2016–17 VCU Rams men's basketball team explained

Mode:Basketball
Year:2016–17
Team:VCU Rams
Conference:Atlantic 10 Conference
Short Conf:A-10
Record:26–9
Conf Record:14–4
Head Coach:Will Wade
Hc Year:2nd
Asst Coach1:Rasheen Davis
Asst Coach2:Wes Long
Asst Coach3:Casey Long
Stadium:Stuart C. Siegel Center
Tourney:NCAA tournament
Tourney Result:First Round

The 2016–17 VCU Rams men's basketball team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rams, led by second-year head coach Will Wade, played their home games at Stuart C. Siegel Center as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 26–9, 14–4 in A-10 play to finish in second place. In the A-10 tournament, they beat George Mason and Richmond before losing to Rhode Island in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the West region where they lost in the first round to Saint Mary's.

Following the season, head coach Will Wade left VCU to take the head coaching position at LSU following the firing of Johnny Jones.[1] Wade had served has the head coach for the last two seasons making him VCU's shortest tenured head coach since Benny Dees.[2] On March 21, 2017, the school hired Rice head coach Mike Rhoades, who had served as associate head coach under Shaka Smart from 2009 to 2014.[3]

Previous season

The Rams finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 25–11, 14–4 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for a first-place. In the A-10 tournament, the Rams lost to Saint Joseph's in the championship game. The Rams received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they beat Oregon State in the first round before losing to Oklahoma in the second round.

Preseason

The Rams were picked to finish third in the A-10 preseason poll.[4] Mo Allie-Cox was selected to the All-A-10 second team while JeQuan Lewis was selected to the third team. Cox and Lewis were also selected to the All-Defensive team.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Jordan Riullano 3 G 5'9" 185 Freshman Walk-on; transferred to SUNY Sullivan
Michael Gilmore 11 F 6'10" 215 Sophomore Transferred to Miami (FL)
Gerron Scissum 22 F 6'7" 210 Freshman Transferred to James Madison
Korey Billbury 24 G 6'4" 210 Senior Graduated
Melvin Johnson 32 G 6'4" 193 Senior Graduated
Johnathan Nwankwo 33 F 6'9" 245 Freshman Transferred to College of Southern Idaho

2017 Recruiting class

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition|-!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| Atlantic 10 regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| Atlantic 10 tournament|-!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament|-|-

Notes and References

  1. Web site: VCU's Will Wade hired as next coach at LSU. March 21, 2017. ESPN. espn.com. March 29, 2017.
  2. Web site: Benny Dees Coaching Record. Sports Reference. sports-reference.com. March 29, 2017.
  3. News: VCU moves quickly to hire Mike Rhoades from Rice to fill coaching vacancy. USA TODAY. 2017-03-30. en.
  4. News: Flyers Picked to Win 2016-17; Men's Basketball. Atlantic10.com. 2016-11-07.