Harper, Anderson, Smith earn Atlantic 10 Conference honors

Richmond has two first-team all-conference selections for the third time in school history. Seniors Kevin Anderson and Justin Harper were named to the first team all-Atlantic 10 Conference team, while fellow senior Kevin Smith was named to the A-10 all-defensive team.

The voting was conducted among the 14 head coaches in the conference.

The awards add to what has become one of the most successful classes in Richmond men's basketball history. The group of five seniors, which also includes Dan Geriot and Kevin Hovde, has helped lead the Spiders to the most wins in a two- (50) and three-year (70) period in school history.

The class has also been responsible for an all-Atlantic 10 selection in each of the last four seasons: Geriot (2008), Anderson (2009 and 2010), and Anderson and Harper (2011).

This is the first time since joining the A-10 that the Spiders have two first-team selections. Michael Perry and John Schweitz earned first-team all-Eastern College Athletic Conference South honors in 1981 and Kenny Atkinson and Mike Winiecki earned first-team all-Colonial Athletic Association honors in 1989.

Anderson, the 2010 A-10 Player of the Year, also earned first-team all-Atlantic 10 honors last year, while receiving second-team all-Atlantic 10 honors as a sophomore.

Anderson finished the regular season averaging 16.0 points and 3.4 assists per game, while also leading the team with 51 steals. He finishes his career third on Richmond's all-time scoring list (2,047 points), third in steals (213), third in field goals (730) and fifth in assists (394). He needs just two more assists to move into fourth.

Harper led the Spiders in scoring (18.0 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg) this season, while shooting 55.8 percent (2nd in A-10) and 47.9 percent from three-point range (1st in A-10). He was not named to any of the conference's pre-season teams.

Harper tied Xavier's Tu Holloway (named A-10 Player of the Year) with 325 points scored in conference play (20.3 ppg). Harper also averaged 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in A-10 games. Harper finished the regular season 19th on Richmond's all-time scoring list with 1,355 points, just one point behind teammate Dan Geriot.

Smith gives the Spiders an all-defensive selection for the second straight season. Former teammate David Gonzalvez earned the honor last year.

Smith finished his final regular season with 32 steals and 16 blocks, bringing his career totals to 120 steals and 66 blocks. Smith is averaging 3.8 rebounds per game and leads the A-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.9).

Richmond's (24-7, 13-3 Atlantic 10) next game will come 9 p.m. Friday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City in the second round of the A-10 Tournament against the winner of Tuesday night's game between Saint Louis and Rhode Island.

Contact reporter David Weissman at david.weissman@richmond.edu