2020–21 VCU Rams men's basketball team

The 2020–21 VCU Rams men's basketball team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Mike Rhoades, in his fourth year as VCU head coach. The team played their home games at the Siegel Center in Richmond, Virginia, as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 19–7, 10–4 in A-10 play to finish in second place. The Rams defeated Dayton^[1] and Davidson^[2] in the A-10 tournament before losing to St. Bonaventure in the championship.^[3] They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the West region.^[4] Their game against Oregon in the first round was ruled a no-contest due to positive COVID-19 tests in the VCU program, thus ending their season^[5] and making VCU the first team ever to forfeit a game in the NCAA tournament.^[6]

2020–21 VCU Rams men's basketball
NCAA tournament, first round[a]
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	19–7 (10–4 A-10)
Head coach	Mike Rhoades (4th season)
Assistant coaches	J. D. Byers Brent Scott Jamal Brunt
Home arena	Stuart C. Siegel Center
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
St. Bonaventure†	11	–	4		.733			16	–	5		.762
VCU	10	–	4		.714			19	–	7		.731
Davidson	7	–	4		.636			13	–	9		.591
Saint Louis	6	–	4		.600			14	–	7		.667
UMass	6	–	4		.600			8	–	7		.533
George Mason	8	–	6		.571			13	–	9		.591
Dayton	9	–	7		.563			14	–	10		.583
Richmond	6	–	5		.545			14	–	9		.609
Duquesne	7	–	7		.500			9	–	9		.500
Rhode Island	7	–	10		.412			10	–	15		.400
George Washington	3	–	5		.375			5	–	12		.294
La Salle	6	–	11		.353			9	–	16		.360
Saint Joseph's	3	–	9		.250			5	–	15		.250
Fordham	2	–	11		.154			2	–	12		.143
† 2021 A10 Tournament winner

Previous season

The Rams finished the 2019–20 season 18–13, 8–10 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for eighth place. As the No. 8 seed in the A-10 tournament, they were to play UMass in the second round, but the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[7]

VCU began the season with a 6–0 record for the first time in program history,^[8] and were ranked as high as 20th in the nation. The Rams finished the season with a 2–7 record in their final nine games.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
De'Riante Jenkins	0	G	6'5"	190	Senior	Eutawville, South Carolina	Graduated
Mike'L Simms	1	G/F	6'5"	210	Senior	Richmond, Virginia	Graduated
Marcus Evans	2	G	6'2"	190	RS-Senior	Chesapeake, Virginia	Graduated
Malik Crowfield	13	G	6'4"	190	Senior	LaPlace, Louisiana	Graduated
Marcus Santos-Silva	14	F	6'7"	250	Junior	Taunton, Massachusetts	Graduate transferred to Texas Tech
Issac Vann	23	F	6'6"	200	RS-Senior	Bridgeport, Connecticut	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Brendan Medley-Bacon	34	C	7'1"	240	Junior	Baltimore, Maryland	Transferred from Coppin State
Levi Stockard III	35	F	6'8"	245	Senior	St. Louis, Missouri	Transferred from Kansas State

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ace Baldwin Jr. PG	Baltimore, MD	St. Frances Academy	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Nov 13, 2019
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (80)
Josh Banks SF	Charlotte, NC	Olympic High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sep 1, 2019
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (78)
Mikeal Brown-Jones PF	Philadelphia, PA	IMG Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Nov 13, 2019
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (79)
Jamir Watkins SF	Trenton, NJ	Trenton Catholic	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Nov 13, 2019
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (NR)
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: "VCU 2020 Player Commits". ESPN. Retrieved March 14, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved March 14, 2020.

2021 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2021)
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jalen DeLoach PF	Savannah, GA	The Skill Factory	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Nov 11, 2020
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (77)
Nick Kern SF	St. Louis, MO	Vashon High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Nov 11, 2020
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (86)
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: "VCU 2021 Player Commits". ESPN. Retrieved November 13, 2020. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved November 13, 2020.

Preseason

Atlantic 10 media poll

The Atlantic 10 men's basketball media poll was released on November 9, 2020. VCU was picked to finish ninth.

A10 Preseason Poll
Predicted finish	Team
1	Richmond (19)
2	Saint Louis (7)
3	Dayton (2)
4	St. Bonaventure
5	Duquesne
6	Rhode Island
7	Davidson
8	UMass
9	VCU
10	George Mason
11	George Washington
12	Saint Joseph's
13	La Salle
14	Fordham

Roster

2020–21 VCU Rams men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Jamir Watkins 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Trenton Catholic Trenton, New Jersey G 1 Ace Baldwin Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr St. Frances Academy Baltimore, Maryland F 2 Mikeal Brown-Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr IMG Academy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania G 5 Bones Hyland 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 173 lb (78 kg) So St. Georges Technical Wilmington, Delaware F 10 Vince Williams Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr St. John's Jesuit Toledo, Ohio G 11 KeShawn Curry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Fork Union Military Academy Jacksonville, Florida G 12 Jimmy Clark III* 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Newton HS Covington, Georgia F 13 Corey Douglas Jr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Ballard (Louisville) Tallahassee CC Louisville, Kentucky G 15 Arnold Henderson VI 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So St. Christopher's School Mechanicsville, Virginia F 20 Hason Ward 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Springfield Central HS Saint Thomas, Barbados G 21 Jarren McAllister   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Massanutten Military Academy Wake Forest, North Carolina G 33 Josh Banks 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Olympic Charlotte, North Carolina F 34 Levi Stockard III 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Kansas State St. Louis, Missouri C 35 Brendan Medley-Bacon 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Coppin State Baltimore, Maryland	Head coach Mike Rhoades (Lebanon Valley) Assistant coach(es) J. D. Byers (Lebanon Valley) Brent Scott (Rice) Jamal Brunt (Randolph–Macon) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Corey Douglas Jr.	Brendan Medley-Bacon	Mikeal Brown-Jones
PF	Levi Stockard III	Hason Ward
SF	Vince Williams Jr.	Jamir Watkins
SG	Bones Hyland	KeShawn Curry	Josh Banks
PG	Ace Baldwin Jr.	Jimmy Clark III*	Jarren McAllister	Arnold Henderson VI

Suspension of Jimmy Clark III

On February 3, 2021, in a post-game conference, head coach Mike Rhoades said that Jimmy Clark III was absent for the Rams' game against Rhode Island due to a "university suspension." Rhoades then said that he would "leave it at that" for the time being. On February 4, the university confirmed that Clark was no longer with the program, not giving more detail and indicating they were "not allowed to comment further on this matter."^[9]

Schedule and results

VCU originally had games scheduled against Charlotte, Tennessee, and LSU that were canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests.^[10][11] Additionally, a game against Louisiana that was canceled due to NCAA scheduling limitations.^[12]

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. Utah State Crossover Classic quarterfinals	W 85–69	1–0	23 – Hyland	6 – Curry	7 – Baldwin	Sanford Pentagon (0) Sioux Falls, SD
November 26, 2020* 2:30 pm, ESPN		vs. No. 15 West Virginia Crossover Classic semifinals	L 66–78	1–1	13 – Hyland	4 – Watkins	6 – Baldwin	Sanford Pentagon (0) Sioux Falls, SD
November 27, 2020* 9:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. Memphis Crossover Classic third place game	W 70–59	2–1	15 – Williams	7 – Ward	6 – Baldwin	Sanford Pentagon (0) Sioux Falls, SD
December 2, 2020* 5:00 p.m., FS1		at Penn State	L 69–72	2–2	13 – Stockard III	6 – Hyland	6 – Baldwin	Bryce Jordan Center (283) University Park, PA
December 5, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Mount St. Mary's	W 60–42	3–2	14 – Hyland	5 – Ward	5 – Baldwin	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
December 9, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		North Carolina A&T	W 95–59	4–2	30 – Hyland	8 – Williams	5 – Baldwin	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
December 12, 2020* 5:00 p.m., NBCSN		Old Dominion ODU Rivalry	W 77–54	5–2	15 – Hyland	8 – Williams	2 – Tied	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
December 15, 2020* 7:00 p.m., MASN		Western Carolina	W 93–68	6–2	31 – Hyland	6 – Williams	4 – Williams	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
December 22, 2020* 4:00 p.m., MASN		James Madison	W 82–81	7–2	15 – Tied	8 – Williams	10 – Baldwin	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
Atlantic 10 regular season
December 30, 2020 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Saint Joseph's	W 80–64	8–2 (1–0)	17 – Williams	7 – Williams	3 – Williams	Hagan Arena (0) Philadelphia, PA
January 6, 2021 7:00 p.m., MASN		at George Mason Mason Rivalry	W 66–61	9–2 (2–0)	23 – Hyland	10 – Hyland	3 – Williams	EagleBank Arena (250) Fairfax, VA
January 9, 2021 2:00 p.m., CBSSN		Rhode Island	L 68–83	9–3 (2–1)	24 – Hyland	6 – Williams	5 – Clark	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
January 13, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at George Washington	W 84–77	10–3 (3–1)	17 – Hyland	5 – Williams	8 – Baldwin	Smith Center (0) Washington, DC
January 20, 2021 6:00 p.m., CBSSN		at St. Bonaventure	L 54–70	10–4 (3–2)	16 – Hyland	10 – Ward	3 – Clark	Reilly Center (0) Olean, NY
January 23, 2021 4:30 p.m., CBSSN		Dayton	W 66–43	11–4 (4–2)	28 – Hyland	6 – Tied	5 – Baldwin	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
January 30, 2021 1:00 p.m., NBCSN		La Salle	W 73–62	12–4 (5–2)	24 – Hyland	10 – Ward	4 – Tied	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
February 3, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Rhode Island	W 63–62	13–4 (6–2)	23 – Hyland	9 – Ward	6 – Baldwin	Ryan Center (0) Kingston, RI
February 9, 2021 5:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Dayton	W 76–67	14–4 (7–2)	19 – Hyland	5 – Hyland	4 – Ward	UD Arena (0) Dayton, OH
February 12, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2		St. Bonaventure	W 67–64	15–4 (8–2)	22 – Hyland	9 – Williams	4 – Baldwin	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
February 17, 2021 7:00 pm, CBSSN		Richmond Capital City Classic	W 68–56	16–4 (9–2)	20 – Hyland	12 – Hyland	6 – Hyland	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
February 20, 2021 2:30 p.m., NBCSN		George Mason Mason Rivalry	L 76–79 OT	16–5 (9–3)	17 – Hyland	7 – Williams	5 – Williams	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
February 23, 2021 6:00 pm, CBSSN		Saint Louis	W 67–65	17–5 (10–3)	16 – Williams	9 – Williams	7 – Baldwin	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
February 27, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPNU		at Davidson	L 57–65	17–6 (10–4)	14 – Watkins	10 – Tied	3 – Williams	John M. Belk Arena (225) Davidson, NC
Atlantic 10 tournament
March 5, 2021 3:30 pm, NBCSN	(2)	(7) Dayton Quarterfinals	W 73–68	18–6	30 – Hyland	10 – Hyland	3 – Hyland	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
March 6, 2021 9:00 pm, CBSSN	(2)	(3) Davidson Semifinals	W 64–52	19–6	12 – Hyland	7 – Stockard III	7 – Baldwin	Siegel Center (250) Richmond, VA
March 14, 2021 1:00 pm, CBS	(2)	vs. (1) St. Bonaventure Championship	L 65–74	19–7	21 – Hyland	9 – Williams	3 – Baldwin	UD Arena (1,500) Dayton, OH
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2021 9:57 pm, TNT	(10 W)	vs. (7 W) Oregon First Round	Declared a no-contest due to COVID-19 protocols					Indiana Farmers Coliseum  Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Notes

1. The game was declared a no-contest.

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	—	—	—			Not released
Coaches	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	—	—

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

Statistics

No.	Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
0	Jamir Watkins	9	0	15.4	.476	.357	.722	2.8	0.222	0.777	0.111	7.0
1	Ace Baldwin Jr.	9	9	25.6								5.2
2	Mikeal Brown-Jones	9	0	9.9	.500							3.9
5	Bones Hyland	9	9	27.9	.444							18.2
10	Vince Williams Jr.	9	5	26.2								10.6
11	KeShawn Curry	5	4	24.6								9.4
12	Jimmy Clark	9	0	16.6								6.9
13	Corey Douglas	9	9	20.4								5.8
15	Arnold Henderson	3	0	1.7								0.0
20	Hason Ward	9	0	16.6								5.4
21	Jarren McAllister	0	0	0.0	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.0
33	Josh Banks	9	0	10.2								3.3
34	Levi Stockard	9	9	13.9								5.8
35	Brendan Medley	6	0	4.7								0.2

See also

• 2020–21 VCU Rams women's basketball team