INSIDE THE NUMBERS

2000-01 record: 22-14; 11-5 in A-10 (2nd/West) Postseason: Lost to Syracuse 62-46 in the third round of the NIT. RETURNING LEADERS Points: Brown 14.4 Rebs: Dobbins 5.5 Assists: Myers 3.1 FG: Collins 56.2% 3pt: Myers 35.0% FT: Myers 80.8% 01-02 Stats: Richmond | A-10 KEY LOSSES Scott Ungerer | 8.6 ppg PROJECTED STARTERS G | Jeff Myers | Senior G | Tony Dobbins | Junior F | Mike Skrocki | Junior F | Reggie Brown | Senior C | Eric Zwayer | Junior Player to Watch Tony Dobbins After past 1,000 points in his career, needs to sink 57 three-pointers to become Richmond's all-time leader. DATE TO REMEMBER Jan. 4 Wainwright almost beat Wake Forest last season, his UNC-Wilmington team losing by one point at the buzzer. The Deacons come to Richmond this time, where they could stumble into an ambush that would enhance the Spiders' NCAA Tournament credentials.

 

RICHMOND SPIDERS

New coach Jerry Wainwright walks into a glorious situation in Richmond, where the team won 22 games last season and reached the NIT quarterfinals -- and could be even better this season. The only loss of note was versatile forward Scott Ungerer (8.6 ppg), the team's leader in rebounds, assists and basketball savvy. That's a big loss, but the team essentially added two perhaps equally big pieces. We say "essentially added" because one of them, 6-9 Eric Zwayer (10 ppg, 4.5 rpg), played in six games last year, a season gutted by bone spur surgery. The other addition also has been around a year, but Jamaal Scott couldn't play in 2001-02 as a transfer from Cal Poly, where he was the Big West Freshman of the Year in 2000-01 for averaging 15.1 points and 5.9 rebounds. That's a nice foundation, and we haven't even mentioned yet 6-4 Tony Dobbins (9.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg), who might be the A-10's premier defender and also has some scoring to his game. Also back is 6-6 Mike Skrocki (12.9 ppg), 6-4 Reggie Brown (14.4 ppg) and 6-1 point guard Jeff Myers (3.1 apg). Nice situation indeed.

TOUGH ENOUGH..............................
The Spiders are loaded on the wing, where Skrocki, Brown, Dobbins and Scott give Wainwright four parts he can mix and match into big or small lineups. That foursome ought to help Richmond continue its showing from last season as the league's peskiest defensive unit.

TOUGH ENOUGH?..............................
Richmond has a nice trio of centers, but everything hinges on the return to health of Zwayer. If he's ready for a full season, he's a quality starting big man in the A-10, and backups Johnathan Collins (5.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Patrick O'Malley (3.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg) are solid depth. If Zwayer can't make it the whole season, a potential strength becomes a weakness for Richmond.

BOTTOM LINE..............................
Richmond is deep, athletic, big and defensively sound, and Wainwright is no slouch as a coach. He led UNC-Wilmington to the NCAA Tournament last season, and won 136 games over the past eight seasons there.