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Richmond will join the Atlantic 10 next season, but had they been in the league this year they would have competed for the conference title.
With the exception of Tennessee, they were the best team we have played in non-conference action and that includes Maryland, Providence, St. John?s and others.
I am not knocking any of our prior opponents -- Just pointing out how good the Spiders are.
It starts with the head coach and they have one of the best in the business.
John Beilein is now in his fourth season at the helm and he has done a terrific job. His record speaks for itself. To date, he has won over 60 games with the Spiders and he has amassed over 400 in his career.
While they have a number of excellent players, I was most impressed with the way they spread it out, offensively.
You will hear analysts talk a lot about ?spacing? and how the good teams do it very well. Well, those analysts should sit courtside for a Richmond game. It?s like a clinic.
For those of you have not had the opportunity to see them play, picture a Princeton style of play with better athletes.
They will break you down off the dribble or the pass.
Their ball movement is tremendous and they always seem to find that open man. And they have some excellent shooters. So if they get an open look, you can almost put it on the board before it rips the net.
Greg Stevenson (pictured), who is a terrific player, had a great season. He is a 6-6 kid who can shoot the three and score in the paint.
Reggie Brown is another guy with that ability.
They will go about eight deep and one through eight they are pretty solid.
I do not know a lot about their conference, the Colonial Athletic Association, but I?d find it hard to believe that anyone in that league is better Richmond.
Since they did not get an opportunity to play in the CAA tournament, people may have forgotten about them, but they are pretty darn good.
As for the A-10, well the league should get three teams. St. Joseph?s and Temple are in and lets take Xavier off the bubble. You can?t punish them for losing in the conference quarterfinals.
