# 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 and Davidson in the A-10 tournament before losing to St. Bonaventure in the championship. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the West region. 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 and making VCU the first team ever to forfeit a game in the NCAA tournament.

## 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.
VCU began the season with a 6–0 record for the first time in program history, 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 | 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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

College recruiting information (2021) :
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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: "VCU 2021 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 13, 2020. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. 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
### 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."

## Schedule and results

VCU originally had games scheduled against Charlotte, Tennessee, and LSU that were canceled due to positive COVID-19 tests. Additionally, a game against Louisiana that was canceled due to NCAA scheduling limitations.
| 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 | Declared a no-contest due to COVID-19 protocols | Declared a no-contest due to COVID-19 protocols | Declared a no-contest due to COVID-19 protocols | 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

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