Daon Merritt’s arrival at Richmond was met with a lot of fanfare, as the faithful eagerly anticipated the impact the highly-touted point guard would have on the Spiders’ program.

“I was supposed to be some kind of savior,” said the former St. Raymond’s star. “They treated me like I was a phenomenon.”

Merritt kind of expected that reaction.

“They had all heard about me being this flashy point guard from New York City and they thought I could do anything,” said Merritt, who returned to his former stomping ground with Richmond as the team prepared to face Manhattan (3-2) after the Texas-Duke noon opener today at the Garden, where he’ll play in front of about 40 friends and family members.