8 / THE INSIDER / December 2018
Growing Pains
Early-season road woes hit the Marshall basketball team. compiled by Dave Walsh THE INSIDER writer photos by Adam Gue
Starters Jon Elmore, C.J. Burks, Jarrod West, Jannson Williams and Rondale Watson and sixth-man Darius George more often than not deliver what Marshall University men’s basketball coach Dan D’Antoni is used to seeing. What has D’Antoni on edge as the Thundering Herd approaches Conference USA play is the performance of the new men in the middle. Redshirt freshman Iran Bennett (6-foot-9) and junior college transfers Ante Sustic (6-10) and Mikel Beyers (6-9) are the new, tall faces trying to master what D’Antoni expects from big men. When the former Marshall guard checks the stat sheet after a game, he sees some alarming numbers, numbers that contribute to wipeouts at the likes of Maryland (10467) and Ohio University (101-84) as well as at Duquesne (93-82). Williams has been the lone wolf in the pack, so to speak, and it’s not easy to carry the load by himself. Against Maryland, the Terrapins enjoyed wide margins in rebounds (52-30) and points in the paint (46-30). Against Ohio, the Bobcats ruled in rebounds (49-29), points in the paint (52-40), second-chance points (25-8) and bench points (42-24). D’Antoni again addressed that issue after Ohio fiasco. Playing small is not easy. “We’ve got to get the bigs going if we’re to make a run
at the end of the year,” D’Antoni said. “We’re not where we need to be at the moment.” That run in 2017-18 ended in Marshall winning its first C-USA championship, making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987, going in as No. 13 seed and beating No. 4 seed Wichita State in the first round. The Herd’s up-tempo, bombs-away style, along with the pick-and-roll offense make opponents either pick up their pace or get lost in the transition shuffle. Nothing’s changed except the big men running the floor now are not producing needed numbers. Low totals in points, rebounds, minutes and blocks are noticeable. D’Antoni needs the bigs to be mobile, set screens quickly, finish as a trailer and just get the ball and go. “We’ve got to get the big people able to play at the speed we just played,” D’Antoni said after the win over William & Mary. “I told Iran, Beyers and Sustic that we play in a league where big men have to play like guards. If they do that, they
