed to stay in front of the 5-8 senior. Anthony has averaged 20.5 points in six regular-season games against VCU.

“We expect that from Kendall,” Davis said of Anthony’s performance at the Siegel Center. “When we need him the most, he’s going to step up for us.”

UR outscored VCU 42-27 in the second half, rallying from a first half in which the Rams blocked four shots and held Anthony to two points. A team with a 10-game road losing streak, dating to last season, beat a rival that had won 12 consecutive games, seven of them by 15 or more points.

“It’s big, obviously, for overall how we feel about things,” UR coach Chris Mooney said.

Richmond had dropped eight consecutive games at VCU and a ninth seemed probable after 18 minutes. The Rams led 28-17 by using their backcourt height advantages to convert baskets.

“We were letting guys drive by us, get in the lane,” Anthony said.

The Rams led 28-22 at the break. “When we saw what they were trying to take advantage of, maybe make a quick switch and try to not give them such an advantage,” said Mooney, whose team visits La Salle (12-9, 4-4) on Thursday. “Not turning the ball over and defense were the story for us.”

Rebounding, surprisingly, also lifted the Spiders, who went into the game last among A-10 teams in rebounding margin (minus-5.3) and beat the Rams by 12 boards. VCU (17-4, 7-1) had two offensive rebounds, scored zero second-chance points, and never produced a scoring spurt as a result of UR turnovers.

The Spiders committed 12 turnovers, the second-fewest the Rams caused this season, and VCU scored four fast-break points.

“We know they like to go up and down,” Davis said. “So we just wanted to make sure we got back and got our defense set up. We felt like if we could get our defense set up, we had a really good chance of winning.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Anthony, Spiders come up big in win over VCU Mike Szvetitz Jan. 31, 2015

It was everything it was billed to be. And then some.

What, you thought the Duke-U.Va. game was going to be the best in the state Saturday? What about what happened here in our own back yard?

Richmond-VCU didn’t disappoint. Not at all.

What looked like an early runaway for the 14th-ranked Rams turned into to a slugfest at the Siegel Center in the second half with the Spiders going toe to toe … and winning for the first time on Broad Street since 2001. That’s 14 years.

That’s huge.

So huge, that from the media room, you could hear the Spiders celebrate their win down the hall and into the locker room.

“It’s really big, man,” senior guard Kendall Anthony said in that same hallway minutes after, swaying back and forth, seemingly unable to stop his momentum after playing 39 out of 40 minutes. “It’s really big, man.”

Big because it’s a rivalry. Big because it’s bragging rights. Big because it’s what the Spiders needed — no — had to have.

Throw out the record books in rivalry games? Yes, sir. Saturday was one for the books.

Richmond, which entered Saturday 0-fer in seven road games this season, found a way in one of the toughest places to play in the A-10, if not the country. It’s only the second time in 11 games the Spiders have won in “The Stu.”

Really big, man. Lately, the Spiders have been thisclose … and have come up short — a three-point loss at No. 22 Dayton last weekend, a three-point double-overtime loss at George Washington before that.

Lately, they’ve lacked that killer instinct, that intestinal fortitude, that ... whatever you want to call it.

Saturday, though, they found it. And then some.

“I don’t know what it is either, necessarily,” UR coach Chris Mooney said. “I know we’ve addressed it and gone over it. But I think that sometimes it’s more of a mindset that we ‘will’ do it, not that we ‘can’ do it or ‘what are we going to do?’ But, ‘Hey, whatever (it takes), we will do it.’ And I think we showed that today.”

Richmond was tough and tenacious — against a tough and tenacious team — but stayed cool and calm.

It started and ended with Anthony. He ended the first half 1 for 6 with two points. He ended the game 6 for 15 with 22 points, including 9 for 11 at the free throw line.

Anthony is 5-foot-8 … on a good day with shoes on. He plays like he’s 6-6 and bulletproof.

Consistently and without hesitation, Anthony went straight to the rim, which often drew the defense of VCU’s 6-foot-6, 255-pound powerhouse Mo Alie-Cox. Anthony didn’t flinch.

That’s the heart UR needed. That’s the heart it showed Saturday.

“He’s just the toughest kid I’ve ever coached — just the toughest kid I’ve ever been around,” Mooney said of his senior guard who also is UR’s all-time leading 3-point field goal scorer. “I’ll tell you this, he’s earned every bit of accolade and congratulations he gets, because there’s no one who’s worked harder or put himself out there more.”

Anthony is the undisputed leader of the Spiders, and it was no more evident Saturday when he not only took his team on his back with 20 second-half points, but once again elevated everyone else’s game and intensity with his play and desire.

“This is our time,” Anthony yelled after making a layup and collecting a foul toward the end of the game. “This is our time.”

And Saturday, it was.

CBS Sports Anthony’s big 2nd half lifts Richmond over No. 14 VCU, 64-55 Chip Knighton, AP Jan. 31, 2015

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) With his team in desperate need of a lift and a win, the smallest player on the court made the biggest impact.

Kendall Anthony, all 5-foot-8 of him, scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half as Richmond made an emphatic rally to upset No. 14 Virginia Commonwealth 64-55 on Saturday.

''I don't think we were crisp on offense in the first half, but in the second half we were much better,'' Richmond coach Chris Mooney said. ''We found some open shots that we were able to knock down.'' The victory is the first for the Spiders (12-9, 5-3 Atlantic 10) in true road games and just their second of the season away from home. They beat Pepperdine in the Gotham Classic at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 20.

But there had been positive signs recently. Richmond took George Washington to double overtime in a 73- 70 loss Jan. 15 and fell 63-60 at Dayton on Jan. 24.

''We competed with George Washington and took them to double overtime,'' Anthony said. ''Dayton was down to the last second. We've been really close on the road, and today we came out and played together and finished it off.''

VCU (17-4, 7-1 Atlantic 10) led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but Richmond wasted no time in cutting into the lead. ShawnDre' Jones made a 3-pointer and Alonzo Nelson-Ododa put back his own miss to cut the lead to 28-22 at the break.

The Spiders picked up where they left off, with T.J. Cline making two 3-pointers and Terry Allen adding one as part of a 22-4 run spanning both halves that opened up a 39-32 Richmond lead. Terry Larrier ended that run with a driving baseline layup and drew a foul in the process, but missed the free throw.

Anthony took over from there, scoring the Spiders' next eight points and 16 of their next 18.

''They really came at us in the second half,'' VCU coach Shaka Smart said. ''We had defended very well in the first half, but did not have the same energy and aggressiveness in the second half. We played with a lot of avoidance in the second half, and we cant be good like that, particularly with our style of play.''

The Spiders awoke on offense with execution and aggression, keeping in control against the Rams vaunted Havoc press. They turned the ball over just 12 times, six fewer than VCU's average, and won the rebounding battle 39-27.

''Right from the beginning today, the first few shots that went up, we had guys in white jerseys with their hands above the rim snatching rebounds,'' Mooney said. ''We had some guys come up with some really big rebounds.'

Richmond Times-Dispatch Inbounds plays spark Spiders’ instant offense John O’Connor Jan. 27, 2015

During a 2:20 stretch at Dayton last Saturday, the University of Richmond stung the Flyers with two layups on inbounds plays under the basket.

That, against one of the A-10's best defensive teams, extended Spiders’ effectiveness in this special-teams category and raised the question, “How do they get this done?”

Jim Ferry, coach of the Duquesne team that plays at the Robins Center on Wednesday night, spent part of last weekend studying video of UR games.

“It’s one of the things I wrote down in my notes,” Ferry said of the Spiders scoring, often unguarded, on in- bounds plays.

Richmond is not one of the A-10’s most prolific offensive teams (64.2 ppg) and finding ways to score without fighting through 30 seconds of defensive resistance has been a goal as the season unfolded. Extra emphasis was placed on inbounds plays.

“It’s hard enough to get easy baskets when you’re playing such good teams,” said forward T.J. Cline. “Off an inbounds play, it gives you the chance to get a quick layup, try to catch them off-guard.”

UR forward Deion Taylor believes the Spiders get layups on inbounds plays because opponents focus on Kendall Anthony, Richmond’s career-leader in 3-pointers.

“People are so worried about Kendall coming off screens and catching and shooting,” said Taylor. “That gives big guys who are setting screens a chance to slip back to the basket.”

Another advantage, Taylor suggested, is the number of inbounds plays Richmond runs. Opponents must prepare for about 10, and each has variations.

“It definitely seems like we have more options than other teams,” said UR forward Trey Davis.

Spiders coach Chris Mooney gives most of the credit for the success of these inbounds plays to the vision and timing of Davis and guard ShawnDre’ Jones, passers of the ball from under the basket. Davis is the primary trigger man.

“I really think it’s just the plays, to be honest. I’m kind of doing the easy part,” Davis said.

Cline contends that the pass “is the most important part. Trey does a really good job of throwing it even before we get to the spot. That’s what he does well. He knows the plays inside and out.”

Most often, the 6-foot-9 Cline has scored Richmond’s in-bounds hoops with quick shots released before defenders react.

“I’ve been probably the least athletic guy on the team for most of the teams I’ve been on, or one of them,” Cline said. “So, that’s kind of been what I’ve had to do. If you’re taking time, a guy is going to block the shot, especially when you’re in a league like (the A-10) with shot-blockers.”

Richmond’s defense has rarely been burned on in-bounds plays. According to Taylor, that’s because of the Spiders’ attention to detail contained in scouting reports and adherence to a basic defensive principle.

“You’ve got to focus on your guy and not focus on trying to help anyone else,” said Taylor. “When you’re trying to focus on helping somebody else, that’s when you lose track of your man.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch UR gains motivation from within, not from VCU’s success John O’Connor Jan. 29, 2015

Saturday afternoon’s date at VCU allows the University of Richmond a 40-minute presentation to notify area hoops fans that the gap between the programs isn’t as wide as it may appear.

The Rams, winners of a dozen consecutive games, have the national ranking (No. 14) and lead the Atlantic 10. That’s only part of the shadow VCU (17-3, 7-0) casts over UR (11-9, 4-3), a solid winner whose camp may be a bit tired of hearing how one of the country’s catchiest hoops brands, Havoc, rocks a crowded house down on Broad Street. “We have a sense for what’s going on over there, but we just try to focus mainly on what we’ve got going on over here,” said UR guard ShawnDre’ Jones.

The Rams have made the past four NCAA tournaments. VCU is one of three schools that have won 26 or more games in each of the past five seasons. Duke and Syracuse are the others.

It would be understandable if UR contracted Rams envy. That’s not the case, Spiders director of athletics Keith Gill said.

“I really think all of our motivations are about our own goals,” he said. “We want to consistently be at the top of the A-10 and any time we’re not there, we’re going to be disappointed.”

Richmond is 0-7 on the road this season heading into the Siegel Center, where the Spiders haven’t won since 2001 (eight consecutive losses).

UR’s last losing season came in 2006-07, and it has averaged 21 victories per year since. In terms of a seven-year stretch, Richmond hasn’t been this good since 1988-94.

The Rams trump that by capitalizing convincingly on their 2011 national splash.

VCU and Richmond each advanced to the 2011 Sweet 16, and the Rams proceeded to the Final Four. Since, VCU has gone 99-28 (31-8 A-10), made three more trips to the NCAA tournament and appears headed for another.

“I can understand more than anyone how impressive it is,” UR coach Chris Mooney said. “The second thing I’d say is we can’t really worry about it too much. We have not recruited very often against VCU, so basically it comes down to playing them a couple of times (a season).

“So while the games are big and exciting and important, we worry about VCU a couple of days before we play them, just like we worry about any other team. But that’s not to say we don’t recognize, or we ignore, their success.”

The Richmond Spiders' basketball team so far has been good at home, not-so-good on the road.

The Spiders’ Sweet 16 run of 2011 has been followed by a 65-54 record (27-28 A-10), and they have not returned to the NCAA tournament. Defeating VCU on Saturday could serve as a springboard for UR’s junior-based team and stimulate a fan base that would prefer beating no other opponent.

“Both schools are great schools, but they couldn’t be any more different,” Mack McCarthy, VCU’s coach from 1999-02 and the Rams associate head coach prior to that, said Wednesday. “That really adds fuel to the fire because they each have a chip on their shoulder for different reasons.”

In the rivalry, there were periods during which UR had the upper hand. The last came from 1998-2001, when Richmond beat VCU in seven of nine meetings. Since then, the Rams have won 13 of 16. But ingredients for a highly competitive series remain present, according to McCarthy, now a TV analyst for college basketball games.

“Two things make a great rivalry,” he said. “One, of course, is the obvious proximity. You can’t get a lot closer than in the same city. The second thing is when both schools are good. If one’s good and one’s not good, it’s really not all that much of a rivalry.”

After starting off slowly, the Rams are on a winning streak. Support of, and general interest in, these programs in Virginia is fundamentally tipped in VCU’s favor because of the school’s enrollment (32,600) and alumni living in the state (109,495). Richmond has about 3,000 undergraduates, 18 percent from Virginia.

At the 7,741-seat Siegel Center, VCU has sold out 60 consecutive games. UR filled its 7,201-seat Robins Center five times last season and once so far this season.

No tickets are available for Feb. 25. VCU visits on that Wednesday night, when the Spiders get another opportunity to mix with the neighbors generating so much noise.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Does Anthony belong among the Spiders’ first five? John O’Connor Jan. 25, 2015

Is Kendall Anthony one of the top five players in University of Richmond modern hoops history?

Anthony, a 5-foot-8 senior, on Jan. 17 set the program’s career record for 3-pointers. He has averaged double figures in each of his four years (16 this season) and is nearly impossible to press because of his speed with the ball.

On defense, Anthony’s size presents some limitations. He is a scorer, so his assist statistics are not eye- catching. Anthony won’t rank high in steals either because the Spiders rarely employ full-court pressure or consistently gamble in the matchup, half-court defense coach Chris Mooney has used for 10 years.

But at the risk of falling into the latest-is-the-greatest trap, at least considering Anthony among elite Spiders seems reasonable, especially since he is achieving against A-10 competition, the highest level at which UR has played. Anthony is on track to finish in the top five on Richmond’s career scoring list.

Let’s start by establishing that in this game, the best of the best played since the Robins Center opened in 1972. That will annoy some people, but let’s be sensible. The Spiders started playing basketball in 1913.

The college game and those who play it are constantly changing, not always for the better. Those variables complicate this exercise.

Nonetheless, we dive in.

With insight gained from a handful of basketball-savvy observers very familiar with the Spiders (an ex- player, an ex-assistant coach, a longtime broadcaster and a longtime scorekeeper), these are the finest Richmond players in the 43 seasons of the Robins Center.

1. John Newman. The Spiders’ all-time leading scorer, the 6-7 forward had 2,383 points from 1983-86. The college game didn’t bring in the 3-point shot until the season after Newman left UR. He figures he would have scored several hundred more points had he played with the 3-point line, and he’s right. Newman helped elevate Richmond to another level in terms of national exposure and expectations.

2. Kevin Anderson. Each year that goes by since he drove the Spiders to the 2011 Sweet 16 as a senior, Anderson’s value becomes clearer. A scoring point guard who finished with 2,165 points, second to Newman on the school’s all-time list, Anderson could hit the 3 and acrobatically finish at the rim, despite being 6-0. There is no stat reflecting leadership. If there were, Anderson would be off the charts. 3. Aron Stewart. He came to UR for the 1972-73 season after leading all junior college players in scoring (36.7 ppg). Then the 6-5 forward averaged 30.2 points as a junior at UR, with a “low” of 21, and 26.5 points as a senior. Stewart was a demon on the offensive glass and averaged 12 rebounds in each of his two seasons. He played in only 44 games for UR, but averaged 28.1 points.

4. Mike Perry. The Thomas Jefferson High grad and three-time Richmond captain was a shining star in dark days of Spiders hoops. Their only winning record with Perry was 15-14, which came in his senior season of 1981. That season, UR beat Catholic, Virginia State, West Virginia Tech, Upsala, Baltimore and Stockton State. But Perry started four years, with scoring averages of 19, 18.3, 19.1 and 22.8.

5. Kendall Anthony. How can you ignore a guy who led the nation in scoring, which 6-7 Bob McCurdy, a transfer from Virginia, did his senior season (32.9 ppg) of 1975? McCurdy averaged 17.6 points as a junior, his only other season at UR.

Ken Atkinson, a four-year starter and scoring point guard from 1987 to 1990, certainly deserves a long look. John Schweitz, a four-year starter during 1979-82, may have been the most reliable jump-shooter to wear a UR uniform. Kevin Eastman was such an impressive hustler and leader in the 1970s that Richmond named an award after him.

There are several other worthy candidates, and all received strong consideration. In alphabetical order: Greg Beckwith, Curtis Blair, Jeff Butler, Tony Dobbins, David Gonzalvez, Justin Harper, Cedrick Lindsay, Jarod Stevenson, Greg Stevenson and Peter Woolfolk.

But what Anthony has accomplished at 5-8, as an A-10 player, is difficult to overlook. So we won’t.

USA Today Spiders’ guard Kendall Anthony finishing with flourish Hank Kurz (AP) Jan. 21, 2015

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Opponents use words like "unguardable" and "impossible to contain" when describing Kendall Anthony, Richmond's senior point guard who is as likely to drive by a defender as shoot a 3-pointer over him.

Not bad for a 5-foot-8 speed demon who has been told he's too short throughout his career.

Anthony, a preseason All-Atlantic 10 first team selection, has now made more 3-pointers than anyone in Richmond's deep basketball history, and he did it with a flourish. He tied his career-high with seven as the Spiders stunned conference newcomer Davidson 89-63 in their last game Saturday at the Robins Center.

He hopes he can help the Spiders keep that good vibe going — and end a nine-game road losing streak dating back to last season — when Richmond (10-8, 3-2) visits No. 22 Dayton (15-3, 5-1) on Saturday.

Opponents have learned to not let Anthony's lack of size lull them to sleep.

"This is my third year playing against him, so I know what he's capable of," Wake Forest forward Devin Thomas said after his tip-in at the buzzer handed Richmond a 65-63 loss on Dec. 28. Anthony scored 21 in the game without hitting a 3-pointer, mostly of them coming on lightning quick dashes to the basket.

"When you let him get the ball in his right hand, he's pretty much unguardable," Thomas said. "He's so fast. He's so talented," Demon Deacons coach Danny Manning added. "Once he turns that corner, he's able to make tough shots in the paint for his size. A lot of guys that are his size don't do a good job of finishing. He does a great job of finishing at the rim, through contact and with contact."

Despite averaging 28.3 points, 3.8 assists and 2.5 steals at Liberty Technology Magnet as a high school senior in Jackson, Tennessee, and being runner-up for Mr. Tennessee Basketball, Anthony has always been doubted because of his size, which he said he's translated into motivation to always go at the game full speed trying to prove people wrong.

"I know I can't take days off, especially because of my size," he said before practice Wednesday. "I have to do things that most players can't or aren't used to because of their size. I think, for me, I just have to work hard every day because of my size and because of my will and wanting to be good."

It's that will and work ethic that caused Spiders coach Chris Mooney to take a chance on Anthony when most other schools that were showing interest were lower level mid-majors and schools in Division II.

Now that they're in their last year together, Mooney's payoff has been even higher admiration.

"He's the most self-motivated player that I've been around," Mooney said. "In everything he does, he holds himself to an extremely high standard, as a student, as a player, as a captain. He just holds himself to a high standard. He's proud and I know Monday when we practice, he'll be the hardest-working guy. He's one of the few people that's so much younger that you that you admire, and he's a special kid and just incredible.

Northeastern coach Bill Coen got his second look at Anthony on Dec. 31 as the school wrapped up a home- and-home series. Anthony scored 14 points in the first half, and then just four in the second half as the Huskies rallied for a 58-57 victory.

One of the keys to the comeback, Coen said, was keeping someone in Anthony's face.

"When he's in the open floor," Coen said, "he's impossible to contain."

Richmond Times-Dispatch UR big man Cline shines from 3-point distance John O’Connor Jan. 19, 2015

To appreciate why 6-foot-9 T.J. Cline shoots 3-pointers as if he’s a guard, it’s instructive to note Cline was a guard.

Cline, a University of Richmond sophomore, was 5-foot-11 as a high school freshman in the Dallas area, 6- 4 when his junior year began, and 6-7 as a senior. As a developing prep player, Cline played outside far more than inside.

With that as background, perhaps it isn’t shocking Cline converted seven 3-pointers among a dozen attempts in Richmond’s past two games, a 73-70 double-overtime loss at George Washington and Saturday’s 89-63 win over Davidson.

Cline made 4 of 5 from 3-point distance at GW on Thursday and 3 of 7 against Davidson, which had lost only to nationally ranked teams North Carolina, Virginia and VCU before being blown out at the sold-out Robins Center. The Spiders (10-8, 3-2 A-10), who next play at Dayton (15-2, 6-0) on Saturday, scored 70 or more points twice in splitting their first 14 games. Since, they have scored 70 or more three times while going 3-1.

“I think it kind of took us a little bit to get into our rhythm,” Cline said. “We’re a really good shooting team.”

Cline (11.3 ppg in 21.4 mpg) is shooting 42 percent from 3-point range, where he has scored about a quarter of his baskets. Almost all of the remaining hoops have come on quick interior moves. He scored 16 at GW and a career-high 23 against Davidson, two games in which he was able to avoid significant foul issues that have limited his playing time.

“When he can score down low, it really opens up for me,” Kendall Anthony, a senior guard who set the UR career record for 3-pointers Saturday, said of Cline, a Niagara transfer

“In the paint, it’s really hard to guard him one on one, so they have to double. He’s a good enough passer to throw it out, we swing the ball, and everybody gets good looks.”

Now more than ever, Spiders’ opponents must shift their big men away from rim-protecting inside position when Cline steps out to the arc. His recent shooting accuracy demands it.

“A frontcourt player who can shoot 3s well or a center who can shoot 3s well helps everybody, especially us because of how we like to play and how we like to involve our center in our offense on the perimeter,” said UR coach Chris Mooney. “(Cline’s) decision-making, his ability to pass, is really, really beneficial to us, and when he can knock down shots, it just makes it difficult for the teams guarding you.”

Cline wasn’t the only Spiders’ big man hitting 3s against Davidson. Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, who’s 6-9, hit two 3s and Terry Allen, who’s 6-8, hit one.

“That really makes a defense spread out even more and gives us more opportunities to score inside,” Mooney said.

In A-10 competition, the Spiders are 3-0 at home and 0-2 on the road, a trend that mirrors their performance in recent seasons.

Since 2011-12, UR is 21-6 in A-10 home games and 5-21 in league road games. Three of Richmond’s next four games are on the road.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Anthony more than just shooter for Spiders Paul Woody Jan. 17, 2015

Major college basketball coaches who boast their recruiting class features a 5-foot-8 impact player usually become ex-coaches before the next recruiting cycle or two.

When Kendall Anthony arrived at the University of Richmond in 2011, it’s easy to say he did not stand out.

How could he at only 5-8, a measurement that might be a tad generous? Anthony chose Richmond for two reasons. When you believe strongly, deeply and truly in your ability as a basketball player, you accept the offer from the school with the best program that plays in the most challenging conference.

And Anthony had evidence Spiders coach Chris Mooney really would give him a chance to earn minutes, really would let him shoot 3-pointers and would have no qualms if Anthony wanted to take the ball to the rim.

Anthony knew Kevin Anderson, a slight point guard, had enjoyed an outstanding career at Richmond.

Anderson, 6-0, and that might be a tad generous, is Richmond’s all-time leader in minutes played, 5,041, an average of 36.3 minutes of each 40-minute game.

In his senior season, 2010-11, when games were at stake, Mooney and the Spiders wanted the ball in Anderson’s hands. That’s one reason they reached the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament that season.

Mooney, more than many coaches, doesn’t look at how big a player is. He looks at how big a young man will play.

Saturday night, at home against Davidson, in a game when almost every Spider player was bombing in 3- pointers from the parking lot and as far west as Short Pump Town Center, Anthony made seven.

That was four more than he needed to become the Spiders all-time leader in 3-point field goals.

But to classify Anthony as just a long-range shooter is to short-change what he does in games and what he means to the Spiders.

“He is the most self-motivated player I’ve been around in everything he does,” Mooney said. “He holds himself to an extremely high standard, as a student, a player and a captain. You can’t measure the intangibles Kendall has.

“He’s one of the few people who is so much younger than you that you admire. He’s a special kid, just incredible. He carries himself like what he is, a winner. He meets an extremely high standard he sets for himself.”

Anthony is the embodiment of the idea that what matters is not how others see you, but how you see yourself. He knows he’s 5-8. He thinks of himself more along the lines of being about 6-4.

He wasn’t particularly surprised he now holds the 3-point record at Richmond.

“I’m blessed to be able to break the record, but I always had confidence in myself that I could be a good player,” Anthony said. “When I stepped on campus, the first thing I wanted to do was work hard, push myself to the limit, and I think it’s paid off.

“Coach Mooney stressed to me size really didn’t matter.”

Anthony’s size rarely has affected his ability to get his shots.

“He finds open spaces, he has an incredibly quick release and he is so focused, he’s going to do the things he does well over and over,” Mooney said. Anthony’s lightning-like release has left more than a few opponents thinking they were within easy defensive distance only to shake their heads in disbelief as the ball hits the net just as they’re extending their arms to block either the shot or at least hinder Anthony’s view.

Davidson coach Bob McKillop remembers playing Richmond when Anthony was a freshman.

“He was sensational,” McKillop said. “And he has just gotten better and better and better.”

While Anthony had no doubt he could make a contribution to the Richmond basketball program, he had no inkling the impact would be so significant.

“I just wanted to come in here and play basketball,” Anthony said.

He has. And he’s not done yet.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Spiders may look to Davis for jump start John O’Connor Jan. 16, 2015

Trey Davis has regretted not having done more to help his team win. But Davis can’t recall ever having played less than full speed.

Effort distinguishes Davis, a 6-foot-5 University of Richmond junior from Benedictine. Today against Davidson at the sold-out Robins Center, the Spiders may need some extra energy leadership from Davis. This qualifies as a highly challenging date for a couple of reasons.

UR fell 73-70 in double overtime at George Washington on Thursday night. The Spiders’ top two scorers, guard Kendall Anthony and forward T.J. Cline, played 48 and 40 minutes, respectively.

Secondly, UR (9-8, 2-2 A-10) faces an opponent that beat Richmond 81-67 early this month at Davidson. The Wildcats (12-3, 3-1), who won 71-63 at Massachusetts on Wednesday, are the A-10’s most surprisingly successful team.

Richmond’s short prep time “is difficult in one way because they’re unique,” Spiders coach Chris Mooney said of the Wildcats, who start three point guards and average 10.9 3-pointers per game. “But we’re a little bit familiar, so that’s a benefit.”

Davis’ motor, he believes, is a hand-me-down. His father, John, was a former Spiders starting forward (1984-86) and captain who was inducted to the school’s athletics hall of fame.

Trey Davis primarily competed in football and basketball as an elementary school student, and the message the father delivered in those days stuck with the son.

“Regardless of how you play, you can always control how hard you play,” said Trey Davis.

When John took Trey to Richmond basketball games a decade ago, Trey closely watched Spiders guard Tony Dobbins, twice named the A-10’s defensive player of the year.

“He was a player I looked up to. Just seeing how hard he played all the time is definitely something I tried to model,” said Davis. Because of the way Davis was raised, “the standard has always been high, how he’s going to play, how he’s going to behave off the court, how’s he’s going to be as a teammate,” said Mooney.

Davidson, new to the A-10 this season, was picked to finish 12th among 14 in the league’s preseason poll. Its three losses were to North Carolina on a neutral court, at Virginia, and at VCU.

“The short time we’ve been in the A-10 kind of makes me reflect upon my own playing days,” said Davidson coach Bob McKillop. “When I was a kid trying to become the best possible player I could become, I always sought the best playground or the best schoolyard. Well, that’s what the A-10 is. It has got the best players, the best competition, that you could want.

“Every possession counts. Very simple. Can’t get any clearer than that. A possession here or a possession there results in success or failure. There’s no time to take any play off in a game. You can’t do it. You’re going to pay a price.”

Washington Post Richmond’s basketball team brings live tarantula onto court Dan Steinberg Jan. 14, 2015

Some college basketball mascots make you want to pat them on the head and lean over for a hug; think of Georgetown’s Jack the Bulldog. Some college basketball mascots make you want to visit Mount Vernon; think of George Washington’s George Washington. Some college basketball mascots make you want to pop a Valium; think of Saint Joseph’s The Hawk.

And some college basketball mascots make you want to cower under your seat in terror. For example, Richmond’s new, as-yet unnamed spider mascot, which happens to be a live greenbottle blue Venezuelan Tarantula.

The young female tarantula was the brainchild of associate head coach Jamal Brunt, who has been with the program for a decade. Director of Basketball Operations Kevin Smith — a former Richmond star — was put in charge of the project, talking first with the school’s biology department and later working with a breeder in Utah, who helped them settle on the proper breed, or whatever you call a type of tarantula.

“Obviously our mascot isn’t a specific spider, but a tarantula is what people think of when they think of scary spiders,” observed associate director of public relations Will Bryan.

So a Venezuelan greenbottle blue female — bred in captivity — was chosen for the program, arriving before the second home game this winter. The team won its first five games with the tarantula present at The Robins Center, and if there were any doubt about the mascot leaving, that pretty much settled it.

The 3.5-inch tarantula lives in a plexiglass crate and is cared for by biology department employees, who feed it crickets and roaches once or twice a week. But her connection with the basketball team runs deep. She sometimes spends the night in the coaches office. Smith has a routine where he parades the creature in front of everyone’s locker and then onto the court about 90 minutes before tip; “it’s kind of like the spider is blessing everybody,” Bryan said.

The crate sits on a table at mid-court — in front of press row and near the basketball rack — during pre- game warmups; some opponents are anxious to take a look, while others don’t want to get anywhere near the cage. The tarantula is then placed under assistant coach Rob Jones’s chair at the end of the bench; during halftime, a manager carries her into the locker room, and then back onto the floor for the second half, although it would be hard to notice if you weren’t in the front few rows. “Wherever we go, the spider goes too,” Bryan said.

(The tarantula mostly hides inside her log when she’s on the court, which Bryan said “has really frustrated the TV people and the cameras. You can kind of see its silhouette, but you can’t get really good picture of it.” She is more adventuresome when in the coaches office, though, where she likes to explore her entire habitat.)

To capitalize on the excitement, the school held a naming contest for the tarantula; her new name — either Ocho, Tarrant, Webra, Alley-Oop or Annette — will be announced before Saturday’s home game against Davidson. (Tarrant refers to longtime Richmond coach Dick Tarrant, the winningest coach in program history.)

The tarantula has generated some media coverage — see here and here — but more importantly, fans and players are into the stunt. The school is working on a video about the creature — complete with GoPro footage of her eating a cricket — and employees think the new mascot helps accentuate Richmond’s singularity.

“Everyone really loves the fact that we’re the only Spiders in Division I,” Bryan said. “There’s no other spider on the court in men’s college basketball; that’s something that everyone has really gotten behind. It’s rare to have a unique identity in college sports. This was definitely the next step of owning that and capitalizing on that.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Is Nelson-Ododa the key to second half of UR season? John O’Connor Jan. 13, 2015

Deion Taylor made a crisp, quick feed to Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, who dunked.

Later in the first half of the University of Richmond’s 19-point win over St. Bonaventure on Sunday, Nelson-Ododa recovered a loose ball and didn’t hesitate to rise through traffic under the basket and score again.

Nelson-Ododa added a fall-away 12-footer in the lane and a driving layup to spur the Spiders’ offensive acceleration early in the second half. He finished with 10 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

“We knew he had that in him, watching tape, watching him play last year,” said St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt. “He’s really a talented kid, long, athletic, and he played extremely well.”

There are all sorts of metrics available to analyze Richmond’s 9-7 record (2-1 in A-10). Here’s the simple breakdown: The Spiders guard impressively — opponents average 58.9 points — and UR struggles to score (62.5 ppg).

As Richmond tries to distinguish itself through the season’s second half, Nelson-Ododa has shown the capability of providing a very valuable boost as an enhanced offensive contributor.

The initiative and productivity he displayed against St. Bonaventure, however, have been rare. Nelson- Ododa, a 6-foot-9 redshirt junior, has played in 83 UR games (69 starts). He averaged 3.9 points as a freshman, 6.2 as a sophomore and 6.1 this season before Sunday’s unexpected impact.

“I think it started from the last few days of practice. I really had some really good energy building up to this game,” Nelson-Ododa said after the Spiders’ second consecutive A-10 win. “I think it’s just going out there and having an aggressive mindset, doing the things I can do, which is blocking shots, rebounding, making hustle plays. I think that doing those types of things will give me the confidence to help offensively and score more.”

Midway through his third UR season, and fourth year at the school, maybe this is the start of Nelson- Ododa offering improved, consistent offense to go with the steady defensive work he’s supplied since he was a freshman. Or perhaps it’s another tease.

Nelson-Ododa scored nine, 10 and 13 in Richmond’s first three games, then seemed to retreat.

He attempted 17 free throws, a sign of offensive ambition, in those first three games. In the nine games before St. Bonaventure came to Richmond, Nelson-Ododa went to the line 10 times.

He lost his starting job.

“Alonzo catches a fair amount of criticism from the coach, and at the same time, I do believe in him. I think he has a chance to have an incredible impact on the game,” said UR coach Chris Mooney, whose Spiders play at George Washington (12-4, 2-1) Thursday night.

“I think he’s starting to realize more opportunities he can capitalize on, but it’s going to start with the defense and the more aggressive presence he has at the defensive end.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Matchup defense giving UR sharper edge John O’Connor Dec. 22, 2014

Coaches unfamiliar with the University of Richmond as an opponent need to invest $39.99. That is the online price of “Chris Mooney: Match-Up Zone Defense.”

It’s a 73-minute instructional video of Mooney at a clinic in 2012 explaining concepts behind the defense that the Spiders have played almost exclusively since the coach arrived a decade ago.

Today, Richmond (6-4) meets IUPUI (3-8) in a noon game at the Robins Center. If the trend continues through the Spiders’ third and final home game in the Gotham Classic, the Jaguars will have a difficult time scoring against the matchup defense, especially early.

Richmond beat Howard 54-41 in its first Classic home game, then defeated South Alabama 65-54. UR’s game-day staff team releases billows of smoke during the Spiders’ pregame player introductions. Richmond has gotten off to excellent defensive starts before the smoke cleared.

The Spiders led Howard 17-7, and South Alabama 14-4. Neither opponent had ever faced Richmond’s uncommon defense, nor has IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue-University Indianapolis).

“Keep your best players in the best defensive spots on the court to assure them success with this dominant defense,” reads the online pitch for Mooney’s video. “If you are a high school coach that is looking to add another defensive scheme to your bag of tricks, then the Richmond Match-Up Zone defense is a perfect fit for you.”

The defense is some zone, some man-to-man. “The simplest way to say it is that it gives you a chance to keep your perimeter players on the perimeter, and your bigger, inside defenders inside,” Mooney said.

Richmond opponents have averaged 58 points and shot 41.1 percent. Mooney calls what UR plays “our defense.” It’s not a particularly catchy name, but the half-court resistance has consistently been among the Atlantic 10 Conference’s finest defenses during Mooney’s tenure.

“Screening does you no good (against the Spiders),” La Salle coach John Giannini said after a game against UR. “They switch on everything.”

The only team that had its way offensively against Richmond this season was N.C. State, which beat the Spiders 84-72. It’s worth noting that on the Wolfpack staff are Bobby Lutz and Dereck Whittenburg, a pair of former head coaches in the A-10. They knew what was coming, and what can succeed against the matchup defense.

“We stress to stay tight so people can’t drive to the goal easy,” said UR junior forward Terry Allen.

The Spiders may stay with cutters, as in a man-to-man defense, or may not, depending on the scouting report that identifies an opponent’s best perimeter shooters. They may regularly double-team a post man, as they did last Saturday against Pepperdine.

The Waves’ 6-foot-6, 235-pound Stacy Davis was averaging 17 points and had scored in double figures in 19 consecutive games. In Richmond’s 65-63 win at Madison Square Garden, Davis scored 11 on 4-of-11 shooting.

Mooney learned this matchup defense while a player at Princeton, and used it for the first time while the Air Force head coach during 2004-05.

“To me, it gets all five guys thinking about defending scoring rather than just, ‘I’ve got my man. You’ve got your man,’” he said.

Richmond Times-Dispatch Spiders embrace special opportunity at Madison Square Garden John O’Connor Dec. 19, 2014

The University of Richmond annually competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament at Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets. Most of the Spiders, during their careers, have played in various other notable arenas.

Tonight will be different, however, according to senior guard Kendall Anthony. UR (5-4) plays at New York’s Madison Square Garden against Pepperdine (7-2) in the Gotham Classic. The Spiders-Waves game tips off at 7, and will be followed by N.C. State vs. West Virginia in the doubleheader.

“Everybody has that dream of playing in the Garden from watching the (New York) Knicks and watching some of the greats play there,” said Anthony. “It’s a great opportunity for us, a special opportunity, to play there.

“It’s going to be one of the most memorable things from my college career.” The Knicks, the Garden’s primary basketball tenants, haven’t been among the NBA’s elite for several years. But their home court is commonly viewed as the nation’s hoops mecca, and UR coach Chris Mooney said he will speak with the Spiders about Madison Square Garden’s history.

“It’s the most famous basketball arena,” Mooney said. “It’s just a really cool opportunity to play where the greatest that ever played the game play, and where they’re excited to play. Michael Jordan always played well at the Garden, so I think if he can get pumped up for it, I think the Spiders can.”

The Gotham Classic is comprised of seven teams in a competition held at various sites. N.C. State and West Virginia play in the Gotham Classic only in this Showcase Round. Richmond, Pepperdine, Howard, South Alabama and IUPUI face one another in a round-robin format.

The Spiders, who beat Howard and South Alabama at the Robins Center, complete their Gotham Classic involvement with Tuesday’s noon game against visiting IUPUI.

These Spiders may be less familiar with the lore of Madison Square Garden than their predecessors. In the past several years under Mooney, a Philadelphia native who’s in his 10th season, Richmond’s recruiting has taken a turn south. This season’s roster includes four players from Texas and others from Tennessee, Florida, Louisiana and Georgia. Guard Julius Johnson, the only player to sign with UR in November, also is from Florida.

“We feel like we have some good connections there and that’s important,” Mooney said of the Spiders’ southern recruiting roots.

Richmond is 5-0 at the Robins Center and 0-4 away from home.

“For whatever reason in college basketball, home and road is a really big deal,” Mooney said. “You’re energized at home and you don’t really feel that as much on the road. … You have to be mentally tough enough to overcome it.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch Taylor could be Spiders’ late-bloomer John O’Connor Dec. 17, 2014

If one day Deion Taylor is judged to have been a late-bloomer, there’s a built-in explanation. He must be among the youngest college basketball-playing juniors in the nation. Taylor, a University of Richmond forward, is 19. He will turn 20 on Feb. 6.

Taylor, a resident of New Orleans, started kindergarten younger than most children. Taylor said that as he grew to 6-foot-7 and developed into a Division I prospect, his parents and coaches discussed with him the possibility of repeating a grade or spending a year at a prep school following high-school graduation.

Taylor wasn’t interested in either option.

“I've been playing with older guys all my life, so why not stay with it?” he said. “People always said I probably could be a bigger factor or more successful if I had been playing with younger guys, but I like the challenge of playing with older guys, so why not?"

Taylor made his second start of the season against Howard last Saturday and established season-highs with eight points, seven rebounds, and 28 minutes in the Spiders’ 54-41 win at the Robins Center. Taylor, 210 pounds this season after playing at 200 last season, hadn’t started since Richmond’s second game. One reason UR coach Chris Mooney said he was inserting Taylor and 6-9 sophomore T.J. Cline into the Spiders’ first five versus Howard was to deliver an offensive pick-me-up, particularly early in games.

Taylor scored Richmond’s first two points. Cline scored the third.

"Starting is not really that big of a deal to me. Since my freshman year, I've been off and on in the starting lineup,” said Taylor, who averages 2.9 points and 3.1 rebounds.

Against Howard, he appeared far more intent on initiating offense and finishing at the rim than he had in previous games.

“He's just as strong and as athletic as anybody," said Mooney, who has viewed Taylor as one of the Spiders’ finest defensive players since his freshman year.

Developing conviction that he can consistently help the low-scoring Spiders (61.4 ppg) as a point-producer is Taylor’s next step. He may have made a move in that direction against Howard. Richmond (4-4) plays South Alabama (2-5) Thursday night at the Robins Center in the Gotham Classic, and Taylor said Tuesday that attacking practices with game-like intensity is one way to increase confidence.

Another element, he said, is “your teammates. When everybody is playing well, it helps other people play well also."

Richmond last played on the road Dec. 7, when the Spiders fell at James Madison. South Alabama may arrive at the Robins Center fatigued. The Jaguars lost on the West Coast, at Pepperdine, Monday night (78-68).

Richmond Times-Dispatch UR made a believer of N.C. State’s coach John O’Connor Nov. 27, 2014

RALEIGH, N.C. – Mark Gottfried knows an NCAA tournament team when he sees one. He coached N.C. State to the last three NCAAs.

Based on what Gottfried witnessed in the Wolfpack’s 84-72 Wednesday night win over the University of Richmond, he wouldn’t be surprised to see the Spiders in the NCAAs.

“I think they’re going to win a lot of games, I really do,” Gottfried said. “If they play like they did in the first half, they can play with anybody in the country. We’ll see at the end of the year if this becomes a good RPI win for us. I certainly think it should because I have a lot of respect for Richmond.

“I think Richmond could be an NCAA tournament team.”

Richmond (2-2) shot 72 percent before the break, when N.C. State (5-0) led 45-44.

“In the first half, Richmond got into a phenomenal rhythm,” Gottfried said. “They were just in their groove, running their offense with precision, making the 3s.”

For the game, the Spiders made 11 of 26 3-point attempts. Six of the eight members of UR's rotation converted at least one 3-pointer, with one of exceptions being guard Kendall Anthony (0-6). Richmond’s first four 3s were hit by frontcourt players Alonzo Nelson-Ododa, Terry Allen, Trey Davis and T.J. Cline. Cline made four 3s.

“They’re going to do that to a lot of folks and it’s hard. It’s a tricky thing to defend,” said Gottfried.

The Spiders went ahead 63-62 on a 3-pointer from Cline with 9:40 left. N.C State switched from man-to- man to zone for the second time of the evening and this time, the zone threw off Richmond's rhythm. The Spiders missed seven consecutive shots, five of them 3s.

From the 9:40 mark until 15 seconds remained, Richmond converted one basket.

“They did a good job on their zone, and there were just shots that we missed. It’s that simple,” said Cline. “I thought we were running our stuff pretty well. We had open shots. We just didn’t execute. We’ll do it next time.”

The Spiders were led by 17 points from Anthony and 17 off the bench from Cline, who made 6 of 9 attempts.

“The bottom line is we didn’t defend them all night,” said UR coach Chris Mooney.

The Spiders hit 18 of 25 shot attempts in the first half.

“I think everybody was feeling good, feeling comfortable out there,” said Anthony. “We made shots. We made 3s. The offense was flowing.”

The Spiders on Sunday afternoon play at Northern Iowa (6-0), off to its best start as a Division I program. The Panthers won the Cancun Challenge, beating Northwestern 61-42 in Wednesday’s championship game.

UNI returned five starters, 91 percent of its scoring, and 91 percent of its rebounding from last season’s team (16-15, 10-8 in Missouri Valley Conference).

UNI beat Virginia Tech 73-54 Tuesday in the Cancun Challenge. Among the Panthers is 6-6 junior Paul Jesperson, who played two seasons at Virginia and had eight rebounds against Northwestern.

The Collegian T.J. Cline ready to build his own legacy Jeremy Day Nov. 12, 2014

Nancy Lieberman was working for ESPN during the National Basketball Association playoffs when she brought her son T.J. Cline to a game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks. Before she went to the green room to prepare for the television coverage, she left T.J. sitting on the sideline with the specific instruction to “just stay here” while she went to work. Minutes later, Lieberman looked over the shoulder of fellow Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Charles Barkley to see little T.J. doing the exact opposite of staying put. Cline had joined the lay-up lines with the San Antonio Spurs.

“T.J., who told you that you could do that?” Lieberman asked.

“Mr. Ginobili,” T.J. replied, stuttering through the pronunciation of the Argentinian shooting guard’s last name. Robert “Big Shot Bob” Horry then walked over and told Lieberman, “Your son has been helping me with my shooting,” after T.J. advised him to “keep his elbow in and follow through high.”

More than 10 years later, Cline has focused that basketball knowledge on his own game as he prepares for his first eligible season with the University of Richmond Spiders. The experience and knowledge he’s picked up from being submerged in basketball by his parents, and through his playing career, will help the redshirt-sophomore succeed in the coming season, in which he’ll be expected to play a big role in the Spiders’ rotation. His pursuit of success with the Spiders could be a huge step in Cline’s life as he looks to walk the line between learning from his family background and being defined by it.

Cline doesn’t know exactly when he started playing basketball.

“I’ve been playing basketball since I can remember,” Cline said after one of his practices. “I was probably playing on some Nerf hoop before I was even two.”

Lieberman -- basketball hall of famer, historic women’s basketball figure and Cline's mother -- remembers him first being around the game when she brought him along to her basketball training camps in 1995-96. From that point on, Cline was heavily involved wherever Lieberman was. During her three-year stint as general manager and head coach of the Detroit Shock, a WNBA team, Lieberman remembered Cline already hard at work on his game and in love with the sport.

“I think he was about three, three-and-a-half when I got to Detroit,” Lieberman said. “This kid was hoisting up shots all the time. I couldn’t believe this little kid was getting his shots up to the rim.”

It must’ve been in his DNA. Not only did Cline have his mother’s historic basketball background influencing him, but his father Tim was no slouch himself, having played for the Washington Generals, the longtime archenemy of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Both parents, Cline said, were vastly influential on his basketball career.

“From when I was little, my mom had individual workouts and was always taking time out of her day to work with me. She never pushed me to anything. She waited for me to come to her and say, ‘I want to get better,’” Cline said. “My dad was always in the gym with me on Saturdays and Sundays, and was just always on the sidelines and always getting in work with me.”

That desire to work hard was another trait of Cline’s that Lieberman said was obvious early, using stories of Cline drawing plays for her team while she was in coaching meetings as proof of his drive. Cline once got so emotionally invested in a practice as a child that his reaction became the focus of one of the photographers attending the workout.

“I said to my team, ‘Can’t we run the offense right just once and then we’re done?’" Lieberman said. "This happened like four or five or six times and they just kept messing it up and messing it up. T.J. comes running over to me and starts crying and has his hand on my shoulder, and I turn around and am like, ‘T.J., what’s wrong?’ and he says, ‘Can’t they run the offense right one time?’ The reporter got a picture of him with his head on my shoulder looking like the world had ended.”

Even now, that competitiveness and drive to improve is clear. During a scrimmage at the end of a Spiders’ practice, Cline motioned to set a pick for sophomore guard ShawnDre Jones, but couldn’t keep his 6’9” frame set and got called for a moving screen violation. As Cline’s team, garbed in white practice jerseys, backpedaled to set up its defense, head coach Chris Mooney’s voice rang out over the sound of the players’ shoes meeting the hardwood floor. “What kind of player does that T.J.?” Mooney called out to his center. Cline shook his head clear and got back to play defense, biting on the top of his jersey in frustration. When asked if he wanted to sub out of the play, Cline denied the offer heartedly, focusing on working through the frustration and responding to it. Less than a minute of game time later, Cline was rewarded for his mental toughness as he slammed home a pass from Terry Allen with authority.

Cline’s play that practice showed a glimpse of the focus and talent that has Mooney looking forward to the addition of Cline to this year’s team.

“I think T.J. is a really good player. He has a lot of things that are going to help our team,” Mooney said. “He’s a really good shooter. He’s an excellent passer, a good rebounder, I think he’s tough. He’s a really good player that can do a lot of really good things for us with his versatility.”

That resume of talents will be instrumental in helping Cline define his career with the Richmond Spiders, and further define who he is through his own play, not his family’s.

“I think he appreciates all the people he’s been able to meet and things like that,” Mooney said. “But, at the same time, I think he just wants to make a name for himself and be a great basketball player too.”

Cline’s eligibility this year is a welcome addition to a team entering the 2014 season with high hopes. Last season ended on a blowout loss to rival Virginia Commonwealth University in the Atlantic-10 conference tournament. But the Spiders gained a wealth of experience for some of their younger players after losing both Cedrick Lindsay (knee injury) and Derrick Williams (personal reasons), the team’s only seniors, halfway through the season. With all of last year’s late-season rotation back and in place, Cline is the big addition to the team after having to sit out last season because of his transfer from Niagara University, where he averaged 7.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as a freshman. After hitting 40 shots from behind the three-point arc his freshman season, Cline’s outside shooting and passing game should play perfect in Mooney’s Princeton offensive system.

“He makes things really difficult for the other team to defend as a big player that is so comfortable on the perimeter,” Mooney said.

Cline’s excitement for the coming season and for his new team was obvious while sitting courtside. His voice sped up and he spoke of the team’s future with a smile on his face, saying, “We have so many talented players. It’s great to play with them. They make it so easy. My job is to just bust my butt and work as hard as I can. If there’s a loose ball, let me go get it.”

Lieberman said Cline’s excitement was clear when she spoke with her son as well.

“He’s loyal, he digs his teammates and he works hard,” Lieberman said. “He just loves being a Richmond Spider. He’s just really proud to be in the program, and he wants to help get them back to the highest level. He worked really hard this summer.”

Lieberman will get to see her son's hard work paying off in person when Cline, sporting his mother’s number 10 on his jersey, and the Spiders head to Old Dominion University, where Lieberman set multiple school records and saw her jersey retired Nov. 14. But for Cline, all the past experiences and ties to his mother’s history is icing on a cake that he intends to bake himself. He’s focused on the season and, being the good teammate that he is, his team’s success.

As Cline so eloquently put: “This year there’s only one thing on everybody’s mind, and that’s the NCAA tournament. We’re not going to stop until we get there.”