Wikipedia

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]

2020–1921 VCU Rams men's basketball
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
Record19–7 (10–4 A-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaStuart C. Siegel Center
Seasons
2020–21 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
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

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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

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Departures

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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

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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

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college 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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 80
Josh Banks
SF 		Charlotte, NC Olympic High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 1, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 78
Mikeal Brown-Jones
PF 		Philadelphia, PA IMG Academy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Nov 13, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 79
Jamir Watkins
SF 		Trenton, NJ Trenton Catholic 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Nov 13, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: NR
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:

  • "VCU 2020 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 14, 2020.

2021 Recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college 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 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 77
Nick Kern
SF 		St. Louis, MO Vashon High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Nov 11, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 86
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:

Preseason

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Atlantic 10 media poll

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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

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

Roster

Depth chart

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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

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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

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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

Rankings

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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
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP————————————RVRV———Not released
Coaches—————————————RVRV——

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

Statistics

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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

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References

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  1. ^ "Dayton vs. VCU - Game Summary - March 5, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "Davidson vs. VCU - Game Summary - March 6, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  3. ^ "St. Bonaventure wins A-10 tourney beating VCU for NCAA bid". USA Today. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  4. ^ Davis, Marc (March 15, 2021). "VCU earns at-large NCAA Tournament bid". www.nbc12.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  5. ^ "Oregon-VCU declared no-contest; Ducks advance". ESPN. March 20, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  6. ^ Higgins, Laine (March 21, 2021). "March Madness Is Hit With Its First Covid Forfeit". The Wall Street Journal.
  7. ^ "Atlantic 10 Cancels 2020 Spring Sports Competitions and Championships". Atlantic10.com. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "No. 20 VCU dumps Alabama St. for first 6-0 start". Reuters. November 25, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  9. ^ Epps, Wayne Jr. (February 4, 2021). "Tre Clark no longer with VCU men's basketball program". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  10. ^ "VCU's opening two games canceled due to Tenn. coronavirus tests". RSN. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  11. ^ Guilbeau, Glenn. "LSU basketball game vs VCU canceled due to COVID-19 spike with the Tigers". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  12. ^ "VCU men's basketball game against Louisiana canceled". www.nbc12.com. December 12, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
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