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.
