March 10, 2008

ATLANTIC 10 ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Richmond freshman Kevin Anderson was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year and Dan Geriot was the only sophomore selected on the all-conference teams, earning a spot on the All-Atlantic 10 third team in voting conducted among the conference's 14 head coaches.

Only four players in Atlantic 10 history earned conference Rookie of the Week honors more than the six times Anderson received the award, all coming in the last eight weeks. Anderson is third on the Spiders in scoring, averaging 10.5 points per game and has scored at least 20 points twice in conference play.

"It was well deserved, he played very good basketball throughout year," Richmond head coach Chris Mooney said. "He was certainly asked to do a lot and was able to answer. I'm more excited about his future and how good he can be. He has a taste now, first of how hard college basketball is, and of having some success. He's really going to be a special player.

The Duluth, Ga. native leads the team and is 15th in the conference in assists (3.03 apg), and leads the team and is second in the conference in steals (1.79 spg). Anderson is fifth in the Atlantic 10 in minutes played at 34.8 per game. He is 10th in the league in assist/turnover ratio at 1.40.

"It's going to be a great thing to look back on, but I'm not trying to focus on it now because we have bigger goals to focus on," Anderson said. "I wasn't thinking of getting Rookie of the Year at the beginning of the year, I wasn't even thinking about getting rookie of the week, I wasn't thinking about anything like that. I was just hoping to get in and do my part and help this team win."

Anderson, who was the first Spider to earn conference Rookie of the Year honors since Charles Stephens received the CAA Rookie of the Year in 1999, was also named to the Atlantic 10's All-Rookie Team. He becomes the third Spider to earn a spot on the All-Rookie Team, including the second in as many years. Current senior Gaston Moliva earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team in 2003, while Geriot was named All-Rookie last season.

"With 14 teams it's hard to get any honors in this league," Mooney said. "To be the top freshman in the league is pretty significant."

Geriot is the only sophomore to earn Atlantic 10 All-Conference honors, earning a spot on the third team. The Springfield, Pa. native leads the Spiders in scoring and is 15th in the conference at 14.2 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounding (5.6 rpg), is eighth in the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage (.469) and 13th in the conference in free throw percentage (.762).

"Again, with 14 teams in the league to be picked as one of the top-15 players in the league is quite an accomplishment," Mooney said. "Dan really worked hard in the offseason on getting stronger. He has clearly established himself as one of the best centers in the Atlantic 10 as just a sophomore. With hard work, we expect Dan to continue to improve over the two more seasons he has at Richmond."

Geriot and Anderson helped lead the Spiders to a 16-13 regular-season record and a 9-7 mark in conference play. Richmond finished fourth in the Atlantic 10, equaling the best finish in seven seasons in the conference.

The Spiders have a bye in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament and play on Thursday against the winner of fifth-seeded Saint Joseph's and 12th-seeded Fordham. The Atlantic 10 Tournament first round is Monday at Boardwalk Hall.