The Atlantic 10 is previewing each men's basketball team ahead of the 2023-24 season with veteran college basketball writer Patrick Stevens.
RICHMOND
As the Atlantic 10 convened its media day in Brooklyn in mid-October, there was one returnee everyone was thrilled to see.
Richmond coach Chris Mooney is back on the Spiders’ sideline after missing the tail end of last season after undergoing surgery to remove an aneurysm on Feb. 28.
“I’m seven or eight months post-surgery now,” Mooney said. “I feel great. I don’t have any limitations or anything that’s holding me back, so a clean bill of health.”
The veteran coach enters his 19
th year with the Spiders and is the third-longest tenured coach in Atlantic 10 history behind Temple’s John Chaney and Phil Martelli of Saint Joseph’s (both 24 seasons). Richmond will have a different look this season; senior Neal Quinn is the only returning starter from a year ago.
Only two players remain who logged court time for Richmond during its A-10 title season in 2021-22: Senior guards Dji Bailey and Quentin Southall. The remaining parts of the veteran core of that NCAA tournament team departed after last season, leaving the Spiders set to field an especially fresh team this winter.
“The overall personality and spirit of the team is really high and it’s a great group to be around, guys that like to be in the gym and when it’s time to practice are ready to go,” Mooney said.
A look at the Spiders:
Coach: Chris Mooney, 19th season at Richmond, 327-262 with the Spiders and 345-274 overall in 19 seasons
Last year: After an 11-8 start, the Spiders couldn’t achieve any traction in the final two months of the season. While there were some highlights, such as beating Fordham and Saint Louis at home, Richmond slid to 7-11 in the Atlantic 10 and secured the league’s No. 12 seed for the conference tournament. The Spiders closed out a 15-18 season by splitting with Massachusetts and George Mason in Brooklyn.
They’ll miss: Tyler Burton opted to use his final year of eligibility at Villanova, leaving the Spiders without a second team all-conference pick from a year ago. Burton averaged 19.0 points and 7.4 rebounds and led Richmond in both 3-pointers made (55) and steals (49). Veterans Matt Grace (8.5 ppg) and Andre Gustavson (4.9 ppg) were other familiar faces to exit.
Impact returners: There might not be a better fit in the entire league than Neal Quinn and Richmond. The 7-footer, who began his career at Lafayette, is tailor-made for Mooney’s Princeton scheme. Quinn averaged 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in his first year with the Spiders, and he also led the team with 95 assists.
“He thinks the game a little bit more like a perimeter player or a guard, and the soft hands and the way he moves so well and easily are great things,” Mooney said. “The passing really stood out. In terms of this season, I think he could take a big step. … I feel like overall his confidence and his being a little more seasoned in the A-10 will really go a long way.”
Newcomers of note: Mooney knows as well as anyone that in an era with both immediate eligibility for transfers and a surplus of fifth-year players from the Covid era still dotting the landscape, it’s not a good idea to field too young a team.
So while the Spiders are happy with their five-man freshman class, two key figures this year will be guards Jordan King and DeLonnie Hunt.
King averaged 15.6 points last season at East Tennessee State to earn third team all-Southern Conference honors. Hunt was also a third-team all-league pick in the Northeast, averaging 11.1 points for Wagner.
“They’re both very, very good players, extremely fast, really good sense, good savvy, very competitive,” Mooney said. “Both guys, we feel very fortunate that they’re the total package and they’ll be critical. I think our frontcourt looked like it was going to be good. I think adding those two guys and the freshman guards gives us an all-around look. Overall, our speed is very impressive.”
Reasons to be optimistic: Richmond has ranked in the top 80 nationally in 2-point percentage in each of the last nine seasons, and the presence of Quinn (.542 field goal percentage) gives the Spiders a good chance to extend that streak further.
There will also be opportunities for the freshman class to contribute, and they could develop into the central figures of a future NCAA tournament team. Trevor Smith was the Class 5 player of the year in Virginia, while Collin Tanner was ranked by one service as the second-best player in his class in North Carolina last year. If both emerge quickly, it will make the Spiders all the more dangerous.
X factor: Forward Isaiah Bigelow, a sixth-year player, segued effectively from Wofford (where he averaged 8.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 2021-22) to Richmond (7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds in 2022-23). The 6-foot-7, 205-pounder will complement Quinn in the frontcourt, and provides an option who can stretch the floor.
Circle the date: The Capital City Classic is always a highlight on Richmond’s schedule, and this season’s meetings with crosstown rival VCU will be played on Saturdays. The Spiders make the trip to Broad Street on Feb. 3, then welcome the Rams to the Robins Center on March 2.
Bottom line: A new look to the starting lineup and the overall roster means there will probably be a bit of an adjustment period. But Quinn, Bigelow, King and Hunt are tested older players, and Richmond’s offensive cohesion often gives fits to opponents. There’s a good chance the Spiders will be someone no one wants to deal with once conference play arrives.
GEORGE MASON
Tony Skinn’s legacy at George Mason was already secure. A senior guard on the Patriots’ Final Four team in 2006, Skinn is one of the most recognizable names in program history.
But the chance to do even more in Fairfax? It was an opportunity the 40-year-old Skinn couldn’t pass up.
Skinn, who has had assistant coaching stints at Louisiana Tech, Seton Hall, Ohio State and Maryland, will make his head coaching debut in November. He replaces Kim English, who left after two seasons for Providence.
“I love using the word blessing, just because when I signed up to go to George Mason in 2003, I didn’t expect for this to be the outcome, full circle,” Skinn said. “It’s been comforting just knowing my personal journey and how hard I’ve worked as a player and the same as a coach. We did something special back in ’06 and it really laid the foundation for me to have this opportunity.”
Things have changed since Skinn’s time in a Patriots uniform. Mason moved from the Colonial Athletic Association to the Atlantic 10 a decade ago, and Skinn is the program’s fourth coach since Jim Larrañaga left for Miami in 2011.
But the significance of that Final Four run still resonates, and it’s an inspiration for Skinn’s first team as a head coach.
“It’s something to aim for,” senior guard Ronald Polite III said. “It’s something to chase. And he’s done it. He’s a great teacher and someone you can really learn from.”
A look at the Patriots:
Coach: Tony Skinn, first season at George Mason and as a head coach.
Last year: The Patriots looked like they were heading to another wobbly .500-ish season before running off seven victories in a row just after Davonte “Ticket” Gaines returned from injury. The Patriots would wind up 20-13 overall and 11-7 in the Atlantic 10, securing sole possession of fifth place in the league and splitting games in Brooklyn against Richmond (a 62-57 win) and Saint Louis (82-54).
They’ll miss: Almost their entire starting lineup, but most especially Josh Oduro. A first team all-Atlantic 10 pick, Oduro led the Patriots in scoring (15.6) and rebounding (7.9) and followed former coach Kim English to Providence (as did guard Justyn Fernandez and Gaines).
Impact returners: Skinn’s first victory as Mason’s head coach came when he convinced senior guard Ronald Polite III (11.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 4.0 apg) to remove his name from the transfer portal. Mason was at its best when Polite was healthy and sharp last season, and this will be his team. Fellow senior Malik Henry (4.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg) will see his role expand in the frontcourt.
“His vision for me and for the team, I just felt it was best for me,” Polite said. “I’m really excited about the team we’ve put together. I feel we have a lot of good pieces.”
Newcomers of note: Skinn had nine scholarships to fill, which meant the spring was devoted primarily to attracting as much talent as possible.
Among George Mason’s transfer additions: Guards Jared Billups (8.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg at Siena), Darius Maddox (8.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg at Virginia Tech) and Tre’ Wood (7.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg at LIU) and forwards Keyshawn Hall (5.7 ppg, 1.7 rpg at UNLV), Amari Kelly (7.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg at UNC Wilmington) and Woody Newton (4.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg at Oklahoma State).
“It’s a delicate balance that you have to have on the recruiting trail,” Skinn said. “I knew the type of guys I wanted. Just being in the DMV and having a little bit of a cheat code, I knew the type of guys I would have a chance of getting.”
Reasons to be optimistic: Skinn is bullish about Mason’s depth, and that doesn’t come exclusively from his transfer haul. Baraka Okojie, a 6-foot-3 Canadian, committed in May but didn’t sign until the summer.
That created a little anxiety for Skinn, who credited his staff for helping to maintain the commitment of the jet-quick point guard who averaged 11.5 points in the Patriots’ two exhibition games.
“He’s far ahead of his time,” Skinn said. “He just turned 18 in August, and being able to trust a freshman at this level [usually] doesn’t exist.”
X factor: There is a lot of scoring for the Patriots to replace, and Maddox was impressive in the ACC tournament two seasons ago --- hitting a game-winning 3-pointer to beat Clemson and later dropping 20 points on North Carolina in the semifinals as the Hokies surged to a league title.
If he can channel that effectiveness for a full season, Mason will have an impact transfer in the backcourt.
“Darius Maddox is a guy who as a sophomore at Virginia Tech made almost 50 three-pointers in limited minutes,” Skinn said. “If you can make 50 threes in the ACC, I think it’s safe to say you should be above solid in the A-10.”
Circle the date: Skinn’s head coaching debut comes Nov. 6 when Monmouth visits EagleBank Arena. Also of note is what has become an annual Martin Luther King Jr. matinee against George Washington, which will be played Jan. 15 in Foggy Bottom this season.
Bottom line: George Mason is one of the league’s biggest wild cards, with a wide range of possible outcomes depending on how well a largely overhauled roster comes together. It certainly helps to have Polite, a third team preseason all-conference pick who will provide both scoring and stability at the point.