Richmond was new in a lot of ways last season … right down to an unexpected flaw that helped sink its season.
The Spiders shot just 31.4 percent from 3-point range, a crushing development for a team that has always relied on ball movement to create open looks rather than brute force under coach Chris Mooney.
The downside is Richmond slipped from a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title in 2023-24 to a tie for 13
th last season. But it did make it easy to determine what to prioritize in the offseason.
“If you watch college basketball, the 3-point shot is just so important to everybody --- extremely talented teams, small teams, big teams,” Mooney said. “Last year we really thought it was a strength and a strong quality in a lot of our players and we just didn’t shoot the ball very well in the games.”
That’s why Loyola Marymount transfer Will Johnston, a 41.2 percent outside shooter for his career, stood out as portal targets. Maine transfer AJ Lopez is 38.3 percent for his career. Jaden Daughtry made 40 percent of his outside tries last season. Even DePaul transfer David Thomas connected on 40.2 percent of his 3-point attempts at Mercer two seasons ago before struggling in the Big East.
“Coach did a really good job of recruiting some really great talent from all around the country that should hopefully make my job a lot easier [and] make winning a lot easier,” senior center Michael Walz said.
Walz could be part of the perimeter solution, too. He made 46.5 percent of his threes last year, though he only attempted 43.
Mooney said over the summer he hoped Walz could double his outside tries this season, something that would fit well with his preseason message.
“You can’t control necessarily how many you make, but what you can control is taking the right ones, practicing a lot of the shots you’re going to get, being confident in those shots because you practiced so much,” Mooney said. “We’re working very hard at it and hopefully we’ll have better results this year.”
That sentiment could apply to more than just outside shooting. After last year’s dip to 10-22, Mooney is encouraged last year’s flaw can turn back into a strength and spur a turnaround as a result.
“Every single time we’ve done a scrimmage, a drill where we’re keeping track, there’s just a lot of competitiveness,” Mooney said. “I think that’s the best quality to have --- and shooting.
That’s the best quality to have. But that’s what makes me feel good.”
A look at the Spiders
Coach: Chris Mooney, 21st season at Richmond, 358-290 with the Spiders and 376-302 in 21 seasons overall.
Last year: The Spiders were built around senior guard DeLonnie Hunt, and they struggled mightily after he was injured in early January. Richmond played plenty of close games with and without Hunt, dropped all four of its overtime contests and wound up sliding to 10-22 overall and 5-13 in the Atlantic 10 (including a first-round loss in the conference championship) a year after sharing the regular season title.
They’ll miss: The biggest departure is Hunt, who averaged 15.8 points but missed nearly all of conference play. Also departing is Dusan Neskovic (13.5 ppg, 3.6 rpg), who filled a major role as a grad transfer last season.
Impact returners: Richmond has three of its top five scorers back, which qualifies as considerable continuity in college basketball today. Center Mike Walz (7.4 ppg, 5.8 rpg), a Preseason Third Team All-Atlantic 10 selection, is the sort of cerebral interior player the Spiders have long leaned on. Walz had a team-high 80 assists, and he is one of the most tested players in the league as he enters his fourth season in the program.
Junior guard Mikkel Tyne (9.3 ppg) more than doubled his scoring last season and was the only Spider to start every game. He’ll be a backcourt fixture and a disruptive presence at the defensive end.
Senior Jonathan Beagle (6.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg) had to adjust last season after transferring from Albany, but he’s a considerable frontcourt presence who should take a step forward in his second year at Richmond.
Newcomers of note: Mooney knew what he needed to address last year’s problems, which is why so much will hinge on how Will Johnston (11.9 ppg, .366 3FG% at Loyola Marymount) and AJ Lopez (14.8 ppg, .403 3FG% at Maine) fare.
Johnston arrives with 207 made 3-pointers in his three-year college career, which began at UT Rio Grande Valley. Lopez left an impression on the Richmond staff when he made a career-high five 3-pointers when Maine lost at the Robins Center last season.
“I think a huge part of my responsibility as the center at Richmond is distributing and making other people get shots and making them look better,” Walz said. “Those two guys are proficient scorers of the basketball, and that really takes the pressure off me, not only as a shot creator but as a playmaker. I’m super excited to see what those guys have to offer in our system.”
Reasons to be optimistic: Beyond the influx of shooting and a decent amount of continuity, Richmond also has two potential contributors it has developed for the last year.
Jaylen Robinson, a 6-foot-6 wing, and Bryson McGlothin, a 6-foot-8 forward, both redshirted last season. That investment could pay off quickly thanks to their considerable physical skills.
“They’re both long, athletic, maybe our two most athletic guys,” Mooney said. “Jaylen Robinson really has an impact. He’s just a tremendous athlete, strong, a great finisher, rebounder, can really run, a good defender. He’s really good. Then Bryson McGlothin has really, really improved. His ceiling is limitless, and at his size, the shooting and versatility he has is really impressive.”
X factor: Mooney knows exactly the response Indiana State transfer Jaden Daughtry’s stat line evokes. After playing sparingly on the Sycamores’ NIT finalist two seasons ago, he averaged 12.9 points in a sixth man role that saw him play just 19.4 minutes per game last year.
“So the first thing you’d say is ‘That’s amazing,’” Mooney said. “And the second thing you’d say is ‘Why did he only play 19 minutes?’”
It’s safe to say the 1.8 turnovers per game had
something to do with it. But even with that qualifier, Daughtry is an undersized interior player with good ballhandling and passing skills. He also made 40 percent of his 3-point attempts, albeit on a relatively modest sample size of 30 (or just under one per game).
“He’s really tough and rugged around the basket,” Mooney said. “He shot an extremely high field goal percentage, draws a lot of contact, gets to the free throw line very often. I think for us, he’s not a prototypical Richmond player in terms of how he looks or what his skillset is, but similar to Nathan Cayo who we had years ago, he can really score inside and change the game that way and get to the free throw line.”
Circle the date: The Spiders have a string of old CAA rivals --- East Carolina (Nov. 8), William & Mary (Nov. 11) and Old Dominion (Dec. 6) --- visiting the Robins Center early in the season. The annual home-and-home against VCU, with a trip to the Siegel Center on Jan. 27 and a return game on Feb. 14, highlight the league slate.
Bottom line: Richmond hasn’t finished under .500 in the Atlantic 10 in consecutive seasons since 2005-06 and 2006-07 --- Mooney’s first two seasons. Walz, Tyne and Beagle (along with Apostolos Roumoglou and Collin Tanner) know the Spiders’ system. Daughtry, Johnston and Lopez were shrewd transfer pickups. This looks like a team that could very well exceed external expectations and perhaps even factor into the league title race.
Patrick Stevens is a veteran college basketball writer that has worked for The Washington Post, Syracuse Media Group and The Washington Times. He has written selected pieces for the Atlantic 10 since 2013.