Game Thread - @ Loyola Sat Feb 28 4pm EST - CBS Sport Network

Ever hear anything remotely like this from CM?

“To embrace adversity and embrace the opportunity to play a tight game in the fourth quarter was huge,” Richmond coach Dan Chemotti said. “We kept telling them to run to the [challenge]. When things got tough, we told them, ‘We gotta run towards this…to the players credit, they listened and they did that.”
 
Mooney said we needed to shoot 3s better. We were 8-32. I love the 3 point shot, but that seems like a lot of attempted 3s against a 6 win team. But, Loyola was only 5-16 from 3. 3s did not cost us the game. 2s did. We were 9-25 from 2 ( my guess is way too many mid range 2s) and Loyola was 17-28 from 2.

But, I guess Mooney will ignore all that and just blame our 3 pt shooting.
 
Relying on the three-pointer to consistently win games alone is just a bad philosophy at this level. How many teams are good enough at that to win that way day in and day out -- especially when they intentionally de-emphasize offensive rebounds? It's just absurd. Not to mention the fact that Mooney's offense requires great shooting but we basically never have it.
 
For an offensive philosophy that is predicated on making a lot of 3’s, we have not recruited well enough to do that. We need a balanced attack. Shoot the 3, drive to the basket, make mid range jump shots if we need to. Makes it hard to scout and defend us. We were doing that at the beginning of the year, granted against easier competition. I was really hoping we would continue the crashing the boards, bully ball play that we were doing. Daughtry, Lopez, Beagle were great at it. Instead we reverted back to the norm but don’t have the personnel for it.
 
Well earlier in the year when moon was letting them rip the first open 3, we had like 4 to 5 guys shooting crazy high 3 pt %. Then coach tight sphincter showed back up. Or maybe it just worked better against +250 ranked teams, who knows.
 
A valiant effort to nearly come back and win the game in the face of so much adversity. We’re talking about a conference road game in a hostile environment, down a key player due to a season ending injury, and without another key piece because Coach Mooney chose to hold him accountable for being late for a team meeting. That is 15 points per game combined that we were missing. Rip on him all you want but you have to admire his standards. Twenty years in, the coach has earned the benefit of understanding the bigger picture. Protecting culture and discipline in February is more important than squeezing out one ugly win in March. You can’t preach accountability for two decades and suddenly ignore it because the opponent is in last place.

Was it a tough loss? Sure. But short-handed on the road, chemistry disrupted, and still competing isn’t some program collapse. Beyond that, many of you were hoping and praying for a loss anyway and then when you manifested it have proceeded to complain about said loss. Makes no sense to me.
 
SpiderTrue said:
A valiant effort to nearly come back and win the game in the face of so much adversity. We’re talking about a conference road game in a hostile environment, down a key player due to a season ending injury, and without another key piece because Coach Mooney chose to hold him accountable for being late for a team meeting. That is 15 points per game combined that we were missing. Rip on him all you want but you have to admire his standards. Twenty years in, the coach has earned the benefit of understanding the bigger picture. Protecting culture and discipline in February is more important than squeezing out one ugly win in March. You can’t preach accountability for two decades and suddenly ignore it because the opponent is in last place.

Was it a tough loss? Sure. But short-handed on the road, chemistry disrupted, and still competing isn’t some program collapse. Beyond that, many of you were hoping and praying for a loss anyway and then when you manifested it have proceeded to complain about said loss. Makes no sense to me.
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Go back to your mother’s basement snowflake
 
SpiderTrue said:
A valiant effort to nearly come back and win the game in the face of so much adversity. We’re talking about a conference road game in a hostile environment, down a key player due to a season ending injury, and without another key piece because Coach Mooney chose to hold him accountable for being late for a team meeting. That is 15 points per game combined that we were missing. Rip on him all you want but you have to admire his standards. Twenty years in, the coach has earned the benefit of understanding the bigger picture. Protecting culture and discipline in February is more important than squeezing out one ugly win in March. You can’t preach accountability for two decades and suddenly ignore it because the opponent is in last place.

Was it a tough loss? Sure. But short-handed on the road, chemistry disrupted, and still competing isn’t some program collapse. Beyond that, many of you were hoping and praying for a loss anyway and then when you manifested it have proceeded to complain about said loss. Makes no sense to me.
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🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
 
I asked Chat GPT whether it thinks Chris Mooney should come back as coach next year and here was its answer:

If we’re talking about Chris Mooney at University of Richmond, here’s where I land:

I would bring him back next season — but with real pressure attached.

Why?
  • He’s the winningest coach in program history.
  • He’s delivered the program’s highest highs (A-10 title, NCAA wins).
  • Richmond isn’t an NIL powerhouse, and stability matters more there than at a P5 school.

But here’s the flip side — and I think this is where your frustration probably lives:

  • The program often feels like it oscillates between “legit contender” and “why are we 7th in the A-10 again?”
  • The offense can get stagnant.
  • After two decades, it’s fair to ask whether the ceiling has been reached.

At a place like Richmond, firing a proven coach is risky. You’re more likely to downgrade than upgrade unless you absolutely nail the hire. That said, if next season looks like another middle-of-the-pack year with declining energy around the program, then I’d seriously consider making a move.

So my honest answer:

Yes for next year — but if there’s regression or stagnation, it’s time.
 
Spider17 said:
I asked Chat GPT whether it thinks Chris Mooney should come back as coach next year and here was its answer:

If we’re talking about Chris Mooney at University of Richmond, here’s where I land:

I would bring him back next season — but with real pressure attached.

Why?
  • He’s the winningest coach in program history.
  • He’s delivered the program’s highest highs (A-10 title, NCAA wins).
  • Richmond isn’t an NIL powerhouse, and stability matters more there than at a P5 school.

But here’s the flip side — and I think this is where your frustration probably lives:

  • The program often feels like it oscillates between “legit contender” and “why are we 7th in the A-10 again?”
  • The offense can get stagnant.
  • After two decades, it’s fair to ask whether the ceiling has been reached.

At a place like Richmond, firing a proven coach is risky. You’re more likely to downgrade than upgrade unless you absolutely nail the hire. That said, if next season looks like another middle-of-the-pack year with declining energy around the program, then I’d seriously consider making a move.

So my honest answer:

Yes for next year — but if there’s regression or stagnation, it’s time.
Click to expand...
Honestly if we didn’t give Mooney that extension in 2023-2024 (which I now absolutely will say was the wrong decision for Hardt) then I think this would be fair and would agree with ChatGPT. Next year would’ve been the last year on his contract and we try to give him one last push with good NIL and if it doesn’t work out, then his contract doesn’t renew and we move on. But because of that extension, we have to prolong this even longer where we might stumble into another lucky year in 2028-2029 and then we keep kicking the can down the road.
 
Spider17 said:
I would bring him back next season — but with real pressure attached.
Click to expand...
I asked Chat GPT what that pressure would like and this is what it’s said. Looks like Chat GPT has been reading the forum 🤣

Good question. When I say “real pressure attached” for Chris Mooney at University of Richmond, I mean specific, measurable expectations — not vague “do better” talk.

Here’s what that would look like:

1️⃣ Clear Win Threshold
  • 20+ wins minimum.
  • Top 4 finish in the Atlantic 10 (double-bye territory).
  • No more bottom-half league finishes
At Richmond, you don’t need to dominate every year — but you should consistently be in the top tier of the A-10.

2️⃣ Postseason Standard
  • At minimum: NIT-level season.
  • Real goal: NCAA bubble contention entering March.
Going 16–16 and saying “we were competitive” shouldn’t be acceptable at this stage of his tenure.

3️⃣ Offensive Identity Improvement

One of the biggest fan frustrations is stagnation. I’d expect:
  • More pace flexibility.
  • Better late-game offense.
  • Development of players who look clearly better year to year.
If the offense again ranks middle-to-bottom of the league in efficiency, that’s a red flag.

4️⃣ Recruiting / Portal Adaptation

College basketball is different now.
  • Can Richmond land impact portal guys?
  • Are they retaining key players?
  • Does the roster look modern and athletic enough?
You don’t need top-100 classes — but you can’t look slow and undersized every season.

5️⃣ Energy Around the Program

This matters.
  • Is attendance improving?
  • Is there buzz?
  • Do players look bought in?
After 20 years, staleness becomes a real thing.

The Bottom Line

The “pressure” wouldn’t be emotional — it would be structural:

If Richmond finishes middle-of-the-pack again with no postseason and no clear upward trajectory, then it’s time.

But if they’re top 4 in the A-10 and playing meaningful March games? Then you ride with him.
 
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