2017–18 VMI Keydets basketball team

The 2017–18 VMI Keydets basketball team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Keydets were led by third-year head coach Dan Earl and played their home games out of Cameron Hall in Lexington, Virginia, their home since 1981, as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 9–21, 4–14 in SoCon play to finish in ninth place. They lost in the first round of the SoCon Tournament to The Citadel.

2017–18 VMI Keydets basketball
ConferenceSouthern Conference
2017–18 record9–21 (4–14 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Steve Lepore (3rd season)
  • Austin Kenon (1st season)
  • Kevin Carroll (1st season)
Home arenaCameron Hall
2017–18 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
UNC Greensboro153 .833  278  .771
East Tennessee State144 .778  259  .735
Furman135 .722  2310  .697
Mercer117 .611  1915  .559
Wofford117 .611  2113  .618
Western Carolina810 .444  1319  .406
Samford612 .333  1022  .313
The Citadel513 .278  1121  .344
VMI414 .222  921  .300
Chattanooga315 .167  1023  .303
2018 SoCon Tournament winner

Previous season

The Keydets finished the 2016–17 season with an overall record of 6–24, and a 3–15 mark in SoCon play to finish in last place.[1] They lost in the first round of the SoCon Tournament to Samford.[2][3] They lost their three leading scorers and rebounders in QJ Peterson, Julian Eleby, and Trey Chapman.

Preseason

Departures

VMI experienced noticeable roster turnover from the previous year, losing their three starting seniors as well as several other players to transfer. This included the Keydets' leading scorer and rebounder, QJ Peterson, who averaged nearly 20 points per game.[4] Overall, VMI lost 71% of their point production, over half of their rebounding, and 63% of their assists to either graduation or transfer.

NamePositionClassReason
Chuchu EnechionyiaG/FFr.Transferred to Lincoln Trail College (NJCAA)
Kuony DengFFr.Transferred to Independence Community College
Marcus LarssonGFr.Transferred to West Virginia Wesleyan
Adrian RichGSo.Left school
Will WeetheeGSo.Left team
D'Andre MahaffeyFSo.Transferred to Talladega College (NAIA)
Trey ChapmanFSr.Graduated
QJ PetersonGSr.Graduated
Julian ElebyGSr.Graduated

Coaching changes

The offseason saw the departure of two VMI assistant coaches. On April 7, 2017, Rice head coach Scott Pera announced the hiring of Chris Kreider as an assistant coach.[5] Kreider had been with the Keydets for the previous two seasons under head coach Dan Earl. Five days later, on April 12, 2017, it was announced that Jason Slay, who had also been in his second year with the program, was given an assistant coaching position at Youngstown State.[6]

In May, Earl announced the hiring of VMI basketball standout Austin Kenon as an assistant.[7] Kenon played for VMI and ranks first in program history with 349 made three-pointers. Also that month, Earl added Kevin Carroll to the coaching staff, who had previously been the head coach at Division II Maryville University for seven seasons.

Roster

2017–18 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) JrMaret School Washington, D.C.
G 1 Keith Smith 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoSan Ramon Valley Danville, California
G 2 Garrett Gilkeson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoParkersburg South Parkersburg, West Virginia
C 4 Fred Iruafemi 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg) SrMiddle Creek Raleigh, North Carolina
F 10 Armani Branch  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) SrGenesis Academy Hampton, Virginia
F 25 Tyler Creammer 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)245 lb (111 kg) SoMiller School Parkton, North Carolina
G 12 Ta'Vonne Bond 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)183 lb (83 kg) FrMount Zion Christian Academy Columbia, South Carolina
G 24 Will Miller 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoHalifax County South Boston, Virginia
F 3 Tragen Fahl 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrAtlantic Shores Christian Virginia Beach, Virginia
G 15 Myles Lewis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)181 lb (82 kg) FrVictory Rock Prep Ashburn, Virginia
G 23 Bubba Parham 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)155 lb (70 kg) FrBrookwood Snellville, Georgia
G 5 Greg Parham 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)160 lb (73 kg) FrMonacan Snellville, Georgia
G 31 Sarju Patel 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrHargrave Daleville, Virginia
G 11 Jordan Ratliffe 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)188 lb (85 kg) FrVillage Christian Gibson, North Carolina
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Ref:[8]

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Tyler Creammer Fred Iruafemi
G/F Austin Vereen Will Miller Tragen Fahl
SF Garrett Gilkeson Sarju Patel Myles Lewis
SG Bubba Parham Jordan Ratliffe Ta'Vonne Bond
PG Keith Smith Greg Parham

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2017*
7:00 pm, ACCN Extra
at N.C. State L 67–102  0–1
PNC Arena (14,805)
Raleigh, NC
November 14*
7:00 pm
at Duquesne L 61–77  0–2
A.J. Palumbo Center (1,307)
Pittsburgh, PA
November 18*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Presbyterian W 78–58  1–2
Cameron Hall (765)
Lexington, VA
November 21*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Ohio Valley W 81–66  2–2
Cameron Hall (765)
Lexington, VA
November 25*
4:00 pm
American L 64–69  2–3
Bender Arena (422)
Washington, DC
November 28*
7:30 pm
at Charleston Southern W 76–68  3–3
CSU Field House (881)
North Charleston, SC
December 2*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Radford L 50–63  3–4
Cameron Hall (2,681)
Lexington, VA
December 5*
7:00 pm
at Davidson L 51–74  3–5
John M. Belk Arena 
Davidson, NC
December 9*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Longwood W 81–70  4–5
Cameron Hall (2,642)
Lexington, VA
December 14*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Southern Wesleyan W 90–52  5–5
Cameron Hall (661)
Lexington, VA
December 22*
7:00 pm, CBS6
at VCU L 65–75  5–6
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
Southern Conference regular season
December 30
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Furman L 57–87  5–7
(0–1)
Cameron Hall (637)
Lexington, VA
January 4, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Wofford L 53–92  5–8
(0–2)
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,879)
Spartanburg, SC
January 6
1:00 pm, ESPN3
UNC Greensboro L 61–63  5–9
(0–3)
Cameron Hall (571)
Lexington, VA
January 13
4:00 pm
at East Tennessee State L 48–89  5–10
(0–4)
Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,218)
Johnson City, TN
January 15
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Western Carolina L 58–65  5–11
(0–5)
Ramsey Center (1,420)
Cullowhee, NC
January 18
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Mercer L 56–62  5–12
(0–6)
Cameron Hall (961)
Lexington, VA
January 20
1:00 pm, ESPN3
The Citadel W 88–81  6–12
(1–6)
Cameron Hall (3,500)
Lexington, VA
January 24
7:00 pm
Wofford L 46–63  6–13
(1–7)
Cameron Hall (882)
Lexington, VA
January 27
5:00 pm, ESPN3
at Chattanooga W 70–69  7–13
(2–7)
McKenzie Arena (4,778)
Chattanooga, TN
January 29
8:00 pm
at Samford L 79–93  7–14
(2–8)
Pete Hanna Center (1,006)
Homewood, AL
February 1
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at UNC Greensboro L 51–73  7–15
(2–9)
Greensboro Coliseum (2,572)
Greensboro, NC
February 8
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Western Carolina L 60–72  7–16
(2–10)
Cameron Hall (1,043)
Lexington, VA
February 10
1:00 pm, ESPN3
East Tennessee State L 56–70  7–17
(2–11)
Cameron Hall (3,253)
Lexington, VA
February 15
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Mercer L 58–82  7–18
(2–12)
Hawkins Arena (2,702)
Macon, GA
February 17
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at The Citadel W 75–71  8–18
(3–12)
McAlister Field House (3,213)
Charleston, SC
February 20
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Furman L 54–76  8–19
(3–13)
Timmons Arena (1,403)
Greenville, SC
February 23
7:00 pm
Samford L 82–89  8–20
(3–14)
Cameron Hall (2,899)
Lexington, VA
February 25
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Chattanooga W 68–65  9–20
(4–14)
Cameron Hall (1,147)
Lexington, VA
Southern Conference tournament
March 2
5:00 pm, ESPN3
(9) vs. (8) The Citadel
First round
L 70–78  9–21
U.S. Cellular Center (2,138)
Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time
Source[9].

References

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