Chris Mooney inherited quite a challenge in his first year as head basketball coach at the University of Richmond. The Spiders had no returning guards and just two players who had averaged more than 15 minutes of action per game.

Injuries left Richmond with just seven scholarship players in uniform for the last half of the season, but the Spiders still won 13 games, blew out NCAA-bound Seton Hall, knocked off two of the top three Atlantic 10 teams (Charlotte and Saint Louis), and had two single-digit losses to nationally ranked opponents (No. 5 Louisville, and No. 22 Wake Forest).

The Spiders led the nation in fewest points allowed per game for most of the 2005-06 season and finished the year ranked seventh in the country, holding teams to 57.8 points per game.

Mooney's second year started off well (3-0), and ended with the Spiders winning two of their last three regular-season games, but with freshmen making up Richmond's top four scorers, the Spiders experienced growing pains.

Mooney will have a more experienced team in 2007-08. He will also have a strong crop of talented and noticeably athletic freshmen who will not be depended upon to step right in and play 30 minutes per games like last year's rookies. As Mooney enters his third year at Richmond, he has laid the groundwork to do what he has done at every stop in his playing and coaching career: Win.

Since high school Mooney has been a part of setting the school record for wins in a season as a player at Archbishop Catholic High, as a player at Princeton, as a coach at Lansdale Catholic High, as a coach at Beaver College and as a coach at Air Force.

Princeton's 20th all-time leading scorer, is the 13th head coach in Richmond men's basketball, and the youngest coach in the Atlantic 10 Conference at the age of 34. Mooney was hired as a Division I coach at the age of 31, taking over at Air Force after serving three years as an assistant coach and one year as an associate head coach on Joe Scott's staff.

The Falcons posted their second best all-time record (18-12) in Mooney's first year at the helm, while setting a program mark in three-pointers (266) and leading the nation for the third consecutive year in fewest points allowed per game (54.3). His 18 victories were the most by a first-year head at Air Force.

Under Mooney's direction, Air Force ranked second in Division I for fewest turnovers per game (9.8) and third in turnover margin (+6.6). That is a trend that has carried over to Richmond as the Spiders led the Atlantic 10 in fewest turnovers per game (11.06) in conference games in 2006-07. The Falcons, who received votes in the national polls, were one of only two Mountain West Conference teams with five all-conference honorees.

In his final season as Air Force's associate head coach, Mooney was instrumental in guiding the Falcons to their most successful season. The 2003-04 squad went 22-7, won the Mountain West Conference regular-season championship with a 12-2 mark, and earned the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 1962.

In conjunction with the on-court success, Mooney fostered strong relationships in the community. Air Force's home attendance increased every season Mooney spent in Colorado Springs, including an all-time high in 2004-05. The Falcons enjoyed a program-record 24-game home win streak during his last two seasons.

By fostering connections to Air Force alumni, Mooney helped build a network that enabled the Falcons to travel to Sweden and Denmark. He believes being a recognizable and active part of the community is essential, for his entire program.

During his playing days for Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril at Princeton, Mooney twice earned the B.F. Bunn Trophy, given annually to the varsity basketball student-athlete who, through sportsmanship, play and influence, contributed most to the sport at the school. He finished second for Ivy League Rookie of the Year as a freshman, honorable mention all-conference as a sophomore, First-Team All-Ivy League as a junior and Second-Team All-Ivy his final season.

A 1994 graduate with a B.A. in English, Mooney led Princeton to the NCAA Tournament twice following a pair of conference titles. The four-year letterwinner amassed 1,071 points, while starting all 107 games in his career. He currently ranks seventh with 142 career three-pointers and is one of five Princeton student-athletes to score 1,000 points, grab 350 rebounds and dish 200 assists.

Following his playing career, Mooney took over the reigns at Landsdale Catholic High School at the age of 22 and Division III Beaver College (now Arcadia University) at the age of 25. In his second year at Beaver College, Mooney led the team to a school-record 16 wins and a playoff berth in the conference tournament.

Mooney is married to the former Lia Chomat, a Princeton graduate who also has a doctorate in psychology from Penn.

What They're Saying About Chris Mooney
"Chris Mooney is one of the best young coaches in America. I'm extremely impressed with the job he did at Air Force. Not only is he a very good coach, but he's equally as good a person."
Utah Coach Ray Giacoletti

"Getting behind against Richmond was the worst possible scenario on a basketball court. You get behind on a team like them and it's an uphill battle all the way with the treadmill on level 10 in terms of the incline. It was very difficult to come back against them. We had a difficult time defending them...Forget about 24 hours, you need 24 days to prepare for them."
Louisville Coach Rick Pitino

"That offense is a pain-in-the-neck to play against and it will only get better. I know they will be much, much better."
Virginia Coach Dave Leitao

"Coach Mooney is one of the best young minds in the game."
Andy Katz, ESPN.com

"Chris is a bright guy who is a hard worker. Guys want to play for him because he is tough and personable. His offense is more open than the traditional Princeton style, more freedom and less restriction. He is a special guy. I'm sure he will be very good for Richmond."
Bill Carmody, Northwestern head coach

"I knew when he was playing for us at Princeton that Chris would be a coach someday. He loved to play and he knew how to play. He understood what it took to win. He understood the plan."
Joe Scott, Princeton head coach

"Chris Mooney's pedigree as a player at Princeton and his coaching background at Air Force are a great fit for the University of Richmond. Spider basketball teams will be well-coached by someone with great energy and integrity."
Fran Fraschilla, ESPN college basketball analyst

"Richmond went outside the box to hire Chris Mooney. At 32 years old and with only one year of experience as a Division I head coach, Mooney isn't the `safe' hire that other schools in Richmond's situation would have made. Mooney's hire is risky, dangerous. I love it. Hiring Mooney is a gamble on greatness."
Gregg Doyel, CBS Sportsline.com