Despite its tiny basketball stature, the city of Richmond is sending two teams to the Sweet 16

By Chris Wilder

Imagine a big city… a booming metropolis with no professional sports teams. What if there was no subway or El train? Well, then you’d be in Richmond, Virginia. I know, who would want to be there? Anybody who likes college basketball, that’s who.

Not known as a basketball hotbed, but known more for college football, Richmond has two teams traveling to the Sweet 16 this weekend and these teams are mid-majors, no less. The University of Richmond is a small, private school with a student body of around 3,000. It has nice, manicured lawns and old-style brick buildings. There is even a lake on campus. Tuition will hit moms and dads for around $50,000 a year.

The Spiders had a surprising season, beating Dayton to win the Atlantic 10 Tournament, despite the presence of powerhouses Temple and Xavier. They finished third in the A-10’s regular season by running their version of the Princeton offense put in place by coach Chris Mooney, who was a four-year starter at Princeton under Pete Carril.

The 6-foot-10 Richmond native, Justin Harper, a senior, is the team’s leading scorer and rebounder; he is expected to be in the NBA Draft. His 13 points helped the Spiders upset Vanderbilt in the second round and then he dropped 19 with six boards against Morehead State to make it into the Sweet 16.

Five miles down the road is Virginia Commonwealth University, a public university with around 20,000 students and a more diverse population. Its campus is considerably more urban, with more concrete than Richmond, and a large commuter population. On the court, though, VCU, which will participate in the 2011 Charleston Classic beginning Nov. 17 at Carolina First Arena in Charleston, S.C., will try to run you out of the gym. Their up-tempo style keeps the ball moving and opposing defenses scrambling. On D, they get at you full court.

The Rams come at you with their “Big Two”: Jamie Skeen is a 6-9 forward out of Charlotte, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding; Bradford Burgess is a 6-6 guard who is second on the team in scoring and rebounding. If the plan is to beat the Rams, slow one of these two.

Off the court, Richmond, founded in 1830, has made it a priority to diversify its student body. VCU, meanwhile, founded in 1968, has been progressive on those fronts, providing affordable schooling for many of the Blacks in Richmond who could not attend college before desegregation.

Different schools … different styles on the court … both underdogs headed to San Antonio in search of an NCAA Championship. VCU is an 11-seed and Richmond is a 12. If VCU is able to get past Florida State, a 10-seed, and Richmond can get past the mighty Kansas, the two Virginia schools would meet on Sunday. That would be a tall order; Richmond last won an NCAA tournament game in 1998, and VCU won one in 2007.

But if these two schools were to meet on Sunday, you can bet that the atmosphere in town would be off the chain.

Veteran sportswriter Chris Wilder is president of Southside Media, a content provider.