September 10, 2018,  Basketball, Football  No comments

Huntington Becoming a Haven for Winning

By Michael Morgan

The Marshall Thundering Herd football team moved to 2-0 on the season with a 32-16 win over the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels. The Herd’s success on the football field was preceded by huge success on the basketball court this past season.

The Jon Elmore-led Herd finished with a 24-10 regular season record in the 2017-2018 season. Elmore led the team in assists per game, steals per game, minutes per game, and led the team and Conference USA in points per game. Longtime supporter Rick Ellison is a huge fan of Elmore. “I swear there isn’t a thing that Elmore can’t do. He can rebound, shoot, and lead the floor as well as anyone in the country,” Ellison said.

Shooting guard C.J. Burks, Conference USA’s third-leading scorer, returns to the Herd as well. Last season, Burks and Elmore were the only teammates in college basketball to average 20+ points per game each. This dangerous duo plan to lead the Herd back to the tournament, at least that is what student Jonathan Wright believes. “I bet they both improve their scoring averages with hopes of going to the NBA next year like Penava already did,” Wright said. Burks and Elmore both declared for the draft after last season, but were able to return because they did not hire an agent.

Some of the Marshall players such as Burks  among others stay in playing shape by participating in a recreational league at the Chesapeake Community Center in Chesapeake, Ohio, noted by Herd fan Conner Flynn. “I go to the community center to work out and I see Burks and a few other Marshall players dunking and throwing up alley-oops to each other, it was like watching them play regular season,” Flynn said.

The Herd also added reinforcements that are eligible for the upcoming season. Some of the new faces are Iran Bennett, Taevion Kinsey, Deaundra Murphy, and Luke Thomas. New faces accompanied by star returners, add up to a promising season.

The success within the basketball team is largely due to the play of players such as Elmore and Burks, but the coaching plays a large part. Coach Dan D’antoni is just as much a part as the success for the basketball team, as head coach Doc Holliday is to the 2-0 start of the football team. The two are great recruiters with seemingly different strategies. D’antoni likes to recruit within West Virginia, while Holliday goes out of state, primarily in Florida.

The fans also play a large role in the success and growth of Marshall athletics. Spectators give their support to the university and athletes on each team. The teams put on promotions such as T-shirt giveaways and even fan cams keep all fans entertained, whether they enjoy the games or not. Herd athletics try to create an environment that is enjoyed by all ages, to show their appreciation for the support.

The success of the basketball team and increased funding, led to the installation of a $1 million Daktronics hung videoboard, according to www.herdzone.com. Renovations such as this go a long way in improving the Henderson Center, where the Herd play. “Have you seen the videoboard? It is incredible in pictures so I can only imagine what it looks like in person,” Hayden James, a resident of Proctorville, Ohio said.

The Marshall Thundering Herd have been succeeding across multiple sports, creating a tradition of winning in Huntington. Jason Prince, a former Huntington resident has an idea of how important Marshall is to the community. “Huntington thrives off of the college of Marshall. When the basketball and football teams go, we (the city of Huntington) go,” Prince said.

The football team travels to Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday against the South Carolina Gamecocks and the basketball team opens their season Nov. 7 in Richmond, Kentucky against Eastern Kentucky University.