# 2014–15 William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team

The 2014–15 William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team represented the College of William & Mary during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tribe were led by twelfth year head coach Tony Shaver. The team played its home games at Kaplan Arena and were members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). This was the 110th season of the collegiate basketball program at William & Mary. They finished the season 20–13, 12–6 in CAA play to finish in a four way tie for the CAA regular season championship. They advanced to the championship game of the CAA tournament where they lost to Northeastern. As a regular season champion, and #1 seed in their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Tulsa.

## Previous season

The team will look to improve upon their 20–12 (10–6 CAA) record from the 2013–14 season that saw the team fall just short of a conference championship in a 75–74 loss to Delaware in the championship game of the 2014 CAA men's basketball tournament. William & Mary will look to earn their first postseason bid since 2010.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Julian Boatner | 2 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | Bloomington, Indiana | Graduated |
| Ben Whitlatch | 5 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Senior | Bloomington, Indiana | Graduated |
| Brandon Britt | 12 | G | 6'2" | 200 | Senior | Chesapeake, Virginia | Graduated |
| Tim Rusthoven | 22 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Senior | Winfield, Illinois | Graduated |
| Kyle Gaillard | 23 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Senior | Huntersville, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Fred Heldring | 24 | F | 6'9" | 245 | Senior | Winnetka, Illinois | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| David Cohn | 34 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Sophomore | Elmhurst, Illinois | Transferred from Colorado State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Cohn will have to redshirt for the 2014–15 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |

## Recruiting Class of 2014

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Oliver Tot SF | Meriden, New Hampshire | Kimball Union Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Feb 14, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 65 ||||||
| Connor Burchfield SG | Concord, North Carolina | Concord High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | May 17, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Greg Malinowski SG | Alexandria, Virginia | Episcopal High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Aug 12, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Paul Rowley SF | Purcellville, Virginia | Loudoun Valley High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jul 24, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A 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: "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 2, 2014. ||||||

### Recruiting Class of 2015

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Hunter Seacat SF | Mooresville, North Carolina | Lake Norman High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 8, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A 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: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 2, 2014. ||||||

## Program notes

* On December 19, 2014, head coach Tony Shaver won his 500th career NCAA game after the Tribe defeated Washington College, 86–46.
* On January 10, 2015, junior guard Terry Tarpey recorded the first triple double in program history (in its 110th season) during William & Mary's 81–73 win against James Madison. Tarpey had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.
* On January 14, 2015, William & Mary recorded the largest comeback win in program history against UNC Wilmington, winning 76–72, after trailing by 22 points earlier in the game.
* On February 25, 2015, Marcus Thornton scored his 2,053rd career point in a 65–50 win against Towson, thus breaking the previous record (2,052) set by Chet Giermak during the 1949–50 season. It was the longest-standing career points record (65 years) for any NCAA program at the time.
* On June 25, 2015, Thornton was selected in the 2015 NBA draft, taken in the second round (45th overall) to the Boston Celtics. He was the first William & Mary player drafted since Keith Cieplicki in 1985 (7th round, 161st overall), but the first to do so in the NBA's modern draft format (only two rounds).

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 14* 6:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 7 Florida | L 45–68 | 0–1 | O'Connell Center (10,861) Gainesville, Florida |
| November 18* 7:00 pm | | Howard | W 56–49 | 1–1 | Kaplan Arena (2,312) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| November 20* 7:00 pm | | Bluefield | W 100–57 | 2–1 | Kaplan Arena (1,380) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| November 22* 8:00 pm | | at Rice | W 69–65 | 3–1 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,195) Houston, Texas |
| November 25* 4:30 pm | | Western Illinois | W 83–49 | 4–1 | Kaplan Arena (1,913) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| November 29* 7:00 pm | | Wofford | W 66–62 | 5–1 | Kaplan Arena (2,689) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| December 3* 7:00 pm | | at Richmond | L 67–68 | 5–2 | Robins Center (4,684) Richmond, Virginia |
| December 6* 7:00 pm | | at High Point | L 63–66 | 5–3 | Millis Athletic Convocation Center (1,750) High Point, North Carolina |
| December 19* 7:00 pm | | Washington College | W 86–46 | 6–3 | Kaplan Arena (1,452) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| December 22* 7:00 pm | | at Old Dominion Rivalry | L 62–69 | 6–4 | Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,796) Norfolk, Virginia |
| December 30* 7:00 pm, RSN | | at No. 19 North Carolina | L 64–86 | 6–5 | Dean Smith Center (20,053) Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Conference regular season ||||||
| January 3 2:00 pm, CSN | | College of Charleston | W 75–45 | 7–5 (1–0) | Kaplan Arena ( 2,291) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| January 5 7:00 pm | | at Drexel | W 73–47 | 8–5 (2–0) | Daskalakis Athletic Center (1,051) Philadelphia |
| January 8 8:00 pm, ASN | | at Elon | L 79–85 | 8–6 (2–1) | Alumni Gym (1,384) Elon, North Carolina |
| January 10 4:00 pm | | James Madison | W 81–73 | 9–6 (3–1) | Kaplan Arena (3,446) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| January 14 7:00 pm | | UNC Wilmington | W 76–72 | 10–6 (4–1) | Kaplan Arena (1,873) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| January 17 12:00 pm, CSN | | at Towson | W 85–72 | 11–6 (5–1) | SECU Arena (1,889) Towson, Maryland |
| January 21 7:00 pm | | at Delaware | L 80–84 | 11–7 (5–2) | Bob Carpenter Center (1,819) Newark, Delaware |
| January 24 2:00 pm, NBCSN | | Northeastern | W 78–62 | 12–7 (6–2) | Kaplan Arena (5,053) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| January 28 7:00 pm | | Hofstra | W 100–79 | 13–7 (7–2) | Kaplan Arena (2,919) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| January 31 4:00 pm, CSN | | at James Madison | W 84–65 | 14–7 (8–2) | JMU Convocation Center (4,133) Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| February 5 7:30 pm | | at College of Charleston | L 72–80 | 14–8 (8–3) | TD Arena (3,305) Charleston, South Carolina |
| February 7 8:00 pm, ASN | | at UNC Wilmington | W 56–53 | 15–8 (9–3) | Trask Coliseum (5,088) Wilmington, North Carolina |
| February 11 7:00 pm | | Elon | W 77–58 | 16–8 (10–3) | Kaplan Arena (2,735) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| February 14 2:30 pm, NBCSN | | Delaware | L 70–73 | 16–9 (10–4) | Kaplan Arena (4,185) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| February 18 7:00 pm | | at Northeastern | L 64–75 | 16–10 (10–5) | Matthews Arena (927) Boston |
| February 22 4:30 pm, NBCSN | | at Hofstra | W 80–78 | 17–10 (11–5) | Mack Sports Complex (3,148) Hempstead, New York |
| February 25 7:00 pm | | Towson | W 65–50 | 18–10 (12–5) | Kaplan Arena (3,227) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| February 28 2:00 pm, CSN | | Drexel | L 66–80 | 18–11 (12–6) | Kaplan Arena (5,312) Williamsburg, Virginia |
| CAA Tournament ||||||
| March 7 12:00 pm, CSN | | vs. Elon Quarterfinals | W 72–59 | 19–11 | Royal Farms Arena (3,762) Baltimore |
| March 8 2:30 pm, NBCSN | | vs. Hofstra Semifinals | W 92–91 $^{2OT}$ | 20–11 | Royal Farms Arena (3,703) Baltimore, Maryland |
| March 9 7:00 pm, NBCSN | | vs. Northeastern Championship game | L 61–72 | 20–12 | Royal Farms Arena (5,721) Baltimore, Maryland |
| NIT ||||||
| March 17* 8:15 pm, ESPN3 | No. (7) | at (2) Tulsa First round | L 67–70 | 20–13 | Reynolds Center (2,547) Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. (#) during NIT is seed within region. ||||||