2015–16 VMI Keydets basketball team

2015–16 VMI Keydets men's basketball
Conference Southern Conference
2015–16 record 9–21 (4–14 SoCon)
Head coach Dan Earl (1st year)
Assistant coach Steve Lepore (1st year)
Assistant coach Chris Kreider (1st year)
Assistant coach Jason Slay (1st year)
Home arena Cameron Hall
2015–16 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
Chattanooga 15 3   .833     29 5   .853
East Tennessee State 14 4   .778     23 11   .676
Furman 11 7   .611     18 15   .545
Wofford 11 7   .611     15 17   .469
Western Carolina 10 8   .556     16 17   .485
UNC Greensboro 10 8   .556     14 18   .438
Mercer 8 10   .444     19 14   .576
Samford 4 14   .222     14 19   .424
VMI 4 14   .222     9 21   .300
The Citadel 3 15   .167     10 22   .313
2016 SoCon Tournament winner
As of March 8, 2016; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015–16 VMI Keydets basketball team represented Virginia Military Institute in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Keydets were led by first-year head coach Dan Earl and played their home games out of Cameron Hall, their home since 1981. Earl replaced Duggar Baucom, who departed for military rival The Citadel in March of 2015. The Keydets played as a member of the Southern Conference for the second consecutive year, having been in the Big South Conference from 2003 to 2014. Prior to that, VMI was a member of the SoCon for nearly eighty years. They finished the season 9–21, 4–14 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost in the first round of the SoCon Tournament to Samford.

Preseason

Departures

In addition to four seniors, VMI also lost sophomore forward Craig Hinton to transfer.

Name Position Class Reason
Tate, NilesNiles Tate SG Fr. Left team
Hinton, CraigCraig Hinton SF So. Transfer
Mason, TyrellTyrell Mason F So. Left team
Brown, BrianBrian Brown SG Sr. Graduated
Burton, ChristianChristian Burton PG Sr. Graduated
Donovan, MichaelMichael Donovan G Sr. Graduated
Watson, JaridJarid Watson C Sr. Graduated

Coaching Changes

In addition to the departure of Baucom, VMI assistant coaches Daniel Willis and Ryan Mattocks also left for The Citadel.[1] Willis came to VMI in 2005 along with Baucom, and Mattocks was hired prior to the 2012–13 season. Additionally, the contract of assistant coach Ben Thompson, who was in his first season with the program, was not renewed.

In May, Earl announced three hires to the coaching staff: Steve Lepore, Chris Kreider, and Jason Slay.[2] Lepore came from Hargrave Military Academy and played college basketball at Wake Forest where he graduated in 2003.[2] Kreider most recently served as an assistant coach at George Mason for four seasons, and also worked with former Southern Conference member Georgia Southern for two years. Slay had been an assistant at SoCon rival East Tennessee State the past two seasons, and played collegiately at West Virginia State.[2]

Recruiting

Name Home town High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Austin Vereen
SG
Washington, D.C. Maret School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Nov 16, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
D'Andre Mahaffey
SF
Athens, GA Cedar Shoals High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sep 21, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Adrian Rich
PG
Fuquay-Varina, NC Fishburne Military School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A May 6, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2015–16 VMI Keydets men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Vereen, AustinAustin Vereen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Maret School Washington, D.C.
G 3 Rich, AdrianAdrian Rich 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Fr Fishburne Military Fuquay-Varina, NC
C 5 Iruafemi, FredFred Iruafemi 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Middle Creek Apex, NC
F 12 Mahaffey, D'AndreD'Andre Mahaffey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Cedar Shoals Athens, GA
F 14 Weethee, WillWill Weethee 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr East Forsyth High School Greensboro, NC
F 15 Chapman, TreyTrey Chapman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Wesleyan Christian Greensboro, NC
F 21 Branch, ArmaniArmani Branch 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 172 lb (78 kg) So Genesis Academy Hampton, VA
G 22 Peterson, QJQJ Peterson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Hedgesville/Massanutten Hedgesville, WV
G 23 Marshall, TimTim Marshall 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Landstown Virginia Beach, VA
F 32 Anglade, PhillipPhillip Anglade 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Davidson Day Long Island, NY
G 35 Eleby, JulianJulian Eleby 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Village Christian/Fork Union Fayetteville, NC
F 40 Weethee, JordanJordan Weethee 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr High Point Christian Greensboro, NC
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule

Date
Time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Regular season

November 14*
1:00 pm

 

at Penn State L 50–62  0–1
Bryce Jordan Center (5,959)
University Park, PA

November 17*
7:30 pm

 

Tusculum W 88–76  1–1
Cameron Hall (914)
Lexington, VA

November 21*
7:00 pm, ESPN3

 

at Virginia Tech L 52–76  1–2
Cassell Coliseum (5,644)
Blacksburg, VA

November 24*
7:00 pm

 

Presbyterian W 76–61  2–2
Cameron Hall (1,010)
Lexington, VA

November 30*
7:00 pm

 

at Campbell L 65–66  2–3
Gore Arena (1,440)
Buies Creek, NC

December 2*
7:00 pm

 

Central Penn W 107–72  3–3
Cameron Hall (1,043)
Lexington, VA

December 5*
4:30 pm, BTN

 

at Ohio State L 62–80  3–4
Value City Arena (12,132)
Columbus, OH

December 7*
7:00 pm, FSN

 

at #18 Butler L 66–93  3–5
Hinkle Fieldhouse (6,202)
Indianapolis, IN

December 12*
1:00 pm

 

Navy L 62–68  3–6
Cameron Hall (3,124)
Lexington, VA

December 21*
7:00 pm

 

at Gardner–Webb W 76–75  4–6
Paul Porter Arena (781)
Boiling Springs, NC

December 30*
7:00 pm

 

Bridgewater W 72–37  5–6
Cameron Hall (1,171)
Lexington, VA

January 2
4:00 pm, ESPN3

 

at Furman L 57–85  5–7
(0–1)
Timmons Arena (1,421)
Greenville, SC

January 5
7:00 pm, ESPN3

 

Wofford L 61–65  5–8
(0–2)
Cameron Hall (985)
Lexington, VA

January 9
4:30 pm

 

at Western Carolina L 52–73  5–9
(0–3)
Ramsey Center (1,844)
Cullowhee, NC

January 11
7:00 pm, ESPN3

 

at East Tennessee State L 51–88  5–10
(0–4)
Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,416)
Johnson City, TN

January 17
1:00 pm, ESPN3

 

at UNC Greensboro L 68–85  5–11
(0–5)
Greensboro Coliseum (1,381)
Greensboro, NC

January 21
7:00 pm, ESPN3

 

Samford W 83–76  6–11
(1–5)
Cameron Hall (1,189)
Lexington, VA

January 25
7:00 pm, ESPN3

 

Furman L 56–68  6–12
(1–6)
Cameron Hall (1,185)
Lexington, VA

January 28
7:00 pm, ESPN3

 

at Mercer L 58–73  6–13
(1–7)
Hawkins Arena (2,693)
Macon, GA

January 30
1:00 pm, ESPN3

 

at The Citadel L 75–78  6–14
(1–8)
McAlister Field House (3,535)
Charleston, SC

February 4
7:00 pm, ESPN3

 

East Tennessee State L 60–71  6–15
(1–9)
Cameron Hall (1,178)
Lexington, VA

February 6
1:00 pm, ESPN3

 

Western Carolina L 60–69  6–16
(1–10)
Cameron Hall (2,379)
Lexington, VA

February 8
7:00 pm

 

at Wofford L 60–92  6–17
(1–11)
Benjamin Johnson Arena (1,129)
Spartanburg, SC

February 11
7:00 pm, ESPN3

 

UNC Greensboro W 86–72  7–17
(2–11)
Cameron Hall (1,134)
Lexington, VA

February 18
7:00 pm

 

at Chattanooga L 59–85  7–18
(2–12)
McKenzie Arena (3,589)
Chattanooga, TN

February 20
3:00 pm, ESPN3

 

at Samford L 67–73  7–19
(2–13)
Pete Hanna Center (1,332)
Homewood, AL

February 25
7:00 pm, ESPN3

 

Mercer W 91–82  8–19
(3–13)
Cameron Hall (1,194)
Lexington, VA

February 27
1:00 pm, ESPN3

 

The Citadel W 111–95  9–19
(4–13)
Cameron Hall (3,327)
Lexington, VA

February 29
7:00 pm, ESPN3

 

Chattanooga
Postponed from 1/23/16
L 65–67  9–20
(4–14)
Cameron Hall (1,211)
Lexington, VA
SoCon Tournament

March 5
5:00 pm, ESPN3

 

vs. Samford
First round
L 85–92 OT 9–21
U.S. Cellular Center (2,411)
Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[3]

References

  1. "Baucom Announces Assistant Coaches on Citadel Staff". CitadelSports.com. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Earl Adds Three to Basketball Coaching Staff". VMIKeydets.com. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  3. 2015–16 VMI Basketball Schedule
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