# 2014–15 VMI Keydets basketball team

The 2014–15 VMI Keydets basketball team represented the Virginia Military Institute in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Keydets were led by tenth-year head coach Duggar Baucom and played their home games out of Cameron Hall, their home since 1981. VMI rejoined the Southern Conference after an eleven-year absence, having been a member of the Big South from 2003 to 2014. VMI was a member of the SoCon from 1924 until 2003. They finished the season 11–19, 7–11 in SoCon play to finish in sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament to Mercer.
On March 28, head coach Duggar Baucom resigned to take the same position at The Citadel. He finished with a record of 151–159 in ten seasons.

## Preseason
### Departures

VMI graduated three seniors in 2014, including two of their top scorers, guard Rodney Glasgow and center D. J. Covington. Additionally, on October 29, 2014, head coach Duggar Baucom announced that brothers Ot and Jon Elmore would be withdrawing from the team as well as VMI. Ot was an academic sophomore who was redshirted in 2013–14 and did not appear in a game. Jon was a highly sought-after freshman. Their father, Gay Elmore, who once played at VMI and is currently second on the school's all-time point-scoring list, said in a statement to The Charleston Gazette that the brothers left the school because of a "personal family matter".
Later in the year, shortly following a 63–75 road loss to UNC Greensboro, it was announced that VMI guard and leading scorer QJ Peterson was placed on a medical furlough and would not be attending VMI for the remainder of the academic year. Peterson ended the season averaging 19.6 points per game, but did so on only 34% overall shooting and 27% from the three-point line.
| Name | Position | Class | Reason |
| Rodney Glasgow | PG | Sr. | Graduated |
| D. J. Covington | C | Sr. | Graduated |
| Drew Absher | PG | Sr. | Graduated |
| Ot Elmore | G | R–Fr. | Left school, personal reasons |
| Jon Elmore | G | Fr. | Left school, personal reasons |

### Coaching changes

On May 22, 2014, it was announced that VMI hired Ben Thompson as an assistant coach to the program. Thompson came from UNC Pembroke as an assistant and part of a Brave team that made back-to-back winning seasons from 2011 to 2013, the first time in over twenty years the school had accomplished that feat. He is a 2006 graduate of Virginia Tech. Thompson replaced longtime VMI assistant Jason Allison, who had been with the team since Baucom began coaching in 2005. Allison departed for an assistant coaching job with Appalachian State.

### Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jon Elmore PG | Charleston, WV | Christ School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 19, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ||||||
| Armani Branch SF | Hampton, VA | Genesis Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 172 lb (78 kg) | Jan 22, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Fred Iruafemi C | Apex, NC | Middle Creek High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Apr 29, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: 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 2014". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 2, 2014. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 2, 2014. ||||||

## Roster
### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| F/C | Phillip Anglade | Jarid Watson | Fred Iruafemi |
| F | Jordan Weethee | Craig Hinton | Armani Branch |
| G/F | Tim Marshall | Trey Chapman | Tyrell Mason |
| G | Brian Brown | Michael Donovan | Niles Tate |
| PG | Julian Eleby | Christian Burton | |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||
| November 14* 5:30 pm | vs. The Citadel All-Military Classic | W 66–65 | 1–0 | Christl Arena (1,597) West Point, NY |
| November 15* 8:00 pm | at Army All-Military Classic | L 86–92 | 1–1 | Christl Arena (1,060) West Point, NY |
| November 18* 7:00 pm | Johnson University | W 124–42 | 2–1 | Cameron Hall (884) Lexington, VA |
| November 22* 7:00 pm | UNC Wilmington | L 93–110 | 2–2 | Cameron Hall (1,897) Lexington, VA |
| November 26* 7:00 pm, ROOT | vs. No. 21 West Virginia | L 72–103 | 2–3 | Charleston Civic Center (8,102) Charleston, WV |
| November 30* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Maryland | L 77–95 | 2–4 | Xfinity Center (8,896) College Park, MD |
| December 2* 7:00 pm | Mid-Atlantic Christian | W 133–62 | 3–4 | Cameron Hall (1,072) Lexington, VA |
| December 4 7:00 pm | at Samford | W 88–66 | 4–4 (1–0) | Pete Hanna Center (921) Homewood, AL |
| December 6 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Mercer | L 81–90 | 4–5 (1–1) | Hawkins Arena (2,327) Macon, GA |
| December 9* 7:00 pm | at Navy | L 66–84 | 4–6 | Alumni Hall (578) Annapolis, MD |
| December 13* 1:00 pm | Marist | W 92–77 | 5–6 | Cameron Hall (1,048) Lexington, VA |
| December 22* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Virginia Tech | L 74–87 | 5–7 | Cassell Coliseum (5,326) Blacksburg, VA |
| December 30* 7:00 pm | at George Washington | L 60–80 | 5–8 | Charles E. Smith Center (2,828) Washington, D.C. |
| January 2 7:00 pm | at East Tennessee State | L 88–98 | 5–9 (1–2) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,373) Johnson City, TN |
| January 5 7:00 pm | Mercer | L 75–85 | 5–10 (1–3) | Cameron Hall (977) Lexington, VA |
| January 8 7:00 pm | at Wofford | L 70–75 | 5–11 (1–4) | Benjamin Johnson Arena (1,970) Spartanburg, SC |
| January 10 4:00 pm | at Furman | W 83–73 | 6–11 (2–4) | Timmons Arena (1,701) Greenville, SC |
| January 14 7:00 pm | at UNC Greensboro | L 63–75 | 6–12 (2–5) | Greensboro Coliseum (1,986) Greensboro, NC |
| January 17 1:00 pm | East Tennessee State | W 85–79 | 7–12 (3–5) | Cameron Hall (2,581) Lexington, VA |
| January 22 7:00 pm | at Chattanooga | L 64–86 | 7–13 (3–6) | McKenzie Arena (3,190) Chattanooga, TN |
| January 24 1:00 pm | The Citadel | W 85–75 | 8–13 (4–6) | Cameron Hall (2,641) Lexington, VA |
| January 29 7:00 pm | Western Carolina | L 70–85 | 8–14 (4–7) | Cameron Hall (1,404) Lexington, VA |
| February 3 8:00 pm, ASN | UNC Greensboro | L 56–85 | 8–15 (4–8) | Cameron Hall (1,690) Lexington, VA |
| February 7 1:00 pm | Wofford | L 62–65 | 8–16 (4–9) | Cameron Hall (2,067) Lexington, VA |
| February 12 7:00 pm | Furman | W 93–59 | 9–16 (5–9) | Cameron Hall (1,078) Lexington, VA |
| February 15 5:30 pm, ASN | at The Citadel | W 84–69 | 10–16 (6–9) | McAlister Field House (4,248) Charleston, SC |
| February 21 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | at Western Carolina | W 113–111 $^{2OT}$ | 11–16 (7–9) | Ramsey Center (3,060) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 26 7:00 pm | Chattanooga | L 82–86 $^{2OT}$ | 11–17 (7–10) | Cameron Hall (1,127) Lexington, VA |
| February 28 1:00 pm | Samford | L 69–80 | 11–18 (7–11) | Cameron Hall (2,536) Lexington, VA |
| SoCon tournament |||||
| March 7* 8:30 pm, ESPN3 | vs. Mercer Quarterfinals | L 61–89 | 11–19 | U.S. Cellular Center (3,544) Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||