Tag Archives: Justin Harper

More than a System

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In college sports, it can be the kiss of death: getting labeled a “system” or a “system player.” In most circles, such a label is akin to being called a gimmick or a trick. The clear implication is that a team or player has to rely, or revert, to a system due to a lack of talent or resources in order to compete and be success at a high level.

Sometimes such a move is more easily explained or accepted: Navy football and their triple option, June Jones’ spread at Hawaii, Tim Tebow.

For as great a player as Tebow was, how often was some expert or commentator questioning his ability to step up to the NFL due to his style of play and the style of offense (designed around and to Tebow’s singular talents and profile) at Florida. (For that matter, how many Spurrier receivers with huge numbers from his pinball offenses have been drafted high and failed in the NFL?) Of course, Tebow is a undeniable freak, was drafted, and figures to get a good shot at an NFL starting job and success this fall (whenever the NFL decides to get its head out of its ass and starts the season).

In basketball, the system example is obvious: Princeton. Which brings us to Richmond…

Mooney has worked hard and built up the program from the depths of a few years ago and achieved one of the best two-year periods in school history: 55 total wins, numerous BCS victories, an A10 championship, two NCAA berths and a Sweet Sixteen. He did it, and the players did it, with a “modified Princeton offense,” as every announcer and commentator covering the games loved to hammer at the viewers.

To any casual fan or observer, the point was made: more than a super talented point guard, savvy role players, or a match-up nightmare of a power forward, the Spiders tricked opponents into losing through confusing offensive sets. The players were merely cogs in a machine; they could’ve been anyone, if given enough practice.

Admittedly, that is almost assuredly an over simplification, but there is a fair grain of truth in it as well.

The main cogs from this two-year stretch are now gone. David Gonzalvez graduated in 2010 and headed to Europe. Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper finished their careers this March and now take NBA aspirations into the summer. As much as any win in a Spider jersey, the program needs this trio to be successful going forward.

Success by Gonzo, KA and Harp as pros would lend credibility not only to themselves but also to their alma mater. Long, productive careers can be offered as further evidence Richmond is more than just a “system:” it’s a place were talented players go, grow and thrive. Their success can be sold to recruits. Can you put a value on Dr. Sweats being able to go into recruits’ living rooms and hold up a picture of Harp in a [NBA team's] jersey and say “he’s one of ours.”

I say no.

Gonzalvez played this past season in Europe and helped his team to the Austrian first division title.

KA, who may be a late selection but will probably go undrafted, has already drawn interest from several teams and figures to have an opportunity to catch on with a club as an undrafted player.

Harper in particular has an opportunity to be the best marketing the Spiders have had in years. He’s gotten good reviews and some really positive press in the lead up to tonight’s NBA draft, where he figures to be selected in the late first round. His size, shooting touch and athleticism project very well to the NBA. The last Spider drafted was Curtis Blair back in 1992. (Curtis is still in the NBA…as a ref.) Before that it was Johnny Newman, who capped a string of six years with a Spider drafted (including two in 1983), but when the NBA draft had several more rounds. The Spiders, however, have NEVER had a first-round selection. Until now?

A drafted Harper, and a successful NBA career, would go a long way towards dismantling the illusion that the Spiders are a simple system team. A program that produces NBA talent has to be taken seriously and can’t be written off as gimmicky. A successful NBA player is as good as a marketing device as a program could ask for. The Spiders need one. To sustain this recent success and continue the programs upward trajectory, the team needs to put someone in the NBA.

The Spiders made some headlines and spotlights in the spring with their Sweet Sixteen run. An NBA player will help the program make more.

Heck, even VCU has Eric Maynor. Think it’s a coincidence two years later they assembled the talent to make their run?

Good luck next week, Justin! Spider fans will be rooting for you, as always- for yourself and for Richmond. (And if you want to be selected by the Celtics and join another Spider, Kevin Eastman, well that’d make one particular Spider fan extra happy.)

A Team Waiting To Shine

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Does anyone remember anything about the Spiders losing to URI? (I know it’s been a year since my last post, but I have actually been paying attention while bouncing around.) And losing any hope of the conference title- regular season or otherwise- as well as any hope of March Madness? If URI, who’d just gotten creamed by Xavier at home, could come into the Robins Center and tip the Spiders despite UR finally shooting a robust 24-32 from the free throw line, then maybe this team really wasn’t worth the hype.

And do you know what? This team wasn’t worth the pre-season hype.

The last few games, including last night’s tale-of-two-halves comeback win against GW, have clearly shown this is not the same team that lost to St. Mary’s last March. The Spiders aren’t even a direct descendent of that team. These Spiders have serious, well-documented problems shooting free-throws (even with the post-Bucknell improvement). These Spiders have defensive lapses- URI slashed the switching man/match-up zone defense. These Spiders so far lack both a killer instinct and anything approaching relentless energy. It’s taken awhile to come to grips fully with that fact, but here we are.

So where are we? Before any more of the conference season slips by, let’s figure it out so we know who we’re rooting for.

Justing Harper is the star. This point I will not argue. POY or no, Harper is the match-up problem and the best player on the floor most games. Feed him the rock and let him go to town.

KA needs a wingman. The best part of Gonzo last season was the his production and energy and comfort with the ball allowed KA to relax and find his rhythm when he was ready. Dr. Smith was refused to believe me last season when I kept insisting KA is the team’s best player the potential POY. Watching long stretches of games, Gonzo was the star. He shouldered the weight until KA was could feel out the defense, play off Gonzo, and then take things over in the stretch. Brothers and Martel have both failed in that roll so far this year. Brothers looks like a player, but still developing. And Martel is yet to get comfortable with the extra minutes. Maybe Kevin Smith and his eleven assists was a revelation against GW. That’s the engine the Spiders have been missing all season. The engine? Yup. How? Because the craziest stat about K Smith isn’t the 11 dimes, it’s the THREE shots in 39 minutes. That’s making things happen.

The Spiders are a developing team. I’m convinced they will get better and better as the season goes. Dr. Sweats will make adjustments and figure out his rotation (it seems to take him awhile, but he gets there), and the frosh will stop up. DWill is a cog off the bench. As the Lindsay. Here’s the kicker though: this is a developing team. The expectations were so high coming into the season after the dance ticket last March because Spider fans felt an urgency to win and win now.

Of course they would: it’s been years since UR’s last back-to-back successful seasons. The Spiders have only appeared in eight NCAA Tournaments, with only two of those bids in consecutive seasons, and yet the team was returning four key seniors including the reigning conference POY. The time to win was upon Richmond. Or so it felt.

Tournament or no this year, the departure KA, Geriot, Harper, and K Smith will still leave a strong and dangerous team behind them with a good coach. Did you miss DWill’s energy and impact against URI? Have you not watched Ced the Entertainer run the floor? Garrett may yet discover a post move, a hook, a fade away, an anything offensive. (Dr. Sweats comments retracted for fear of jinxing his staying.)

The Spiders still have a run in them this year. They have a monster stretch coming starting Saturday at ZooMass. Dollars to donuts, this squad will get its one shining moment. But if not? The cupboard is not wainwright. It’s not a question or no or never. And don’t doubt the Ewing Theory potential of this team next season.

Okay, semi-incoherent (mostly?) rant over.

It’s still this season.

Enjoy the process. Eff the RPI. Start with beating UMass Amherst.

Open Season

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Calmed down yet?

Wow, that was a big win last night over a big time Purdue team. For the second straight year, the MBB Spiders won a November mini-tournament, the Chicago Invitational. It was a resume-making win. It was an attention-grabbing win. It was a bandwagon seat filling win.

Harp ran wild on the Boilermakers as long as he stayed on the floor.

Before the win was in the box score, however, the game was on the Big 10 Network. Dr. Spider and I settled in for a post-holiday Saturday night of hoops coming to our own living room live in HD. It was a fun game to catch and should definitely jump-start Dr. Spider’s investment in this team going forward. Nice.

Now, with the clarity of a cold, clear Sunday morning at the end of November, let’s recap what we’ve learned about this MBB Spider squad, both last night and to date:

Iona was a blip. Road games early in the season can be tricky as a team tries to find its sea legs. Stop the panicking now. (As a said: no one else on the schedule is the Gales.)

Free throw shooting is a problem. Including last night, UR’s shooting 61% from the line. That’s not good. What’s more, take out KA’s (almost respectable) 69%, and the rest of the team is 58%. Free throws make a difference come the tight, tournament games of March. Free Throw Rate (FTR) is one of the Four Factors (along with eFG%, Turnover % and Offensive Rebound %). FTR, however, doesn’t count made free throws. It’s only FTA/FGA. Guard-heavy Richmond already isn’t going to attempt a ton of free throws, so they need to make the attempts they do get. FTR is generally the fourth of the Factors, yet it still has already cost UR the Iona win. Lock ‘em in the gym until everyone makes 15 in a row, Coach Sweats.

Good to see some UR fans in the stands out in Chicago! UR’s a national school, and even though we may not travel great, alumni are everywhere. It’s easy to forget sometimes. Some clear Spider-cheering voices came through well on the broadcast- awesome! I expect similar support out in Arizona next week. Rally the troops! This team needs to be seen.

KA is good. Like, really good. No, this statement of course isn’t news to any UR or A14 fan. It’s still fun to hear the B10 Network announcers fawn over him. And what’s more, it was good to see Dr. Spider come around. Dr. was a unwavering Gonzo fan last year, questioning KA’s contributions along the way. Dr. Spider called KA bi-polar at the beginning of last night: either “Kinda Awesome” or “Kinda Apathetic.” The Dr.’s a convert now, finally acknowledging, “maybe I just don’t see everything he does because he does it so quickly” after watching the replay of a particular KA cross-over, look-away, ball-fake scoop for 2 in the second half.

Geriot’s not the most athletic and can have trouble guarding quicker bigs- even in this slimmed down incarnation- but he’s key to making the offense work. He has 23 assists on the year, over 20% of the team’s total. KA, by comparison, has 26 assists. (FYI, Lindsay is 3rd on the team with 15.) Geriot, however, averages 9 minutes more per game (and 19% more minutes on the season).

This squad is a veteran team. They responded perfectly when Purdue cut the lead to 5 in the second half, punching back with a 9-2 run. They handled the ramped up Boiler pressure in the second half well, turning the ball over only 3 times. Maybe I’m nitpicking here, but they still need to be careful and smart. Eight turnovers in the first half is WAY too many against a good team. And Darrius Garrett. D, you’re a junior. You shouldn’t be picking up cheap techs for shoving in front of the refs. Plus, we all know you’re a ferocious shot blocker. Be a smart shot blocker. Your swat in the second half, trying to send the ball into the third row, was great. What would’ve been better, however, was blocking it to a teammate (you had two to choose from), instead of giving the Boilers the ball back and surrendering an unnecessary two points. Keep awareness out there.

Mooney should try to put UR in as many tournaments next year with as many big teams as possible. It’s not possible to get ready for this Princeton offense in one night. I can’t even count how many backdoor layups UR had against Purdue. (Sidebar: can someone do this all season? Is anyone doing this already? That’d be a great stat!) Beyond backdoors, however, the Spiders run a great defensive scheme- a switching man-to-man. How effective was it? Purdue still doesn’t know what they were seeing out there: E’twain Moore said “[Richmond] were playing like a matchup 2-3 zone.” ESPN’s Eammonn Brennan also asked KA about UR’s “matchup zone” at the 0:44 second mark of the video here. As Spider fans know, and KA replied, UR plays man defense. Oops. Great scheme by the coaches, and execution by the players.

UR's "zone" defense gave coach Matt Painter and Purdue plenty of headaches.

These Spiders aren’t “Giant Killers.” I saw that title thrown around online a bit after the game. I didn’t like it. These Spiders are much closer to being giants themselves than giant killers. Want proof? Listen to Purdue coach Matt Painter (my favorite post-game comment, by the by): ”I told our guys: [Richmond] didn’t play well. They played hard … but they didn’t shoot the ball as well as they were capable of. I told our guys this could have been a lot worse than it was.” Yes, yes it could have been worse, and “Giant Killers” don’t beat ranked teams without playing their best ball. As Painter explained, Richmond won because they harder, quicker, and wanted it more, not because they played a perfect game of basketball. Or got lucky. Or anything else. UR started just as slowly as Purdue did. See the eight first half turnovers. For the first ten minutes UR looked to be rushing things by a quarter step (especially Lindsay, which is understandable/expected for a freshman). I’m sure Coach Sweats will point out plenty of areas of improvement on the film from last night during the prep for ODU this week (not the least of which: Harp’s foul troubles- that 4th was borderline bone-headed). The ceiling for this team is high to VERY high.

Per the broadcast, KA apparently uses opponents heads as a gun sight when shooting. Well then.

Darien Brothers can stay. Gonzo he may not be, but he’s assumed that spot in the lineup well. Richmond’s 4-0 on the young season when he makes four field goals. He and Smitty make a great combination at KA’s side.

The magic number: 22. UR’s 5-0 when the opponent makes 22 or fewer field goals. (Iona made 31.)

The Spiders can rebound. Honest. The DOMINATED the glass last night. I don’t think Purdue has gotten their first second chance bucket yet. Harp and Martel in particular lead the way, but it really was a team effort (Smitty’s board between two Purdue players, then look to FCM underneath was fantastic). I understand the strategy in not selling out for offensive rebounds, but UR can still clean the glass given the pure number of athletes on this team. As the game announcers remarked, don’t be fooled by the Princeton offense stereotype, the Spiders are super athletic and quick.

The rest of the season is officially on. The corner stone for the NCAA Tournament resume has been placed. Time attach the rest of the schedule and to build the entire house.

I’m in. Dr. Spider’s in and it’s not even December yet.

Awesome.

But calm down a little. Need to prepare for the rest of the season before March.

March preparation will come.