2015–16 VMI Keydets basketball team

American college basketball season

2015–16 VMI Keydets basketball

Conference| Southern Conference
Record| 9–21 (4–14 SoCon)
Head coach|

* Dan Earl (1st season)

Assistant coaches|

* Steve Lepore (1st season)
* Chris Kreider (1st season)
* Jason Slay (1st season)

Home arena| Cameron Hall

Seasons

<- 2014–15

2016–17 ->

2015–16 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | PCT |  |  | W |  | L |  | PCT
Chattanooga † | 15 | - | 3 |  | .833 |  |  | 29 | - | 6  |  | .829
East Tennessee State | 14 | - | 4 |  | .778 |  |  | 24 | - | 12  |  | .667
Furman | 11 | - | 7 |  | .611 |  |  | 19 | - | 16  |  | .543
Wofford | 11 | - | 7 |  | .611 |  |  | 15 | - | 17  |  | .469
Western Carolina | 10 | - | 8 |  | .556 |  |  | 16 | - | 18  |  | .471
UNC Greensboro | 10 | - | 8 |  | .556 |  |  | 15 | - | 19  |  | .441
Mercer | 8 | - | 10 |  | .444 |  |  | 19 | - | 15  |  | .559
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

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.

## Preseason[edit]

### Departures[edit]

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

Name | Position | Class | Reason

|
|
|

Niles Tate | SG | Fr. | Left team
Craig Hinton | SF | So. | Transfer
Tyrell Mason | F | So. | Left team
Brian Brown | SG | Sr. | Graduated
Christian Burton | PG | Sr. | Graduated
Michael Donovan | G | Sr. | Graduated
Jarid Watson | C | Sr. | Graduated

### Coaching changes[edit]

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[edit]

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 June 7, 2014.
*   * "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 7, 2014.

## Roster[edit]

2015–16 VMI Keydets men's basketball team

Players | Coaches
| Pos. | # | Name | Height | Weight | Year | Previous school | Hometown

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

G | 0  | Austin Vereen | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Fr | Maret School | Washington, D.C.
G | 3  | Adrian Rich | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |

| Fr | Fishburne Military | Fuquay-Varina, NC
C | 5  | Fred Iruafemi | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | So | Middle Creek | Apex, NC
F | 12  | D'Andre Mahaffey | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Fr | Cedar Shoals | Athens, GA
F | 14  | Will Weethee | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Fr | East Forsyth High School | Greensboro, NC
F | 15  | Trey Chapman | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jr | Wesleyan Christian | Greensboro, NC
F | 21  | Armani Branch | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 172 lb (78 kg) | So | Genesis Academy | Hampton, VA
G | 22  | QJ Peterson | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jr | Hedgesville/Massanutten | Hedgesville, WV
G | 23  | Tim Marshall | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sr | Landstown | Virginia Beach, VA
F | 32  | Phillip Anglade | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sr | Davidson Day | Long Island, NY
G | 35  | Julian Eleby | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jr | Village Christian/Fork Union | Fayetteville, NC
F | 40  | Jordan Weethee | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | RS Sr | High Point Christian | Greensboro, NC

Head coach

* Dan Earl (Penn State '97)

Assistant coach(es)

* Steve Lepore (Wake Forest '03)
* Chris Kreider (Lebanon Valley '03)
* Jason Slay (West Va. State '08)

* * *

Legend

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

* Injured
* Current redshirt

### Depth chart[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

* v
* t
* e

VMI Keydets basketball

Venues|

* Cormack Field House (1930s–1981)
* Cameron Hall (1981–present)

Culture & lore|

* All-Military Classic
* Brother Rat
* Brother Rat and a Baby

People|

* Head coaches

Seasons|

* 1908–09
* 1909–10
* 1910–11
* 1911–12
* 1912–13
* 1913–14
* 1914–15
* 1915–16
* 1916–17
* 1917–18
* 1918–19
* 1919–20
* 1920–21
* 1921–22
* 1922–23
* 1923–24
* 1924–25
* 1925–26
* 1926–27
* 1927–28
* 1928–29
* 1929–30
* 1930–31
* 1931–32
* 1932–33
* 1933–34
* 1934–35
* 1935–36
* 1936–37
* 1937–38
* 1938–39
* 1939–40
* 1940–41
* 1941–42
* 1942–43
* 1943–44
* 1944–45
* 1945–46
* 1946–47
* 1947–48
* 1948–49
* 1949–50
* 1950–51
* 1951–52
* 1952–53
* 1953–54
* 1954–55
* 1955–56
* 1956–57
* 1957–58
* 1958–59
* 1959–60
* 1960–61
* 1961–62
* 1962–63
* 1963–64
* 1964–65
* 1965–66
* 1966–67
* 1967–68
* 1968–69
* 1969–70
* 1970–71
* 1971–72
* 1972–73
* 1973–74
* 1974–75
* 1975–76
* 1976–77
* 1977–78
* 1978–79
* 1979–80
* 1980–81
* 1981–82
* 1982–83
* 1983–84
* 1984–85
* 1985–86
* 1986–87
* 1987–88
* 1988–89
* 1989–90
* 1990–91
* 1991–92
* 1992–93
* 1993–94
* 1994–95
* 1995–96
* 1996–97
* 1997–98
* 1998–99
* 1999–2000
* 2000–01
* 2001–02
* 2002–03
* 2003–04
* 2004–05
* 2005–06
* 2006–07
* 2007–08
* 2008–09
* 2009–10
* 2010–11
* 2011–12
* 2012–13
* 2013–14
* 2014–15
* 2015–16
* 2016–17
* 2017–18
* 2018–19
* 2019–20
* 2020–21
* 2021–22
* 2022–23
* 2023–24

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[PCT]: Winning percentage