College Basketball: Richmond Spiders coach Chris Mooney to undergo heart surgery

Chris Mooney, longtime men's basketball coach of the Richmond Spiders, will miss rest of the season as he'll be undergoing a heart surgery, announced the college on Friday. The surgery is to remove an aneurysm in his ascending aorta. Mooney will be away for at least two months after the surgery to recover and assistant coach Peter Thomas, meanwhile, will be serving as the interim head coach for the time head coach is out. Mooney has been withRichmond since last 18 seasons and has led the team to three NCAA tournament appearances so far including the Atlantic 10 conference title last season.

Mooney thanked the Richmond and his staff in a statement for the support shown to him. "I want to thank Richmond Athletics leadership, my coaching staff, and our players for doing everything they can to make a difficult situation a little bit easier," he said. "I'm grateful to have a tremendous medical team to rely on, and I'm thankful to have the opportunity to fully focus on my health for the next few weeks. During that time, I'm confident that Peter Thomas, the rest of our coaches, and our players will rise to the challenge and have a successful end to the season," Mooney added.

The university also issued a statement, committing full support to their coach who took them to Sweet 16 in 2011. "The University of Richmond and Spider Athletics are committed to doing everything possible to support Chris on his path to a full recovery," John Hardt, Richmond athletic director, said. "Our main focus is ensuring that Chris has the time and space to prioritize his health and his family during this period. We look forward to having Chris back on campus leading Spider Basketball when he is fully recovered and ready to resume his duties," Hardt added.

In the current season, Richmond Spiders are 13-14 overall and 6-8 in the Atlantic 10 conference. The Spiders have four games left this season with a off this weekend and a road game in Saint Louis on next Tuesday.

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