2014–15 San Jose State Spartans men's basketball team

2014–15 San Jose State Spartans men's basketball
Conference Mountain West Conference
2014–15 record 2–28 (0–18 MWC)
Head coach Dave Wojcik (2nd year)
Assistant coach Chris Brazelton
Assistant coach Mike Lepore
Assistant coach Tyler Ojanen
Home arena Event Center Arena
2014–15 Mountain West Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
Boise State 14 – 4   .778     25 – 9   .735
San Diego State 14 – 4   .778     27 – 9   .750
Colorado State 13 – 5   .722     27 – 7   .794
Wyoming † 11 – 7   .611     25 – 10   .714
Utah State 11 – 7   .611     18 – 13   .581
Fresno State 10 – 8   .556     15 – 17   .469
UNLV 8 – 10   .444     18 – 15   .545
New Mexico 7 – 11   .389     15 – 16   .484
Air Force 6 – 12   .333     14 – 17   .452
Nevada 5 – 13   .278     9 – 22   .290
San Jose State* 0 – 18   .000     2 – 28   .067
*Ineligible for postseason play due to APR penalties
† 2015 MWC Tournament winner

The 2014–15 San Jose State Spartans men's basketball team represented San José State University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by second year head coach Dave Wojcik, played their home games at the Event Center Arena and were members of the Mountain West Conference.

Due to APR penalties, San Jose State were ineligible for postseason tournament play, including the Mountain West Tournament.

Following a 7–24 season in 2013–14, the Spartans finished the season 2–28, 0–18 in Mountain West play to finish in last place. They failed to defeat a Division I opponent.

Preseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Dylan Alexander 5 G 6'4" 190 Freshman Stockton, CA Transferred to Casper CC
D.J. Brown 1 G 6'1" 185 Junior Los Angeles, CA Transferred to Texas State
Chris Cunningham 15 F 6'9" 240 Senior Pomona, CA Graduated
Mike VanKirk 21 C 7'1" 240 Sophomore Palmdale, CA Left the team[1]

Recruits

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Daryl Gaynor
PG		 Las Vegas, NV Durango High School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Apr 19, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 67
Ryan Singer
C		 Littleton, CO Massanutten Military Academy 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Apr 26, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 60
Leon Bahner
C		 Bonn, Germany CJD Konigswinter 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) N/A May 21, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: –   Rivals: –
  • 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:

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Jordan Baker 1 G 6'3" 180 Junior Tempe, AZ Transferred from Pepperdine; redshirted last season per NCAA rules.
Ivo Basor 10 F 6'9" 230 Junior Watsonville, CA Junior college transfer from Monterey Peninsula.
Princeton Onwas 23 G 6'6" 215 Junior Houston, TX Transferred from Utah. Under NCAA transfer rules, Onwas will redshirt this season and will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Frank Rogers 14 F 6'9" 230 Junior Salinas, CA Transferred from San Francisco; redshirted last season per NCAA rules.

NCAA academic sanctions

Under previous head coach George Nessman, San Jose State reported five consecutive years of rising four-year average Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores, including a program-best 940 in the 2011–12 season (because of a perfect one-year 1000 score).[2] However, the APR fell below 930 for the 2012–13 season, Nessman's last as head coach. As a result, the NCAA imposed sanctions on the San Jose State men's basketball program in April 2014. These sanctions included:[3]

Athletic director Gene Bleymaier stated in response to the sanctions: "Last year, we were faced with a situation that needed to be dealt with in a major fashion. The coaching staff was not retained, and several players were not invited back for the 2013-14 season. Only four players returned from the 2012-13 team.[3]

Roster

2014–15 San Jose State Spartans men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year High School/Junior College Home town
G 0 Muhammad, RashadRashad Muhammad style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 170 lb (77 kg) So Bishop Gorman HS Las Vegas, NV
F 2 Williams, JaleelJaleel Williams style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Ellison HS Killeen, TX
F 4 Mitchell, BrandonBrandon Mitchell style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 215 lb (98 kg) So Ridgeway HS Memphis, TN
G 5 Gaynor II, DarrylDarryl Gaynor II style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Durango HS Las Vegas, NV
C 10 Basor, IvoIvo Basor (W) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Monterey Peninsula CC Watsonville, CA
G 11 Mahoney, DannyDanny Mahoney (W) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Serra HS San Mateo, CA
G 21 James, JalenJalen James  style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 170 lb (77 kg) So La Lumiere School Chicago, IL
G 22 Wilson, DevanteDevante Wilson   style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Lee CC Muskogee, OK
G 23 Onwas, PrincetonPrinceton Onwas (I)  style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 215 lb (98 kg) Jr U. of Utah Houston, TX
F 24 Singer, RyanRyan Singer style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Massanutten Military Academy Littleton, CO
C 25 Bahner, LeonLeon Bahner  style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; | 225 lb (102 kg) Fr CJD Christophorusschule Königswinter Bonn, Germany
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Suspensions and dismissals

Coach Dave Wojcik announced on December 13, 2014 that five players were suspended indefinitely due to violating team rules: Jordan Baker, Rashad Muhammad, Matt Pollard, Frank Rogers, and Jaleel Williams. As a result, two San Jose State football players—wide receiver Tyler Winston and tight end Andrew Vollert—joined the roster temporarily.[4] Vollert and Winston became the first San Jose State football players since the 1988–89 season to have played football and basketball the same season. The last time that happened followed the walkout of 10 basketball players in protest over alleged verbal abuse by coach Bill Berry, who was fired after the season.[5]

Five days after the five players were suspended, associate head coach Chris Brazelton was placed on paid administrative leave.[6] Ultimately, Muhammad and Williams were reinstated on January 3, 2015.[7] Baker and Rogers were dismissed from the team, and Pollard transferred.[8]

Injuries

On December 3, 2014, Jalen James suffered a season-ending ankle injury.[9] Six days later, Leon Bahner was diagnosed with the same injury and was also sidelined the rest of the season.[10] Devante Wilson did not play at all in the season due to injury.[8]

Schedule

Date Opponent Result Record Site (Attendance)
Exhibition
11/02/2014* Cal State East Bay W 84–65  Event Center Arena (1,196)
11/08/2014* Notre Dame de Namur W 65–58  Event Center Arena (1,172)
Regular Season
11/14/2014* Bethesda W 67–44  1–0 Event Center Arena (1,078)
11/16/2014* Portland L 68–73 OT 1–1 Event Center Arena (1,453)
11/19/2014* Pepperdine L 44–63  1–2 Event Center Arena (1,358)
11/22/2014* at Cal State Fullerton L 66–70  1–3 Titan Gym (1,092)
11/27/2014* vs. Washington
(Wooden Legacy quarterfinals)		 L 56–78  1–4 Titan Gym (2,241)
11/28/2014* vs. Western Michigan
(Wooden Legacy consolation round)		 L 60–79  1–5 Titan Gym (N/A)
11/30/2014* vs. Princeton
(Wooden Legacy 7th place game)		 L 54–69  1–6 Honda Center (N/A)
12/03/2014* at UC Davis L 56–70  1–7 The Pavilion (1,965)
12/06/2014* Santa Clara
(Rivalry)		 L 50–61  1–8 Event Center Arena (2,123)
12/09/2014* Saint Katherine W 74–63  2–8 Event Center Arena (1,194)
12/13/2014* Seattle L 38–54  2–9 Event Center Arena (1,415)
12/21/2014* at Washington State L 53–82  2–10 Beasley Coliseum (1,604)
12/31/2014 at Utah State L 33–61  2–11 (0–1) Smith Spectrum (8,491)
01/03/2015 Wyoming L 59–64  2–12 (0–2) Event Center Arena (1,188)
01/07/2015 at Air Force L 56–78  2–13 (0–3) Clune Arena (971)
01/10/2015 at UNLV L 40–74  2–14 (0–4) Thomas & Mack Center (12,623)
01/14/2015 Fresno State
(Rivalry)		 L 62–73  2–15 (0–5) Event Center Arena (1,091)
01/17/2015 Colorado State L 41–70  2–16 (0–6) Event Center Arena (1,226)
01/21/2015 at Boise State L 36–86  2–17 (0–7) Taco Bell Arena (4,219)
01/28/2015 Air Force L 52–66  2–18 (0–8) Event Center Arena (2,045)
01/31/2015 at New Mexico L 41–67  2–19 (0–9) The Pit (14,358)
02/04/2015 at Fresno State
(Rivalry)		 L 63–81  2–20 (0–10) Save Mart Center (5,550)
02/07/2015 Nevada L 57–60  2–21 (0–11) Event Center Arena (1,085)
02/14/2015 at Wyoming L 60–77  2–22 (0–12) Arena-Auditorium (7,870)
02/18/2015 Utah State L 54–76  2–23 (0–13) Event Center Arena (1,311)
02/21/2015 San Diego State
(Rivalry)		 L 56–74  2–24 (0–14) Event Center Arena (3,477)
02/25/2015 at Colorado State L 56–72  2–25 (0–15) Moby Arena (4,924)
02/28/2015 at Nevada L 51–62  2–26 (0–16) Lawlor Events Center (5,325)
03/04/2015 Boise State L 51–68  2–27 (0–17) Event Center Arena (1,088)
03/07/2015 UNLV L 58–71  2–28 (0–18) Event Center Arena (2,106)
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. ( ) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.verbalcommits.com/players/mike-van-kirk
  2. ↑ Durkin, Jimmy (April 1, 2014). "San Jose State men's basketball expects APR sanctions". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Men's Basketball Will Incur Anticipated NCAA APR Sanctions For 2014-15". San Jose State Spartans. April 1, 2015. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  4. ↑ Durkin, Jimmy (December 14, 2014). "Football players become basketball players for San Jose State". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  5. ↑ Durkin, Jimmy (December 19, 2014). "San Jose State basketball team gets help from football players". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  6. ↑ Durkin, Jimmy (December 18, 2014). "San Jose State places assistant basketball coach on administrative leave". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  7. ↑ Durkin, Jimmy (January 3, 2015). "San Jose State men fall to Wyoming". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Durkin, Jimmy (January 12, 2015). "Two San Jose State basketball players kicked off team". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Santa Clara Outlasts Spartans, 61-50". San Jose State Spartans. December 6, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Men's Basketball Wins, 74-63, Over Saint Katherine". San Jose State Spartans. December 9, 2014. Retrieved March 17, 2015.