Richmond coach Chris Mooney: KU ‘every bit as good as advertised’

By Matt Tait     Dec 18, 2012

Box score

Nick Krug
Kansas center Jeff Withey deflects a shot by Richmond forward Derrick Williams during the second half on Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2012 at Allen Fieldhouse.

KU-Richmond

Following Saturday’s 19-point home victory over Stetson, Richmond men’s basketball coach Chris Mooney began scouting for Tuesday’s road game at Kansas University and was caught off guard by what he saw.

“I couldn’t believe they started four seniors,” Mooney said. “I don’t know of any other of the highest major teams that have so many senior players.”

Tuesday night, during an 87-59 drubbing at Allen Fieldhouse, Mooney and his team took a figurative punch from each of those KU seniors.

The biggest blows were thrown by center Jeff Withey, who dominated on both ends and finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in 26 minutes.

With just over five minutes remaining in the first half and the Jayhawks (9-1) in complete control, Withey caught the ball in the paint, rose for a shot, had the ball knocked away, tried to bat it in out of midair, corralled the miss, dropped it in and was fouled. The Spiders were helpless to stop any of it, and the dejected looks on the faces of all five Richmond players on the floor said it all.

“We knew that he would score tonight,” Mooney said of KU’s 7-foot center. “But he was able to score a little bit too easily on us.”

Withey’s old-fashioned three-point play pushed KU’s lead to 31-11 with 5:08 to play in the first half and was just one of more than a dozen moments in which he impacted the game. Most of Withey’s damage came in the first half, when he made five of seven shots and led both teams in points (11) and rebounds (eight). He finished 7-of-9 shooting and made three of the four free throws he attempted while adding two assists and two steals.

“He’s a great player,” Mooney said. “How much he’s improved over the course of his career, which has been well documented, is really impressive, and it’s a credit to him and the coaches and the program.”

The play of KU’s other seniors was more than enough to support Withey’s night, as point guard Elijah Johnson finished with eight points and seven assists, power forward Kevin Young added eight points and nine rebounds, and wing Travis Releford made all but one shot he took and finished with 11 points, two steals and two assists. All four played at or below their season average for minutes.

“I thought they were every bit as good as advertised,” Mooney said. “And we weren’t able to compete as well as we would’ve liked. … I’m most impressed with how they share the ball. This level of player and recruit and things like that, and to share the ball so well and so easily is really impressive.”

Although they acknowledged how talented and tough a team KU fielded, the Spiders (9-3) said they most regretted how they let the game get out of hand so quickly, a fate suffered by the Jayhawks’ last three opponents.

“Just to come out with more energy,” said Richmond guard Darien Brothers, asked what he would change if he could do it all again. “We let them get on a couple of runs in the beginning, and we let that get to us.”

Added Mooney: “We shot so poorly to start the game. I think it gave us a very difficult time, both defending them in transition and finding other ways to score. I wish we had done a little bit better.”

PREV POST

KU athletes play up spirit of giving

NEXT POST

41679Richmond coach Chris Mooney: KU ‘every bit as good as advertised’

Author Photo

Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.