The Collegian
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Richmond looks to move on from 'Giant Killers' nickname

DENVER — Respect for the University of Richmond men's basketball team has increased some over the past two years, but the team is still not well-known nationally.

As the Spiders walked out to the floor of the Pepsi Center for practice here in Denver today, one day before it takes on No. 5 Vanderbilt University in the second round of the 2011 NCAA tournament, the public address announcer greeted the team by announcing it as from the Colonial Athletic Association. Some players looked over while the Richmond fans in attendance booed. The announcer finally recognized the Spiders as from the Atlantic 10 Conference, but the result was the same: the Spiders have work to do before they become a household name.

Richmond has the perfect opportunity to do that in this tournament. Vanderbilt has been upset in the first round its past two appearances (both came as a 4 seed, including last year's one-point loss to Murray State) and Richmond is the school known for pulling the big upset in March.

The program has earned the nickname 'Giant Killers' for its upsets of teams ranked No. 2 through No. 5 in the tournament, but the last of those came in 1998 when it defeated No. 3 University of South Carolina, 62-61. Since then, the Spiders have switched from the CAA to the A-10 and have gone to the tournament twice, but haven't been able to win a game while there. Despite the 13-year drought, senior Kevin Anderson is ready to move on from the label of the 'Giant Killer.'

"We have won great games throughout my career here at Richmond," Anderson said. "Have we shaken it? I feel like we've shaken it. Maybe to some people, they might not think we've shaken it and still think that we're a giant killer."

Richmond was a trendy pick last year to reemerge as a surprise team and reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in school history. That dream was soon squashed as No. 10 Saint Mary's upset Richmond in the first round and soon, all the attention was gone from Richmond. Now that is starting to happen again this year as Richmond has become a trendy pick to upset Vanderbilt on Thursday.

There is some thought amongst the team that they have already been disrespected this year by the selection committee. After the Spiders defeated the University of Dayton on Sunday to win the A-10 tournament and the league's automatic berth, ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi had Richmond as a 10 seed in his last projected bracket before it was revealed later that Sunday. Senior Justin Harper said that the team is going to try to prove the committee was wrong in giving it a 12 seed.

"There's a lot of motivation there," Harper said. "Just knowing what we accomplished towards the end of our season, winning seven straight, also winning our conference tournament, that factors a lot into what the committee looks at [while] picking the seeds. We really just thought about that as just using it as motivation going into the NCAA tournament, using our momentum to keep us going."

Richmond can draw on its experience from last year's tournament to help it prepare for Vanderbilt. Last year, the Richmond players were new to the quick turnaround from the A-10 tournament to the NCAA tournament and all the attention and media requests that come with the selection. This year, with four seniors in the starting lineup, the team is more prepared for its game.

"We were kind of excited about it last year," Harper said. "This year we're here to handle business, just really focused on making it past the [second] round."

That business-like mentality showed in practice on Wednesday. Richmond coach Chris Mooney had his team go through passing and fast-break drills before splitting the team up and going through game situations. It was only until the last minute of the 40-minute practice that he allowed his team to have a free shoot-around.

If that same mentality that was shown in practice is carried over to Thursday's game, the Spiders should find themselves in position to upset the Commodores and possibly once again start hearing themselves referred to as the 'Giant Killers.' But if they can win enough games in this tournament, maybe that name will be dropped and Harper will get what he wants.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

"Not necessarily looked at as a giant, but looked at as a great team, knowing that we've done great things in our careers here at Richmond," he said. "Just being recognized for that. I think that would be a great honor and a great label for us to have."

Contact staff writer Andrew Prezioso at andrew.prezioso@richmond.edu

Support independent student media

You can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking the button below, which takes you to our secure PayPal account. The page is set up to receive contributions in whatever amount you designate. We look forward to using the money we raise to further our mission of providing honest and accurate information to students, faculty, staff, alumni and others in the general public.

Donate Now