Richmond has an influx of transfers and one clear-cut established starter back in the fold.

Sound familiar?

Spiders coach Chris Mooney agrees there are some similarities to where his team was in the preseason a year ago and how it looks heading into this season. Richmond has a key figure back in guard DeLonnie Hunt. The likes of Mikkel Tyne and Mike Walz could make the sort of jumps Isaiah Bigelow and Dji Bailey made last year.
And transfers like Jonathan Beagle (Albany), Dusan Neskovic (Dartmouth), Apotolos Roumoglou (Connecticut), George Washington III (Michigan) and B. Artis White (Western Michigan) all have the potential to help.

But that doesn’t guarantee another year spent atop the Atlantic 10, as Mooney well knows.

“It’s not fantasy football where this guy’s stats equals this many wins,” he says. “They have to play together. They have to be cohesive. I think we got lucky in that regard last year and this year in that we do have guys that are good at that. Their games are complementary for that.”

Perhaps the thing working in Richmond’s favor in this era of pronounced player movement is just how clear its identity is. There’s a long track record of how the Spiders play under Mooney, and that probably makes it easier to identify fits.

“I used to think that was the best thing about having an identity --- now, even moreso,” Mooney says. “A kid that’s making his decision the second time around or the third time around, he’s not as interested in how many TV games and that kind of stuff. You can show him ‘Look, this is who we are and this is how we play,’ whether it was last year or 10 years ago.”

Still, there are adjustments to be made. And in one notable difference, Mooney won’t have the luxury of rolling out a lineup of fourth- and fifth-year players much, if ever.

“It’s always a challenge when you have a brand-new team that’s not used to the culture that we have at Richmond,” Hunt says. “I think the biggest challenge has been guys are a little younger this year and they haven’t had as much college experience, whereas last year we had a first five of all seniors. But I think they’ve been handling it well. There are a lot of guys who want to learn every day.”

And that is especially encouraging for a backcourt that will look different after A-10 co-player of the year Jordan King’s departure but still has an opportunity to be a strength at both ends of the floor.

“A lot of speed, some intelligent play, shot making,” Mooney says. “We feel very good about those guys.”
 
Coach: Chris Mooney, 20th season at Dayton, 348-268 with the Spiders and 366-280 overall in 20 seasons

Last year: The Spiders had their best defensive year under Mooney according to KenPom.com, finishing 34^th nationally in adjusted efficiency at that end of the floor. It propelled Richmond to a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title at 15-3, the top seed in the conference championship, an NIT berth and an overall record of 23-10.

They’ll miss: Much of their starting lineup. Jordan King (18.0 ppg) was the Co-Player of the year in the Atlantic 10 and the centerpiece of the backcourt. Neal Quinn (12.5 ppg, 3.9 apg) led Richmond in assists and earned second team all-league honors, proving again he was the perfect center to plug into a Princeton-style system. Those two and Isaiah Bigelow (11.2 ppg), while Dji Bailey (10.2 ppg) transferred to LSU.

Impact returners: With all those losses, it doesn’t hurt to bring a point guard back. The Spiders do so with DeLonnie Hunt, who came back from a wrist injury that cost him much of nonconference play to start 22 games last season and average 9.3 points.

Look for a jump as well from sophomore Mikkel Tyne (4.0 ppg), who started in Hunt’s stead early last season and will have a chance to establish a more expansive role.
One name who remains in the fold but could have a much greater impact is sophomore wing Collin Tanner, who Mooney says is the team’s most improved player since the start of the summer.

Newcomers of note: While Richmond has done a fine job working the transfer portal to fill needs, it also has a couple impressive freshmen in a pair of forwards --- the 6-6 Jaylen Robinson and the 6-8 Bryson McGlothin.

“They might be two of our most talented guys,” Mooney says. “Certainly there are a lot of players on the roster at their position, so it might be hard for them early, but they’re very talented and very athletic. Absolutely exactly what Richmond wants --- good students, really athletic, talented and a super-bright future.”

Reasons to be optimistic: The Spiders made two major pickups out of New England, though they’ve had different college experiences to date.
Dusan Neskovic ranked seventh in the Ivy League with 16.0 points per game at Dartmouth last season. Meanwhile, Apostolos Roumoglou was part of back-to-back national champions at Connecticut.

“[Dusan] is very physically mature, strong, and he’s very mentally mature and has a good routine every day,” Mooney says. “He’s proven he can score at a high level against good competition. I think he could really, really be good. Apostolous is different. He’s been on the best team the last couple years, and he got into a fair amount of games because they win by so many points. He is talented, long, can really shoot, a good passer and rangy.”

X factor: Quinn’s departure means there is more playing time available for junior Mike Walz (2.8 ppg, 2.5 rpg), and if he can be a breakout player, it bodes well for Richmond’s chances of remaining in Atlantic 10 contention.

“He’s improved as you would expect,” Mooney says. “He’s a tremendous athlete, fast, but he’s also a good passer and strong. Unlike many of the guys we’ve had in the past, he really likes contact and wants to play very physically, but he can still also pass the ball and make decisions.”

Circle the date: The home-and-home with VCU is always a highlight for the Spiders. Richmond makes the trip to Broad Street on Feb. 1, then welcomes the Rams to the Robins Center on Feb. 25.

Bottom line: It might take some time to achieve the level of cohesion Mooney desires. But that also happened last year, and a 5-5 start gave way to a memorable year. If the Spiders have things figured out by the time league play arrives, they’ll end up much closer to the top of the league than the bottom.