2016–17 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team represented the University of Richmond during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Richmond competed as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference under 12th-year head coach Chris Mooney and played its home games at the Robins Center. They finished the regular season 19–11, 13–5 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for third place. Due to tiebreaking rules, they received the No. 3 seed in the A-10 tournament, where they defeated George Washington in the quarterfinals before losing to VCU in the semifinals. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament, where, as No. 6 seed in the Iowa bracket, defeated No. 3 seed Alabama and No. 7 seed Oakland before falling to No. 4 seed TCU in the quarterfinals.

2016–17 Richmond Spiders men's basketball
NIT, Quarterfinals
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	22–13 (13–5 A-10)
Head coach	Chris Mooney (12th season)
Assistant coaches	Rob Jones (9th season) Kim Lewis (4th season) Marcus Jenkins (2nd season)
Home arena	Robins Center

2016–17 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Dayton	15	–	3		.833			24	–	8		.750
VCU	14	–	4		.778			26	–	9		.743
Rhode Island †	13	–	5		.722			25	–	10		.714
Richmond	13	–	5		.722			22	–	13		.629
Saint Bonaventure	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
George Washington	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
George Mason	9	–	9		.500			20	–	14		.588
La Salle	9	–	9		.500			15	–	15		.500
Davidson	8	–	10		.444			17	–	15		.531
Fordham	7	–	11		.389			13	–	19		.406
Saint Louis	6	–	12		.333			12	–	21		.364
UMass	4	–	14		.222			15	–	18		.455
Saint Joseph's	4	–	14		.222			11	–	20		.355
Duquesne	3	–	15		.167			10	–	22		.313
† 2017 A10 Tournament winner

Previous season

The Spiders finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 16–16, 7–11 in A-10 play to finish in ninth place. They defeated Fordham in the second round of the A-10 tournament to advance to the Quarterfinals where they lost to Dayton.

Preseason

Richmond was picked to finish in sixth place in the Preseason A-10 poll. T. J. Cline was selected to the Preseason All-Conference First Team while ShawnDre’ Jones was named to the Third Team.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Trey Davis	5	G/F	6'5"	215	RS Senior	Richmond, Virginia	Graduated
Deion Taylor	11	F	6'7"	215	Senior	New Orleans, Louisiana	Graduated
John Moran	13	G	6'3"	185	Senior	Phoenixville, Pennsylvania	Walk-on; graduated
Terry Allen	15	F	6'8"	240	Senior	Houston, Texas	Graduated
KoVien Dominaus	35	F	6'7"	170	Freshman	Columbus, Ohio	Transferred

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Kwesi Abakah	34	F	6'8"	212	RS Senior	Suwanee, Georgia	Graduate transfer from Northeastern, eligible immediately

Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Nick Sherod #36 SG	Richmond, Virginia	St. Christopher's School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jul 31, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
De'Monte Buckingham #50 SF	Henrico, Virginia	Henrico High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jul 29, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 74
Grant Golden #66 PF	Middleton, Virginia	St. James School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sep 15, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 70
Solly Stansbury SF	Paris, France	Paris-Levallois Basket	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  ESPN: NR
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Rivals.com 2016 Richmond Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 8, 2016. "Scout.com 2016 Richmond Commitments". Scout.com. Retrieved July 8, 2016. "ESPN 2016 Richmond Commitments". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 8, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 8, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 8, 2016.

Recruiting Class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Tomas Verbinskis #71 SF	Weston, Florida	The Sagemont School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Oct 21, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 72
Bryce Schneider SG	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina	Myrtle Beach High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Oct 16, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jacob Gilyard PG	Kansas City, Missouri	The Barstow School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	Sep 12, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Nathan Cayo SG	Montreal, Quebec	College Jean-De-Brebeuf	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Oct 13, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
AJ Ford SF	Saint Petersburg, Florida	Saint Petersburg High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Nov 7, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  ESPN: NR
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Rivals.com 2017 Richmond Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016. "Scout.com 2017 Richmond Commitments". Scout.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016. "ESPN 2017 Richmond Commitments". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 12, 2016.

Roster

2016–17 Richmond Spiders men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Joe Kirby 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Sagemont School Pines, Florida G 2 Khwan Fore 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Lee High School Huntsville, Alabama G 3 ShawnDre' Jones 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr George Bush High School Houston, Texas G 4 Keith Oddo (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So North Cross School Roanoke, Virginia G 5 Nick Sherod 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr St. Christopher's School Richmond, Virginia F/C 10 T. J. Cline 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Niagara Plano, Texas G 11 De'Monte Buckingham 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Henrico High School Richmond, Virginia F 12 Chase Fletcher (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Highland Park High School Dallas, Texas F 13 Solly Stansbury (I) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Toms River High School North Toms River, New Jersey G 15 Niko King (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Virginia Union Landover, Maryland F 24 Marshall Wood 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Virginia Tech Rustburg, Virginia G 30 Jesse Pistokache 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Johnson Ferry Christian Academy Mission, Texas G 32 Julius Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Florida Air Academy Cocoa, Florida F/C 33 Grant Golden 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr St. James School Winchester, Virginia F 34 Kwesi Abakah 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) GS Northeastern Suwanee, Georgia F 44 Paul Friendshuh 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So New Prague High School New Prague, Minnesota	Head coach Chris Mooney (Princeton) Assistant coach(es) Rob Jones (Toccoa Falls) Kim Lewis (Tulane) Marcus Jenkins (Air Force) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, CBS 6.2		VMI	W 72–69	1–0	31 – Jones	9 – Sherod	5 – Cline	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Nov 14, 2016* 7:00 pm, CSNMA+		Old Dominion	L 61–64	1–1	23 – Jones	6 – Cline	7 – Cline	Robins Center (5,028) Richmond, Virginia
Nov 20, 2016* 1:30 pm, CSNMA+		Robert Morris Barclays Center Classic	W 81–69	2–1	18 – Cline	9 – Cline	5 – Cline	Robins Center (4,768) Richmond, Virginia
Nov 22, 2016* noon, CSNMA		Hampton Barclays Center Classic	W 65–52	3–1	17 – Cline	7 – Tied	5 – Cline	Robins Center (6,094) Richmond, Virginia
Nov 25, 2016* 9:30 pm, ASN		vs. Maryland Barclays Center Classic semifinals	L 82–88 OT	3–2	23 – Jones	9 – Tied	9 – Cline	Barclays Center  Brooklyn, New York
Nov 26, 2016* 7:00 pm, ASN		vs. Boston College Barclays Center Classic 3rd place game	W 67–54	4–2	23 – Cline	10 – Cline	2 – Tied	Barclays Center  Brooklyn, New York
Nov 30, 2016* 7:00 pm, CBS 6.3		at Bucknell	L 68–73	4–3	22 – Cline	8 – Tied	4 – Tied	Sojka Pavilion (2,494) Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Dec 3, 2016* noon, ESPNU		Wake Forest	L 67–75	4–4	20 – Cline	7 – Johnson	8 – Cline	Robins Center (6,705) Richmond, Virginia
Dec 10, 2016* 7:30 pm, CSNMA+		UMBC	W 78–75	5–4	19 – Jones	9 – Tied	6 – Jones	Robins Center (5,552) Richmond, Virginia
Dec 17, 2016* 12:30 pm, ESPNU		Texas Tech	L 72–79	5–5	19 – Fore	9 – Cline	7 – Fore	Robins Center (6,703) Richmond, Virginia
Dec 20, 2016* 7:00 pm		at James Madison	W 75–55	6–5	21 – Cline	11 – Cline	6 – Jones	JMU Convocation Center (2,383) Harrisonburg, Virginia
Dec 23, 2016* 4:00 pm		at Oral Roberts	L 72–87	6–6	25 – Cline	14 – Cline	6 – Tied	Mabee Center (2,735) Tulsa, Oklahoma
Atlantic 10 regular season
Dec 31, 2016 2:00 pm, ASN		at Davidson	W 82–80	7–6 (1–0)	21 – Jones	10 – Cline	8 – Cline	John M. Belk Arena (4,249) Davidson, North Carolina
Jan 4, 2017 7:00 pm, CBS 6.1		Fordham	W 80–72	8–6 (2–0)	22 – Buckingham	5 – Cline	8 – Jones	Robins Center (5,004) Richmond, Virginia
Jan 8, 2017 noon, NBCSN		at George Washington	W 77–70	9–6 (3–0)	19 – Cline	11 – Cline	7 – Cline	Charles E. Smith Center (2,986) Washington, D.C.
Jan 11, 2017 7:00 pm, CBS 6.3		St. Bonaventure	W 78–61	10–6 (4–0)	18 – Buckingham	13 – Buckingham	5 – Tied	Robins Center (6,058) Richmond, Virginia
Jan 14, 2017 12:30 pm, NBCSN		at Saint Joseph's	W 70–66	11–6 (5–0)	21 – Jones	10 – Cline	9 – Cline	Hagan Arena (4,051) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 19, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at Dayton	L 59–75	11–7 (5–1)	21 – Cline	11 – Buckingham	6 – Jones	University of Dayton Arena (13,103) Dayton, Ohio
Jan 22, 2017 1:00 pm, ASN		George Mason	L 77–82	11–8 (5–2)	21 – Cline	11 – Cline	6 – Jones	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Jan 25, 2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN		Rhode Island	W 73–62	12–8 (6–2)	21 – Cline	13 – Cline	4 – Tied	Robins Center (5,545) Richmond, Virginia
Jan 28, 2017 6:00 pm, CSNMA+		Duquesne	W 101–90	13–8 (7–2)	34 – Cline	12 – Cline	11 – Cline	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Feb 1, 2017 7:00 pm, CBSSN		at VCU Capital City Classic	L 74–81	13–9 (7–3)	30 – Jones	8 – Buckingham	8 – Cline	Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, Virginia
Feb 4, 2017 2:30 pm, NBCSN		George Washington	W 84–75	14–9 (8–3)	26 – Cline	13 – Cline	5 – Jones	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Feb 11, 2017 2:00 pm		at La Salle	W 64–52	15–9 (9–3)	21 – Cline	9 – Buckingham	7 – Cline	Tom Gola Arena (3,400) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 14, 2017 7:00 pm, MASN		at George Mason	L 70–93	15–10 (9–4)	21 – Cline	6 – Cline	6 – Jones	EagleBank Arena (3,004) Fairfax, Virginia
Feb 17, 2017 9:00 pm, ESPN2		VCU Capital City Classic	L 73–84	15–11 (9–5)	20 – Jones	9 – Cline	7 – Cline	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Feb 21, 2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN		Davidson	W 84–76	16–11 (10–5)	18 – Tied	6 – Cline	8 – Cline	Robins Center (6,199) Richmond, Virginia
Feb 25, 2017 2:30 pm, NBCSN		at Fordham	W 70–48	17–11 (11–5)	19 – Buckingham	7 – Tied	12 – Fore	Rose Hill Gymnasium (3,023) Bronx, New York
Mar 1, 2017 7:00 pm		at Massachusetts	W 75–64	18–11 (12–5)	26 – Jones	3 – Tied	8 – Buckingham	William D. Mullins Memorial Center (2,434) Amherst, Massachusetts
Mar 4, 2017 4:00 pm, CSNMA+		Saint Louis	W 72–62	19–11 (13–5)	23 – Buckingham	11 – Cline	12 – Cline	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, Virginia
Atlantic 10 tournament
Mar 10, 2017 8:30 pm, NBCSN	(3)	vs. (6) George Washington Quarterfinals	W 70–67	20–11	19 – Jones	7 – Fore	8 – Cline	PPG Paints Arena (6,647) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mar 11, 2017 3:30 pm, CBSSN	(3)	vs. (2) VCU Semifinals	L 77–87 OT	20–12	26 – Buckingham	9 – Fore	5 – Fore	PPG Paints Arena (6,886) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
NIT
Mar 14, 2017* 9:15 pm, ESPN2	(6)	at (3) Alabama First Round – Iowa Bracket	W 71–64	21–12	22 – Jones	6 – Cline	4 – Fore	Coleman Coliseum (4,041) Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Mar 19, 2017* 7:30 pm, ESPNU	(6)	(7) Oakland Second Round – Iowa Bracket	W 87–83	22–12	25 – Cline	9 – Cline	6 – Cline	Robins Center (6,527) Richmond, Virginia
Mar 21, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN2	(6)	at (4) TCU Quarterfinals – Iowa Bracket	L 68–86	22–13	33 – Cline	7 – Cline	6 – Cline	Schollmaier Arena (5,946) Fort Worth, Texas
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source: