Virginia Military Institute - VMI Men's Basketball

Xavier Silas joined the VMI Basketball coaching staff in January 2024 at the start of Southern Conference play midway through the 2023-24 season.   His impact on the program both on and off the court has been immediately felt to the point of receiving a promotion to Associate Head Coach in October of 2024. The 2024-25 season - his second at VMI - marked the greatest single season turnaround in program history as the Keydets earned an 11-win improvement having won four games in 2023-24 to 15 victories in 2024-25, which had only been achieved 12 times in the school's 117-year history as a basketball program. The Keydets were one of just 14 programs nationwide to improve their previous season's win total by double digits. VMI won nine games against SoCon opponents (7 regular season, 2 tournament) for only the ninth time in program history and advanced to the SoCon Tournament semis for the first time since the 2020-21 season. During the season, the Keydets won three straight SoCon road games for the first time since 1998 and defeated rival The Citadel three times during the season for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign. VMI also earned two conference series sweeps for the first time since the 2017-18 season as the Keydets topped The Citadel and Western Carolina twice.   A former collegiate standout and professional basketball player at the highest levels of the sport, Silas most recently came to VMI after serving as an analyst for the University of Missouri men’s basketball program where he assisted with offensive and defensive strategies, preparing film, scouting opponents and facilitating player development.   During the 2022-23 season, Silas served as head coach of the Guaynabo Mets of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN), the highest professional basketball league in Puerto Rico.   Prior to coaching in Puerto Rico, he had a dual role with the Detroit Pistons serving as both the director of player development and offensive coordinator for the Motor City Cruise, its NBA G-League affiliate. In this role, he developed players such as Cade Cunningham and Jerami Grant and helped coach the offense to top-10 finishes in 15 different statistical categories. The team clinched the No. 2 seed in the G-League playoffs in its inaugural season.   From 2019-21, Silas served a dual role with the Philadelphia 76ers as both the director of player development and offensive coordinator of its G-League affiliate Delaware Bluecoats. He helped coach the team to its first playoff appearance and victory in the organization’s history and developed players such as Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Paul Reed, the G-League MVP and Rookie of the Year. The team ranked No. 1 in the G-League in offensive rating, assist-to-turnover ratio and creating turnovers.   Silas was a member of the NBA Assistant Coaches Program in 2019 and served as a head assistant coach for The Big 3 league’s Team Power in 2018.   As a professional basketball player, Silas had playing stints with the Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers. As a member of the NBA G-League, he played for the Iowa Wolves, Northern Arizona Suns, Bakersfield Jam and the Maine Red Claws.   Internationally, he was selected as a starter for USA Basketball in 2018-19 and helped Team USA qualify for the 2019 World Cup in China. Silas also played for various professional teams in Argentina, Germany, Greece, Israel and France throughout his playing career.   After beginning his collegiate career at the University of Colorado at Boulder (2006-08), he transferred to Northern Illinois (2009-11) where he earned First Team All-MAC honors and First Team NABC All-District 14 accolades. As a senior, he averaged 22.3 points per game and was named the MAC West Division Player of the Week five times, becoming the third NIU player in program history to reach 1,000 points in just two seasons.   He graduated from Northern Illinois University in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric communications. Silas is presently working toward a master’s degree in positive coaching and athletic leadership from the University of Missouri.                    

Paul Harrison enters his second season as the team's new assistant coach and defensive coordinator. His impact was immediate as the 2024-25 season marked the greatest single season turnaround in program history as the Keydets earned an 11-win improvement having won four games in 2023-24 to 15 victories in 2024-25, which had only been achieved 12 times in the school's 117-year history as a basketball program. The Keydets were one of just 14 programs nationwide to improve their previous season's win total by double digits. VMI won nine games against SoCon opponents (7 regular season, 2 tournament) for only the ninth time in program history and advanced to the SoCon Tournament semis for the first time since the 2020-21 season. During the season, the Keydets won three straight SoCon road games for the first time since 1998 and defeated rival The Citadel three times during the season for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign. VMI also earned two conference series sweeps for the first time since the 2017-18 season as the Keydets topped The Citadel and Western Carolina twice. He helped coach AJ Clark to SoCon All-Defensive Team honors at the end of the regular season.   Harrison comes to the Institute by way of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where he had been on staff since the 2015-16 season, and he helped Bucknell raise banners in each of his first four seasons. Prior to the 2019-20 season, Harrison was promoted from assistant coach to associate head coach.    Bucknell captured Patriot League regular-season titles in each of Harrison's first four campaigns, and in 2017 and 2018 the Bison followed with Patriot League Tournament titles and automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. In 2016-17, the Bison toppled arch-rival Lehigh 81-65 in the PL championship game. The Bison finished 26-9 overall, 15-3 in the Patriot League, and dropped a hard-fought 86-80 decision to fourth-seeded West Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.   In 2017-18, Bucknell went 16-2 in Patriot League play, then toppled Loyola, Boston University and Colgate in the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison went on to earn a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they dropped a four-point verdict to Michigan State.   In 2018-19, the Bison captured their fifth straight Patriot League regular-season title and eighth in a nine-year span.   Harrison worked with the Bucknell post players, and he mentored two consecutive Patriot League Players of the Year. Nana Foulland was the Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, and Zach Thomas earned Player of the Year honors in 2018 after leading the league in both scoring and rebounding. Harrison also helped develop Nate Sestina, Foulland's backup for the previous three seasons, into an all-conference center in his first year as a starter.   Prior to Bucknell, Harrison had logged 14 years of experience as a college basketball coach, primarily as an assistant coach at very successful Division I mid-major programs. For the previous two seasons, Harrison was the head coach at Clayton State in Georgia. He inherited a team in rebuilding mode with only six players on the roster, and in his second year in 2014-15 led the squad to a winning season (15-12) and a spot in the Division II regional rankings during the year.   Prior to his head-coaching stint at Clayton State, Harrison spent six years as an assistant coach, including the last two as associate head coach, at Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. During his time at Wofford under head coach Mike Young, the Terriers compiled a 111-85 record and a 74-47 mark in the Southern Conference. Wofford captured consecutive league titles in 2010 and 2011, and in the NCAA Tournament lost close games to Wisconsin (53-49) in 2010 and BYU (74-66) in 2011. After graduating five seniors from the 2011 championship team, Wofford came back the next season and won 19 games, including a victory over Wake Forest, and participated in the CBI postseason tournament.   A 1993 graduate of Washington & Lee University, Harrison had two tours at College of Charleston, first as a graduate assistant from 1996-98 and then as a full-time assistant from 1999-2001. Working under head coach John Kresse, the Cougars won league titles in all four of Harrison's seasons in Charleston, compiling an overall record of 99-22 and a 63-11 mark in league play in the Trans America Athletic Conference and the Southern Conference. In 1997, the Cougars were ranked as high as No. 16 nationally and defeated Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.   Harrison also had one-year stops as an assistant coach at Long Island (1998-99) and Southeastern Louisiana (2005-06). In 2001, he took a break from coaching to attend law school, and he earned his Juris Doctor from Tulane University Law School in May 2004. Harrison practiced law in New Orleans and also helped out as an assistant coach at Metairie Park Country Day School before returning to the collegiate coaching ranks.   Harrison and his wife, Heather, have two children, Grace and Henry.    

Austin Kenon, one of the top shooting guards in VMI basketball history, rejoined the VMI basketball program as an assistant coach in May of 2017 and is now in his ninth season of coaching at the Institute. While on staff, Kenon has worked extensively with the Keydet guards in position development and is also the team’s military liaison and recruiting coordinator. The 2024-25 season - his eighth at VMI - marked the greatest single season turnaround in program history as the Keydets earned an 11-win improvement having won four games in 2023-24 to 15 victories in 2024-25, which had only been achieved 12 times in the school's 117-year history as a basketball program. The Keydets were one of just 14 programs nationwide to improve their previous season's win total by double digits. VMI won nine games against SoCon opponents (7 regular season, 2 tournament) for only the ninth time in program history and advanced to the SoCon Tournament semis for the first time since the 2020-21 season. During the season, the Keydets won three straight SoCon road games for the first time since 1998 and defeated rival The Citadel three times during the season for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign. VMI also earned two conference series sweeps for the first time since the 2017-18 season as the Keydets topped The Citadel and Western Carolina twice. Working with the youngest team in the country during the 2022-23 season, the Keydets ranked first in the SoCon in free throw percentage at 76.6 percent and topped the league in offensive rebounding average at 10.9 per game. VMI also shot well from beyond the arc, ranking second in the conference in three-pointers made (309) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.351). Kenon was a standout three-point threat over his four-year VMI career and ranks first on the school list in all-time treys with 349 made between 2007-11 which ranked third in the Big South Conference. He also holds the school season record with 119 made three-pointers during the 2008-09 season. He culminated his Institute playing career with a stellar senior campaign in 2010-11 and was named first team All-Big South after leading the league in 3-pointers made (93) and 3-point percentage (.419). He placed second overall in the Big South in scoring in 2010-11 with an 18.4 points per game average and was led all scorers in conference games that season. He also served as the team captain. Kenon is perhaps best remembered for his performance on Senior Night on February 15, 2011 when he drained eight 3-pointers on his way to scoring a career-high 39 points and grabbing eight rebounds in VMI's 79-69 win over Liberty at Cameron Hall. He finished his VMI career ranked fifth in scoring all-time with 1,767 points. After graduating from the Institute with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in May 2011, Kenon, a Virginia Beach native, played a season professionally overseas competing in the LPB – Portugese Premier Basketball League in Funchal, Maderia. Kenon also served as a Virginia Beach Corrections Officer/Deputy Sheriff from 2015-17 and also worked in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools. Kenon coached basketball as an assistant at the Division III level from 2014-16 handling a wide array of duties including player development and recruiting.