2015–16 VMI Keydets basketball team

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 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.

2015–16 VMI Keydets basketball
ConferenceSouthern Conference
2015–16 record9–21 (4–14 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Steve Lepore (1st season)
  • Chris Kreider (1st season)
  • Jason Slay (1st season)
Home arenaCameron Hall
2015–16 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Chattanooga153 .833  296  .829
East Tennessee State144 .778  2412  .667
Furman117 .611  1916  .543
Wofford117 .611  1517  .469
Western Carolina108 .556  1618  .471
UNC Greensboro108 .556  1519  .441
Mercer810 .444  1915  .559
Samford414 .222  1419  .424
VMI414 .222  921  .300
The Citadel315 .167  1022  .313
2016 SoCon Tournament winner

Preseason

Departures

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

NamePositionClassReason
Niles TateSGFr.Left team
Craig HintonSFSo.Transfer
Tyrell MasonFSo.Left team
Brian BrownSGSr.Graduated
Christian BurtonPGSr.Graduated
Michael DonovanGSr.Graduated
Jarid WatsonCSr.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

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown 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 
Recruiting star ratings: 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 
Recruiting star ratings: 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 
Recruiting star ratings: 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:

  • "ESPN – VMI Basketball Recruiting 2015". ESPN.com. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 7 June 2014.

    Roster

    2015–16 VMI Keydets men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 0 Austin Vereen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrMaret School Washington, D.C.
    G 3 Adrian Rich 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
    FrFishburne Military Fuquay-Varina, NC
    C 5 Fred Iruafemi 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoMiddle Creek Apex, NC
    F 12 D'Andre Mahaffey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrCedar Shoals Athens, GA
    F 14 Will Weethee 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrEast Forsyth High School Greensboro, NC
    F 15 Trey Chapman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrWesleyan Christian Greensboro, NC
    F 21 Armani Branch 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)172 lb (78 kg) SoGenesis Academy Hampton, VA
    G 22 QJ Peterson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrHedgesville/Massanutten Hedgesville, WV
    G 23 Tim Marshall 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrLandstown Virginia Beach, VA
    F 32 Phillip Anglade 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrDavidson Day Long Island, NY
    G 35 Julian Eleby 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrVillage Christian/Fork Union Fayetteville, NC
    F 40 Jordan Weethee 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS SrHigh Point Christian Greensboro, NC
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)

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

    Depth chart

    Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
    PF Phillip Anglade Fred Iruafemi Armani Branch
    SF Trey Chapman Jordan Weethee D'Andre Mahaffey
    SG Tim Marshall
    SG QJ Peterson Austin Vereen
    PG Julian Eleby Adrian Rich

    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 No. 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. "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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