Harper, Spiders fortifying for future

Sweaty Justin Harper yesterday left a 90-minute session in the Robins Center weight room holding a turkey sandwich in one hand and a protein shake in the other.

This snapshot reflects what Harper and the University of Richmond basketball program are about this offseason.

The 6-9 rising junior aims to get stronger and heavier. Harper, a graduate of Meadowbrook High, appears to be succeeding. His arms and chest are clearly thicker. When the Spiders last played, in a loss to Texas-El Paso in a March 25 College Basketball Invitational semifinal, Harper weighed 207 pounds. He now checks in at 225. Harper intends to gain another 5 before October.

UR coach Chris Mooney hopes other Spiders follow that example. "When we line up against Xavier, St. John's and Virginia Tech, we feel like we match up well in our speed, our talent, our skill," he said. "I think the one difference has been we haven't been as physically imposing. We've made a commitment as a program for everybody to get stronger.

"I think the guys have followed through and worked very hard to get our bodies up to that level."

Jason DeMayo, the UR basketball strength and conditioning coach, rates Harper "exceptional" in development this off-season. Team members lift weights four times a week. "Really all the guys have done well, but if Justin Harper is not first on the list, he's second," said DeMayo. Harper won't turn 20 until August. He may not be done growing.

UR needs fortified players to deal with upgraded opposition outside of Atlantic 10 Conference competition. Richmond in 2009-10 will face Florida, Wake Forest, Mississippi State and South Carolina. The Spiders, who may also meet Missouri, return four starters and 6-9 junior Dan Geriot. UR's leading scorer and rebounder two years ago, Geriot missed last season due to a knee injury.

Richmond went 20-16 without Geriot. But the Spiders finished 13th of 14 A-10 teams in rebounding margin (minus-4.7), ahead of only 3-25 Fordham. "For some players more than others, it's their duty in the offseason to get stronger and bigger," said Harper, who counts himself in that group. "We need to gain some size so we can deal with the pounding in our conference and some of these bigger teams we'll be playing."

As a sophomore, Harper (9.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg) periodically demonstrated that he deserves all-conference consideration. He scored 28 points vs. Rhode Island, 20 vs. Xavier. UR was 10-3 when he scored in double-figures. But there were games in which Harper was not a significant factor, and no Spider committed more fouls.

Former Richmond coach Dick Tarrant used to say "With the strength comes the confidence." Harper buys that. "The biggest step for me is to realize the size that I've gained and be able to use that out on the court," he said. "Know that when I'm attacking, I'll be able to use my body to draw fouls and be able to finish through the pounding from the bigger guys."

Contact John O'Connor at (804) 649-6233 or .