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Observations - Las Aranas en Espana: Richmond Asst. Coach Kevin McGeehan
By CCT Staff | September 15, 2008
In August, the University of Richmond Men’s Basketball team traveled abroad, primarily to Spain, playing four games against international competition, including three against professional teams. After returning home and settling into his routine, Assistant Coach Kevin McGeehan, once again, joins CCT and shares his thoughts on the Spiders’ experience.
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We had an amazing trip to Europe, visiting the Spanish cities of Barcelona, Sitges, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Burgos and Madrid. We also crossed the border into Perpignan, France for one game. The opportunity to travel together and experience other cultures was as valuable as the basketball we played. There is a closeness about our team that was only enhanced by our trip.
Las Aranas (”The Spiders”), as was printed on our uniforms, had a nice trip as well, finishing 2-2; with one of the losses coming in overtime. As a staff, we had a chance to see a couple of guys on the court who had not seen much time in the past.
Justin Harper played some last year, but had veterans Oumar Sylla and Gaston Moliva in front of him, each of whom shouldered a good portion of the minutes. Justin will be counted upon heavily this year to fill that void. Unfortunately, a sprained ankle in Game 3 kept him out of action the remainder of the trip. Prior to the injury, however, Justin showed an ability to be productive shooting and scoring the basketball.
Josh Duinker, who redshirted second semester of last year after joining us from Sydney, Australia, will have an opportunity to see minutes earlier than expected due to the injury of Third Team All-Conference big man, Dan Geriot. Josh showed very well in Spain; in fact, his great natural instincts for the game help cover up the fact that he does not yet have the full playbook down cold. Josh rebounded and scored inside and, importantly, did not back down from older players. He showed some great signs that he’ll be able to compete in the A-10 this year, averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds on the trip.
Conor Smith, also a redshirt freshman, showed some grit and determination defensively. Most notably, however, he lit it up from long range, knocking down 15 three-pointers and averaging nearly 12 points per contest.
Of the Returnees:
Kevin Anderson, the 2007-08 A-10 Rookie of the Year, averaged 23.7 points per game, with two outbursts over 30 points. He scored 35 in an overtime loss to Caja Rioja and had 31 in a 91-77 victory of Illescas Toledo. Even the Toledo fans appreciated Kevin’s game, as he left to a standing ovation.
Kevin Smith played very well again and showed himself to be the glue guy for our team, rebounding, passing and setting the tone on defense. While junior David Gonzalvez was slowed by a knee injury prior to the trip, even though we brought him along carefully in Spain, he played very well in the finale - scoring 19 points. Senior Jarhon Giddings also provided leadership in the frontcourt, as he will all year with Dan Geriot’s absence.
Overall, we were pleased with the progress the team made in Spain and were excited about the way our guys looked in transition. We averaged 91.3 points per game in the four contests.
Finally, our Men’s Basketball Media Relations Director, Mark Kwolek, did an outstanding job capturing the trip on video, in photographs and in his recaps, including Dan Geriot’s blog. All of this information can be found here.
We believe this trip will function as a great catalyst in jump-starting the 2008-09 season. Las Aranas had a chance to play together, but more importantly, to be together in Espana . . . what a great trip!
(College Chalktalk would once again like to the Kevin for checking in and sharing his thoughts about the Spiders’ trip overseas. We’ll continue to speak with him from time to time throughout the season.)
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