GROWING PAINS

Compiled by Dave Walsh THE INSIDER writer.

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 (104- 67) 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 become great players. We’ve got to keep working on building their speed, building quicker decision making they do. Iran comes out the first 2-3 minutes and looks good, then he has a rough patch. We’ve got to stay out there and he’s pretty quick. We have to keep working on that.

“I can use Jannson and George now, but I need one of those other three, somebody to get up, give us 10 minutes a game so we can stay in the things we do. None of those three have ever played at this level. It’ll take time to work them out and make sure it gets done.”

Another reason opponents find it easy to operate inside is the Herd is missing a big component from its success a year ago. Ajdin Penava, the 6-9 standout from Serbia, led the nation in blocks (134) and was voted C-USA Defensive Player of the Year. He averaged 15.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. When a frontcourt teammate got beat on a play, Penava was there to provide cover. He elected to enter the NBA Draft last year and bypass his senior year. The current free agent is playing in Europe.

“We had those lapses last year and had Ajdin wiping off a few,” D’Antoni said. “We don’t have that this year right now. I’d like to say Jannson is good, but he’d be a lot better with Ajdin beside him. Add his two or three (blocks) with Ajdin’s 5 or 6 and that’s a lot during a game. He’s in there by himself getting 2 or 3 chances. If we’re going to make big noise, we’ve got to get one of those three bigs to step up.”

Be it a blowout at Maryland or Ohio or a big win at the Cam Henderson Center, D’Antoni quickly files those moments away. No dwelling on the past. The motto is on to the next opponent.

“Here’s how I am. You take nothing with you either way,” D’Antoni said. “Maryland, that’s over. Other than that bus ride back, getting in at 5:30 in the morning. That was the tough part of it. I’ve been in this business a long time. I try to teach that to the kids. Our style of play is a roller coaster. Our mental philosophy going into games is a merry goround. Just going to stay solid. Don’t expect this game to teach us anything for that (next) game. This loss makes this harder, this win makes us closer to a loss. I don’t know all that stuff.”

Elmore, 6-3 guard from Charleston, had 26 points in the win over William & Mary to become the third player in program history to reach 2,000 points, joining John Taft and Skip Henderson.

“It’s a cool little thing. I’ve put in a lot of work over the years, a lot of time in the gym alone, had people pushing me to get better,” Elmore said. “Some of that hard work is paying off. I’ve got bigger goals and more things to keep doing. Danny pushed me. He’s done a phenomenal job just having my back. He’s the kind of guy you want to go out there and play for. Play freely. You go out there and don’t have to second guess anything. He just lets me play.” Elmore and D’Antoni said players must focus better at practice, walkthroughs, pre-game shootarounds, warmups and once in action. Any shortcomings and a Maryland experience happens.

“We got hit in the mouth and didn’t respond,” Elmore said. “Walk through not great. Pregame warmup not very good. Energy was terrible. The game was even worse. It was kind of like quicksand, you keep fighting and it got worse. We had a fresh mindset. We came out with energy (vs. William & Mary). I think we have a chance to be really good. I don’t think we’ve touched the surface on what we can do. We showed glimpses tonight defensively. When we shoot the ball, I think we can play with anybody. We need to replicate this on a daily basis.”

Home games with Morehead State and Akron made up part of the Herd’s remaining non-league schedule. Also included are trips to nationally-ranked Texas A&M and Virginia. Marshall opens C-USA play Jan. 3rd and 5th with games at Old Dominion and Charlotte.

Photos by Adam Gue.