We are still a couple of months away from the tip-off of the college basketball season this fall, which means that we have plenty of time to start preparing for the action ahead. We will do so via a series of season previews featuring the best players/coaches in the country. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Richmond F Matt Grace, who talked about making the NCAA tourney last March and his expectations for this season.
You were born/raised in Canada: how did you 1st get into basketball, and what made you choose Richmond? I got into basketball through my dad, who was a great player back in the day and was also my coach. I played hockey as well…until I got too tall! Richmond recruited me pretty hard during my final year of high school. It is a great academic school and fits my style of play.
You play for Coach Chris Mooney: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? Just his knowledge of the game. He played at Princeton and our Princeton offense has evolved into what it is today. He has been here for 18 years, which is pretty incredible considering all of the turnover in the profession.
In the 2022 A-10 tourney title game your only 3 PTS of the game happened to be the title-clinching 3-PT play with 19 seconds left to beat Davidson: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? I think it is definitely at the top of the list. It was incredible to win a conference championship and make the NCAA tourney.
In the 2022 NCAA tourney you blocked Kris Murray’s 3-PT attempt with 1 minute left that would have tied the game in a 4-PT win over Iowa: I know it is too late to change anything…but did you foul him? No comment!
You are majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance and Marketing: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? It takes a lot of time management skills that I have picked up over the years. I graduated with that degree and this year I have an internship as an investment analyst during the day while taking data analytics classes at night.
You graduated 3 senior starters last spring (Grant Golden/Jacob Gilyard/Nathan Cayo): how will you try to replace all of that offense/leadership? It was tough to lose all of those great players but we have some exciting guys coming in this year, including several transfer players and young guys who finally have a chance to step up. I am excited by all of our newcomers.
1 of those newcomers is Jason Roche, who transferred from the Citadel after being named SoCon ROY last spring: do you expect him to come in and contribute right from the start? I think so: his shooting ability is insane, including some shots that he has made over me. He will definitely help us out.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Syracuse/Clemson and perhaps St. John’s: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? That Syracuse game in Brooklyn will be good because it is a historic program with a great coach in Jim Boeheim. We have had problems in the past going against zone defenses so we will have to prepare for their 2-3 zone.
Your father Kelly played college basketball and your brother Mike plays college lacrosse: who is the best athlete in the family? My brother is a really good lacrosse player and is on the Canadian national team: maybe it is a tie between him and I?
What are your goals for this season, and what are your expectations for this season? The goal is to repeat: it will be tough with all of the new guys but I am confident that we are capable of doing that. Once the young guys learn our style then they will be ready to play: we want to make it back to the NCAA tourney.