Marshall University Basketball Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

'Hillbilly Basketball': Marshall’s Dan D’Antoni Coaches the Style He Learned Growing Up

Dan D’Antoni never got far from his roots, even though basketball took him away from his home in Mullens, West Virginia for nearly 50 years. He continued to be a proud son of the Mountain State while teaching the world about the unique style of basketball that he says came from the courts he grew up on.

He calls that style of play West Virginia basketball or more famously “Hillbilly Ball.” It is the fast break style of play that dominated West Virginia in the 1950s and 60s under famous coaches and players like Jerry West, Hal Greer, Willie Akers and Leo Bird and is now taking over the NBA, much to the credit of Dan’s younger brother Mike D’Antoni — the head coach of the Houston Rockets.

“I always said you had to shoot real fast because first of all the courts were uneven and you might lose your dribble and if you shot it and missed it would go down the side of a hill. So you learned to go real fast, shoot quick and make it because if not you would have to chase it,” he said.

The term “hillbilly” may have negative connotations for some, but D’Antoni said he didn’t buy that.

“This is what Hillbillies look like. We put a team out there that’s efficient. They are clean cut young men who carry themselves well, who represent the basketball program both academically and on the court. This is really what a hillbilly stands for, hardworking, creative, able to accomplish things,” D’Antoni explained.

Dan D’Antoni grew up in Mullens while his dad, the late Lewis D’Antoni, lead the Mullens Runnin Rebels to a state title in 1955.

“As a young kid, Mullens was the Hoosiers before the movie. They won a state title from a very small school, when there were no classifications. They were runners up, they were champions and they were semifinalists the last one being beaten by (Jerry) West. Those were right in my formative years. It was great, the feeling I had and the passion that it gave me to play basketball and all my life I’ve been chasing to repeat the experience,” he said.

Lewis D’Antoni pushed young kids to get out and play basketball in one of the five outdoor courts. He even helped to construct some of the community courts when they were built. The courts became a gathering place for young people and almost a sort of training ground for players that helped Mullens earn seven state titles.

The D’Antoni family contributed to a foundation that’s working to restore the Mullens basketball courts of the D’Antoni’s youth. The West Mullens playground will be dedicated to Lewis D’Antoni, later this year.

February 5, 1890: Cam Henderson Born in Marion County

Coach Cam Henderson was born in Marion County on February 5, 1890. He grew up in Harrison County before attending Glenville State College, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. In 1923, he started a successful 12-year run as head football and basketball coach at Davis and Elkins College. Then, in 1935, he moved on to Marshall College.

In 1947, Henderson guided Marshall’s basketball team to a national NAIB title. He played the tournament with only eight players due to budget restrictions on travel. Later that year, his football team went 9 and 2 and played in the New Year’s Day Tangerine Bowl. Henderson actually missed the bowl game because he was coaching the Thundering Herd basketball team in a tournament in Los Angeles.

He resigned as football coach after the 1949 season and stepped down as basketball coach in 1955. He died the next year at age 66. Henderson is still Marshall’s all-time winningest basketball coach. And the university’s basketball arena is named in his honor. Today, he’s often credited with pioneering the fast break and 2-3 zone defense in basketball and the double-wing offense in football.

Marshall Ends 31-Year NCAA Drought with C-USA Title

The long wait is over for Marshall after all those long shots by Jon Elmore.

Elmore scored 20 of his 27 points after halftime, with a Conference USA championship game-record seven 3-pointers, and the Thundering Herd are going to their first NCAA Tournament since 1987 after a 67-66 win over Western Kentucky on Saturday night.

“We earned it. We fought all year long,” said Elmore, with a cut-down net draped over his shoulder.

After coming so close last year, losing in the C-USA title game, Elmore kept hitting long 3s in the second half for the Herd (24-10). He made six of his 3s after the break, including 11 straight points in a span of just more than 2 minutes.

“We talked about it before the season this year. We were thinking back about just how the season ended, just the feeling in the locker room,” Elmore said. “Everybody’s heads were down, people were crying, you could have heard a pin drop in there. … We didn’t want that again.”

This time, tournament MVP Elmore described what he called an awesome scene with 70-year-old coach and Marshall alumnus Dan D’Antoni jumping around with his players.

“You can tell I’m happy. I’m happy for these kids, I’m happy for this school,” said D’Antoni, the self-proclaimed country boy who wears T-shirts under his jacket while coaching. “A long time coming.”

The Herd had a 67-55 lead when Elmore made his last 3 with 3:40 left. Western Kentucky (24-10) then scored the game’s last 11 points before missing two shots in the final 20 seconds. Jannson Williams got the final rebound and managed to call timeout while falling to the court with 7.3 seconds left.

The Hilltoppers, with 10 wins against teams who have won at least 20 games, missed a chance to get back to first NCAA Tournament since 2013. Instead, they wait to see if they get an NIT bid.

“If you leave anything NCAA Tournament in the committee’s hands, you’re in trouble. You have to win. Marshall won. They took it out of anybody’s hands,” WKU coach Rick Stansbury said. “I’m comfortable and confident that our team has done enough and deserves an NIT berth for sure.”

Ajdin Penava added 16 points and nine rebounds for Marshall, which went into the tournament as the No. 4 seed.

Justin Johnson led WKU with 21 points and 12 rebounds, while Josh Anderson and Lamonte Bearden both had 13 points.

BIG PICTURE

Marshall: The Herd were in the Southern Conference when they went to their last NCAA Tournament 31 years ago. … D’Antoni is a Marshall alumnus, and the brother of Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, who was at the game since his NBA team was in town to play the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Western Kentucky: Freshman guard Taveion Hollingsworth took a shot to the face while going for a rebound on the opening possession, and Stansbury said it’s likely that the freshman broke his nose again. Hollingsworth, who was averaging 13.5 points a game, was 0-for-5 shooting and had two free throws while playing 35 minutes.

“He’s a tough young man,” Stansbury said.

SPREAD IT AROUND

Marshall became the 11th different school to win the C-USA Championship title game in the league’s 23 years.

UP NEXT

The Hilltoppers wait to see if they will get to play another game this season.

For the first time in 31 years, Marshall will be watching on Selection Sunday knowing it’s in the NCAA Tournament and waiting to see who will be its first-round opponent.

College Basketball Tips Off Around the State

The college basketball season got started over the weekend across the country and in the Mountain State.

In Morgantown the Mountaineers men’s basketball team is fresh off a first round upset loss in the NCAA tournament last season to Stephen F. Austin This season they’re picked to finish second in the Big 12 conference preseason poll and start the season ranked 20^th in the country by the Associated Press. Of the 15 players on the Mountaineers basketball roster, there are 6 freshmen. Head Coach Bob Huggins said there is no time for the freshman to sit around and gain experience, the Mountaineers use a system of constant movement, so they’ll need to play.

“We’re going to play a lot of people so they’re going to play, our two bigs are going to play,” Huggins said. “We have a 6-10 freshman and a 6-8 freshman and they’re going to play. I hope we can get into other peoples bench and make them play guys they haven’t played a lot in just a cumulative effect of what we do, wears on them.”

Huggins coaches an aggressive and frantic nature for his team. The strategy is to tire the opposition and force them to play players that would normally stay on the bench. The Mountaineer women are still working on their line up. .Preseason injuries have forced the women to adjust floor positions.. The Mountaineer women are picked 4^th in the preseason Big 12 poll and ranked 22^nd in the Associated Press Preseason poll. Mike Carey is the head coach of the women’s program.

“What we don’t have set is who is coming off the bench and what position, with all the injuries I’m trying to get people to play several positions right now, we’re just trying to find out what’s the best combination at certain times of the game and that’s going to take a little while to decide,”Carey said.

Both the Mountaineer men and women tipped off their seasons over the weekend.

The other Division 1 program in the state, the Marshall Thundering Herd saw both of its programs tip-off over the weekend. The Marshall University men are picked to finish 4^th in the preseason Conference USA poll after a surprising 17-16 record last season. Marshall Head Coach Dan D’Antoni said he won’t guarantee wins, but he’s sure they’ve improved since last year.

“But I think we can guarantee you an exciting season, practice has shown that the ball is more fast paced, we’ll attack the basket at a faster pace,” D’Antoni said. ‘Think I can guarantee and feel confident that these kids will play together, they’ll give you, Marshall, the state and Huntington the best they have in them.”

A year after making their first appearance in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament, the Marshall Women’s team is picked 10^th in Conference USA. Head Coach Matt Daniel said he’s put together a tough early season schedule to get the team ready for conference play later in the year.

“We’re at North Carolina and we’re at Illinois, we go to Penn State, we have Florida A&M here and Coastal Carolina here,” Daniel said. “We’ve got some meat on that bone of the non-conference schedule, but I think it prepares us to learn about ourselves and I think with our youth it’s important to learn who we are.”

The WVU men next play at home tonight at 7 p.m. against Mississippi Valley state. The women play at home tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. against Howard.

In Huntington the Marshall women are at home tomorrow night at 6 p.m. against Floriday A&M. The men are at home Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Morehead State.

In the Mountain East Conference, the West Liberty men’s team is picked to win the conference. And Fairmont State is picked to when on the Women’s Side.

State Colleges Tip-Off Basketball Season

College basketball season has begun in West Virginia.

The West Virginia University men’s team tips off its season in exhibition play Friday night against Glenville State. Last year, the Mountaineers made a run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. It was the most successful season since an appearance in the final four in 2009. WVU Head Coach Bob Huggins said the key to last year was adopting a full-court press on defense, where defenders guard their player all over the floor.

“I was tired of losing was the biggest thing. I think sometimes it’s good to do something different and I kind of looked around the league and nobody played that way and so it kind of gives you an advantage to a degree when you do something that other people don’t do,” Huggins said.

The West Virginia women’s program finished last year with a loss in the women’s National Invitational Tournament Championship game to UCLA. The NIT tournament is considered the second in prestige behind the NCAA Tournament. The WVU women have already knocked off Shepherd in their exhibition opener on Halloween. Head Coach Mike Carey said they’ll try to be more aggressive this year, maybe press more like the men.

“We want to, we’re working on some things this year that we didn’t do the last couple of years to be honest with you because we feel we’re a little bit deeper especially on the perimeter, because we’re not really big inside that we feel we have to defend out on the perimeter and take some time off the clock and not just let people bring it to half court and start running their offense,” Carey said.

The Marshall men’s basketball team enters the second season of the Dan D’Antoni era with almost an entire new unit of players. Marshall finished last year 11-21, but won five of their last nine regular-season games. They open exhibition play next Thursday against Bluefield State. Coach D’Antoni said he thinks the new roster can better handle his up-tempo style.

“We’ve overhauled our team, 11 new faces, two seniors, three juniors and a lot of underclassmen,” D’Antoni said. “I think this ball club has the potential to reach our goals. And they’re working hard on the floor to give you a more exciting brand of basketball that has a chance to advance in the NCAA.”

A year after making its first postseason appearance in the Women’s Basketball Invitational, the Marshall women’s team has been picked to finish 10^th in a Conference USA poll. The postseason appearance was the first since an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1997. Head Coach Matt Daniel said it’s an extremely young roster.

“I’m really excited about our team, we’re really young. We have 16 on the roster, 14 or 15 will be available,” Daniel said. “Of our 15 or 14 that are available, 10 of them didn’t play Division I basketball last year so we’re picked young, I don’t know what we have we’re so young. I can tell you I really like our team and the people we have on our roster.”

In the Mountain East Conference, West Liberty University has dominant teams in both men’s and women’s basketball. The men are preseason number 3 in the NCAA Division II Preseason Top 25 poll. While the West Liberty Women are picked 12 in the preseason poll.

Marshall Men’s Basketball Ready for 2014-2015 Season

Marshall University Basketball is set to begin practice with new coach Dan D’Antoni.

A long coaching search in the spring began with rumors of Marshall trying to lure Mike D’Antoni away from his job with the NBA LA Lakers. And it ended with Marshall hiring Dan D’Antoni, Mike’s older brother and assistant with the Lakers. The need for a new coach was required after Tom Herrion resigned following an 11-22 season.

D’Antoni immediately put the team through an extensive off season program that saw many of the players lose considerable weight.

“They’ve lost a lot of weight, they’ve all done what’s necessary as far as shedding some weight and leaning up their muscle fat or density and it’s been measured,” D’Antoni said.

The reason for that weight loss is the style of play that D’Antoni wants to implement. That style includes much more running and a system that requires in shape athletes.

Tyrone Goard is a junior forward from Charleston. He said he’s still working on getting in shape.

“I took off a little bit, but I’m trying to gain it back, I’m supposed to be playing the 5 and I don’t want to be as small as everybody else, also I need to lose weight, but gain muscle, so that’s what I’m in the process of doing,” Goard said.

Anytime a new coach is hired, players will leave the program and others will be brought in. Junior Guard Tamron Manning said chemistry will be important for the squad.

“Chemistry is always a big thing, I think to win games you need to bond with people and I think to trust people you need to have chemistry, so with us we’ve already been close, but we had to take this time to get even closer and just learn what we’re going to need from each other and it’s been a good experience so far,” Manning said.

The Herd begins practice Friday.