2016–17 VMI Keydets basketball team

The 2016–17 VMI Keydets basketball team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Keydets were led by second-year head coach Dan Earl and played their home games out of Cameron Hall in Lexington, Virginia, their home since 1981. The Keydets played as a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 6–24, 3–15 in SoCon play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the SoCon tournament to Samford.

2016–17 VMI Keydets basketball
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	6–24 (3–15 SoCon)
Head coach	Dan Earl (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Steve Lepore (2nd season) Chris Kreider (2nd season) Jason Slay (2nd season)
Home arena	Cameron Hall
Seasons ← 2015–16 2017–18 →

2016–17 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East Tennessee State †	14	–	4		.778			27	–	8		.771
UNC Greensboro	14	–	4		.778			25	–	10		.714
Furman	14	–	4		.778			23	–	12		.657
Chattanooga	10	–	8		.556			19	–	12		.613
Wofford	10	–	8		.556			16	–	17		.485
Mercer	9	–	9		.500			15	–	17		.469
Samford	8	–	10		.444			20	–	16		.556
The Citadel	4	–	14		.222			12	–	21		.364
Western Carolina	4	–	14		.222			9	–	23		.281
VMI	3	–	15		.167			6	–	24		.200
† 2017 SoCon Tournament winner

Previous season

The Keydets finished the 2015–16 season with an overall record 9–21, and a 4–14 mark 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

VMI lost only three seniors from the previous season.

Name	Position	Class	Reason
Tim Marshall	SG	Sr.	Graduated
Phillip Anglade	F	Sr.	Graduated
Jordan Weethee	F	Sr.	Graduated

Recruiting

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Tyler Creammer C	Parkton, NC	The Miller School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Oct 17, 2015
	Recruit ratings: ESPN:
Will Miller SF	South Boston, VA	Halifax County High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Nov 11, 2015
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Chuchu Enechionyia SG	Lorton, VA	South County High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Apr 14, 2016
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Garrett Gilkeson SG	Parkersburg, WV	Parkersburg South High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Apr 14, 2016
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Keith Smith PG	Danville, CA	Montverde Academy	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Apr 14, 2016
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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 2016". ESPN. Retrieved March 6, 2018. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved March 6, 2018.

Roster

2016–17 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) So Maret School Washington, D.C. G 1 Keith Smith 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr San Ramon Valley Danville, California G 2 Garrett Gilkeson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Parkersburg South Parkersburg, West Virginia G 3 Adrian Rich 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Fishburne Military Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina G/F 3 Chuchu Enechionyia 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr South County Springfield, Virginia C 5 Fred Iruafemi 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Middle Creek Raleigh, North Carolina F 12 D'Andre Mahaffey 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Cedar Shoals Athens, Georgia F 14 Will Weethee 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So East Forsyth High School Greensboro, North Carolina F 15 Trey Chapman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Wesleyan Christian Greensboro, North Carolina G 20 Marcus Larsson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Fork Union Freemont, California F 21 Armani Branch 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Genesis Academy Hampton, Virginia G 22 QJ Peterson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Hedgesville/Massanutten Hedgesville, West Virginia G 24 Will Miller 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Halifax County South Boston, Virginia F 25 Tyler Creammer 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr Miller School Parkton, North Carolina G 35 Julian Eleby 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Village Christian/Fork Union Fayetteville, North Carolina	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 Roster

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
F/C	Armani Branch	Fred Iruafemi	Tyler Creammer
SF	Trey Chapman	Will Miller
SG	QJ Peterson	Garrett Gilkeson
SG	Julian Eleby	Austin Vereen
PG	Adrian Rich	Keith Smith

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016* 7:00 pm		at Richmond	L 69–72	0–1	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA
11/15/2016* 7:00 pm		Southern Virginia	W 78–47	1–1	Cameron Hall (896) Lexington, VA
11/19/2016* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at Virginia Tech	L 72–88	1–2	Cassell Coliseum (7,714) Blacksburg, VA
11/22/2016* 7:00 pm		at Presbyterian	L 67–77	1–3	Templeton Center (430) Clinton, SC
11/26/2016* 7:00 pm		Campbell	L 53–67	1–4	Cameron Hall (912) Lexington, VA
11/30/2016* 7:00 pm		at Radford	L 67–74	1–5	Dedmon Center (1,329) Radford, VA
12/03/2016* 7:00 pm		Gardner–Webb	L 68–86	1–6	Cameron Hall (1,097) Lexington, VA
12/10/2016* 2:00 pm, RTPT		at No. 15 West Virginia	L 55–90	1–7	WVU Coliseum (9,023) Morgantown, WV
12/13/2016* 7:00 pm		Charleston Southern	W 88–83	2–7	Cameron Hall (902) Lexington, VA
12/20/2016* 7:00 pm		Frostburg State	W 72–53	3–7	Cameron Hall (770) Lexington, VA
12/23/2016* 7:00 pm, SPCSN		at Dayton	L 56–92	3–8	UD Arena (12,612) Dayton, OH
SoCon regular season
12/31/2016 4:00 pm		at East Tennessee State	L 75–102	3–9 (0–1)	Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,051) Johnson City, TN
01/05/2017 7:30 pm		at Mercer	L 50–68	3–10 (0–2)	Hawkins Arena (2,754) Macon, GA
01/07/2017 1:00 pm		at The Citadel	L 74–79	3–11 (0–3)	McAlister Field House (1,301) Charleston, SC
01/12/2017 7:00 pm		Western Carolina	W 79–78	4–11 (1–3)	Cameron Hall (718) Lexington, VA
01/14/2017 1:00 pm		UNC Greensboro	L 82–91	4–12 (1–4)	Cameron Hall (889) Lexington, VA
01/19/2017 7:00 pm		at Wofford	L 70–88	4–13 (1–5)	Benjamin Johnson Arena (1,458) Spartanburg, SC
01/21/2017 4:00 pm		at Furman	L 72–89	4–14 (1–6)	Timmons Arena (1,734) Greenville, SC
01/25/2017 7:00 pm		at Chattanooga	W 80–64	5–14 (2–6)	McKenzie Arena (2,847) Chattanooga, TN
01/28/2017 1:00 pm		Samford	L 67–69	5–15 (2–7)	Cameron Hall (2,387) Lexington, VA
02/02/2017 7:00 pm		East Tennessee State	L 71–81	5–16 (2–8)	Cameron Hall (1,094) Lexington, VA
02/09/2017 7:00 pm		Mercer	L 51–81	5–17 (2–9)	Cameron Hall (1,023) Lexington, VA
02/11/2017 1:00 pm		The Citadel	W 101–78	6–17 (3–9)	Cameron Hall (3,479) Lexington, VA
02/13/2017 7:00 pm, ASN		Furman	L 52–80	6–18 (3–10)	Cameron Hall (866) Lexington, VA
02/15/2017 7:00 pm		Chattanooga	L 68–74	6–19 (3–11)	Cameron Hall (969) Lexington, VA
02/18/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Samford	L 61–80	6–20 (3–12)	Pete Hanna Center (2,358) Homewood, AL
02/22/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Wofford	L 63–81	6–21 (3–13)	Cameron Hall (1,310) Lexington, VA
02/25/2017 5:00 pm		at UNC Greensboro	L 67–74	6–22 (3–14)	Greensboro Coliseum (2,132) Greensboro, NC
02/27/2017 7:00 pm		at Western Carolina	L 68–81	6–23 (3–15)	Ramsey Center (981) Cullowhee, NC
SoCon tournament
03/03/2017 7:30 pm, ESPN3	(10)	vs. (7) Samford First Round	L 61–79	6–24	U.S. Cellular Center (2,930) Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source[1].