2020–21 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
2020–21 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
St. Bonaventure†11–4 .73316–5  .762
VCU10–4 .71419–7  .731
Davidson7–4 .63613–9  .591
Saint Louis6–4 .60014–7  .667
UMass6–4 .6008–7  .533
George Mason8–6 .57113–9  .591
Dayton9–7 .56314–10  .583
Richmond6–5 .54514–9  .609
Duquesne7–7 .5009–9  .500
Rhode Island7–10 .41210–15  .400
George Washington3–5 .3755–12  .294
La Salle6–11 .3539–16  .360
Saint Joseph's3–9 .2505–15  .250
Fordham2–11 .1542–12  .143
† 2021 A10 Tournament winner

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]

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

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
De'Riante Jenkins0G6'5"190SeniorEutawville, South CarolinaGraduated
Mike'L Simms1G/F6'5"210SeniorRichmond, VirginiaGraduated
Marcus Evans2G6'2"190RS-SeniorChesapeake, VirginiaGraduated
Malik Crowfield13G6'4"190SeniorLaPlace, LouisianaGraduated
Marcus Santos-Silva14F6'7"250JuniorTaunton, MassachusettsGraduate transferred to Texas Tech
Issac Vann23F6'6"200RS-SeniorBridgeport, ConnecticutGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Brendan Medley-Bacon34C7'1"240JuniorBaltimore, MarylandTransferred from Coppin State
Levi Stockard III35F6'8"245SeniorSt. Louis, MissouriTransferred from Kansas State

2020 recruiting class

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:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    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:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    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:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    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:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    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

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:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    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:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    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

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

Roster

2020–21 VCU Rams men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 0 Jamir Watkins 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)205 lb (93 kg) FrTrenton Catholic Trenton, New Jersey
G 1 Ace Baldwin Jr. 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrSt. Frances Academy Baltimore, Maryland
F 2 Mikeal Brown-Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) FrIMG Academy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G 5 Bones Hyland 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)173 lb (78 kg) SoSt. Georges Technical Wilmington, Delaware
F 10 Vince Williams Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)220 lb (100 kg) JrSt. John's Jesuit Toledo, Ohio
G 11 KeShawn Curry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrFork Union Military Academy Jacksonville, Florida
G 12 Jimmy Clark III* 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoNewton HS Covington, Georgia
F 13 Corey Douglas Jr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS SrBallard (Louisville)
Tallahassee CC		 Louisville, Kentucky
G 15 Arnold Henderson VI 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoSt. Christopher's School Mechanicsville, Virginia
F 20 Hason Ward 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoSpringfield Central HS Saint Thomas, Barbados
G 21 Jarren McAllister Injured Current redshirt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoMassanutten Military Academy Wake Forest, North Carolina
G 33 Josh Banks 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrOlympic Charlotte, North Carolina
F 34 Levi Stockard III 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)245 lb (111 kg) SrKansas State St. Louis, Missouri
C 35 Brendan Medley-Bacon 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)240 lb (109 kg) JrCoppin State Baltimore, Maryland
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

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

    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

    No. Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
    0Jamir Watkins9015.4.476.357.7222.80.2220.7770.1117.0
    1Ace Baldwin Jr.9925.65.2
    2Mikeal Brown-Jones909.9.5003.9
    5Bones Hyland9927.9.44418.2
    10Vince Williams Jr.9526.210.6
    11KeShawn Curry5424.69.4
    12Jimmy Clark9016.66.9
    13Corey Douglas9920.45.8
    15Arnold Henderson301.70.0
    20Hason Ward9016.65.4
    21Jarren McAllister000.00.0000.0000.0000.0000.0000.0000.0000.0
    33Josh Banks9010.23.3
    34Levi Stockard9913.95.8
    35Brendan Medley604.70.2

    See also

    References

    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. ↑ Newsroom, NBC12 (December 12, 2020). "VCU men's basketball game against Louisiana canceled". www.nbc12.com. Retrieved August 17, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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