2008-09 VMI BASKETBALL KEYDET BASKETBALL GAME NOTES KEYDET BASKETBALL GAME NOTES KEYDET BASKETBALL GAME NOTES VMI Begins Three-Game Homestand With Visit From High Point Keydets Look to Wrap Up First Half of Conference Season On High Note Milestone Watch: Entering Saturday’s contest against High Point, seniors Chavis and Travis Holmes are on the verge of a sig- nificant statistical milestone. After a clarification from the NCAA, Johnny & Eddie O’Brien, who have been considered the all-time leading scorers among twins at Division I, were deemed to have played at Seattle University for two seasons (1951 & 1952) during which the High Point (5-113, 1-77 Big South) school participated at the NCAA College Division, the forerunner to modern day Division II. Therefore, the O’Briens, who at VMI (15-33, 7-11 Big South) scored a combined 3,970 points during their three years at Seattle, in fact scored only 1,446 points while competing at the NCAA University Division (in 1953), the forerunner to modern day Division I. Saturday, January 24, 1 p.m. That development affects not only the Holmes twins, but Ramon and Damon Williams, VMI Class of 1990. The Williams’ Cameron Hall; Lexington, Va. scored a total of 3,252 points in their careers, and are now considered the leading twin scorers in Division I history. The RADIO- WREL-AAM 1450 Lexington Holmes’, however, need only 38 points to surpass their Keydet counterparts. (Page 5 for complete listing) and WRIS-AAM 1410 Roanoke VMI Last Time Out: In a crucial battle for first place in the Big South, VMI knocked off Radford, 87-72 Wednesday night in a INTERNET- Live Audio and Stats conference matchup played at the Dedmon Center in Radford. VMI forced 22 turnovers on the night and converted those RU miscues into 30 points. That helped the visitors overcome a online at www.VMIKeydets.com. 13-0 game-opening run by the Highlanders, as the Keydets responded by closing the half on a 50-19 scoring avalanche. LIVE VIDEO- Broadcast on the By forcing 22 turnovers and committing only 13 against the Highlanders, VMI continued a pair of impressive streaks. The Big South Edge at Keydets have caused at least 17 miscues while also not committing more turnovers than their opponents in each game this sea- www.BigSouthSports.com. son. The Keydets are 14-1 this season when scoring more points off turnovers than their opponents. Tale Of The Tape VMI boasts four players that are averaging at least 15 points per game this season. That makes VMI the only team in the VMI HPU nation to make that claim, while Marquette, Texas-Arlington and Wyoming are the only other teams with three such players. 95.2 Points Per Game 61.5 This season marks the first time in school history that VMI has appeared on the CollegeInsider.com’s Mid-Major Top 25 Poll. The Keydets are rated 14th in the most recent poll, down from their peak at 11th last week. (Full poll on page 3) In other rank- 85.4 Points Allowed 63.2 ings news, the Washington Post has ranked VMI sixth on their Atlantic 11 poll this week, comprised of Division I schools located 46.1% Field Goal % 40.9% in the Mid-Atlantic. The Keydets also received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 the first two weeks of the 2008-09 season, 50.2% FG % Allowed 40.8% and received a vote in last week’s Top 25 poll as well. 37.6% 3-Point FG % 28.8% In 2008-09, the Keydets are trying to become the third school in Division I history to lead the nation in scoring for three straight seasons. Furman did so from 1953-55, while Loyola Marymount followed suit from 1988-90. (Page 6 for more info) 13.4 3-Pt. FG Per Game 6.0 A VMI win against High Point would: 74.1% Free Throw % 60.2% Make the Keydets 8-1 to begin the conference season for the first time since 1976-77. 18.2 Assists Per Game 12.1 Give VMI 15 victories in their last 17 games. That would be VMI’s best streak since winning 16 of 18 in 1978. 14.8 Turnovers Per Game 15.9 Improve the Keydets’ record to 9-1 at Cameron Hall this season. The last time VMI began a season 9-1 at home was 1995- 1.2 Assist/Turnover Ratio 0.8 96, when the Keydets opened the year 12-0 at Cameron Hall. 13.9 Steals Per Game 6.8 Continue the Keydets’ best start since the 1976-77 campaign, when they opened the year 22-1. 3.7 Blocks Per Game 4.9 Mark the Keydets’ third win all-time against High Point. VMI is 2-10 all-time versus HPU, including a 1-4 mark at Cameron Hall. KEYDETS AT A GLANCE Probable Starters Pos. # Player Yr. Ht. Wt. Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Notes F 2 Willie Bell Sr. 6-6 205 9.2 5.7 3.4 2.2 14 pts., 7 reb., 5 asts., 3 stls., 2 blks. vs. LU; 22 pts., 12 reb., 6 asts., 3 stls. vs. PC G 3 Chavis Holmes Sr. 6-4 195 21.5 4.2 2.9 3.5 35 pts., 5-6 3-pt., 4 stls. vs. CCU (1/10); 25.6 pts., 46% 3-Pt. in Conference G 10 Austin Kenon So. 5-11 180 18.3 3.2 2.6 1.2 24 pts., 7 3-pts. vs. Radford (1/21); 29 pts., 7 3-pts. vs. CCU (1/10) F 15 Ron Burks Fr. 6-4 205 4.3 3.9 2.9 0.7 7 pts., 8 reb., 5 asts. vs. CCU (1/10); 9 pts., 9 reb., 4 asts. at CSU (1/5) F 23 Travis Holmes Sr. 6-4 195 19.2 5.6 3.9 3.7 23 pts., 6 reb., 7 asts. vs. RU (1/21) in first game back after missing five straight Off The Bench Pos. # Player Yr. Ht. Wt. Pts. Reb. Ast. Stl. Notes G 1 Adam Lonon Jr. 5-11 175 1.7 0.7 0.0 0.5 Played first game this season vs. Richmond, playing 13 minutes G 4 Joey Cantafio So. 5-6 150 4.3 1.0 1.3 0.0 6 pts., 3 ast. vs. Maryland Bible (11/18); 5 pts. at Jacksonville St. (11/29) F 11 Quinn Brownfield So. 6-7 195 1.9 0.7 0.3 0.4 10 pts., 3 reb., 2 3-pt., 2 asts. vs. PC (1/12) G 20 Carl Josey Jr. 6-5 195 0.8 1.7 0.4 0.5 4 pts., 2 reb., 2-2 FG vs. Campbell (12/9); 3 pts., 4 reb. in 7 mins. vs. SWU G 21 Keith Gabriel Fr. 6-2 180 15.7 2.7 1.2 1.7 Sixth Man; 34 pts., 7 3-pt. at GWU (1/3); 25 pts., 6 3-pt. vs. Winthrop (12/3) G 31 Michael Sparks Fr. 6-4 195 6.9 2.4 1.3 0.8 12 pts., 3 reb., 2 asts., 1 stl. vs. Southern Wesleyan (12/13) C 32 Wayne Whiting Fr. 6-7 240 2.4 0.8 0.3 0.1* 10 pts., 1 reb., 1 ast., 1 blk.vs. Stevenson; 9 pts., 4 reb. vs. Maryland Bible F 34 Hunter Houston So. 6-6 195 5.4 1.6 0.2 1.0 18 pts., 5 3-pt., 2 reb. in season debut at Charleston Southern (1/5) F 35 Aaron Blosser Fr. 6-3 205 1.5 0.5 0.0 0.5 3 pts., 1 stl. in 3 minutes vs. Stevenson (11/20) C 50 Stephen Sargent R-Fr. 7-0 245 3.3 0.5 0.5 0.5* 6 pts., 2 blks., 1 reb., 1 ast. in 7 minutes vs. Stevenson (11/20) *- Blocks Per Game Media Schedule/Results (15-33 Overall/7-11 Big South) Information Date Opponent (Television) Time/Result Record Key Stats Nov. 14 at Kentucky (FSN South/BBSN) W, 111-103 1-0 VMI 7-of-8 3-Pt. to begin game, 14-31 3-Pt. in game X VMI Basketball Contacts Nov. 16 at Virginia (Comcast SportsNet) L, 97-107 1-1 UVa 27 2nd Chance Pts.; Outrebounded VMI 50-36 Nov. 18 Maryland Bible W, 118-72 2-1 VMI 57 pts. off 37 MBC TO; VMI 89% FT Nov. 20 Stevenson W, 133-72 3-1 VMI 48% 3-Pt., 33 asts.; VMI 21 stls., 12 blks. Wade Branner, Associate A.D./Athletic Nov. 24 at Campbell W, 97-92 4-1 VMI 48% (19-40) 3-Pt.; 10 3-Pt. off bench Communications (Basketball Contact) Nov. 29 at Jacksonville State L, 67-95 4-2 VMI 21% (7-34) 3-Pt.; JSU 61% FG% Office (540) 464-7515 Dec. 3 Winthrop* (MASN) W, 92-74 5-2, 1-0 VMI 16 3-Pt.; Turnovers: WU 25, VMI 10 Cell (540) 319-1271 Dec. 6 at UNC Asheville* W, 114-105 6-2, 2-0 VMI 56% (15-27) 3-Pt.; Turnovers: UNCA 20, VMI9 Fax (540) 464-7583 Dec. 9 Campbell W, 88-76 7-2 VMI 16-0 run after halftime; CU 26 Turnovers Email [email protected] Dec. 13 Southern Wesleyan W, 113-94 8-2 VMI 41 pts. off turnovers; Turnovers: SWU 26 VMI 12 Web www.VMIKeydets.com Dec. 21 at Army W, 62-55 9-2 VMI 1st Half FG%: 18.2%, 2nd Half FG%: 51.9% Dec.