October 24, 2018,  Basketball  No comments

2018 Herd Madness

By Michael Morgan

Herd Madness took place on Friday in the Cam Henderson Center on the Marshall University campus and featured a dunk contest, t-shirt giveaways, and a three-point shooting contest.

Taevion Kinsey, the freshman Herd basketball player from Columbus, Ohio, partook in the dunk contest during Herd Madness and was regarded as the crowd favorite for the event based on surveying some of the spectators. Kinsey took the microphone before performing and told the roughly 4,000 people to, “pull out your cameras.”

The contest featured Kinsey, freshman Cam Brooks-Harris, sophomore Mikel Beyers, redshirt freshman Iran Bennett, and senior Rondale Watson.

Kinsey faced Beyers in the final matchup. The final dunk in the contest that undoubtedly won it for Kinsey, was one in which he positioned six-foot-nine Iran Bennett, six-foot-ten Ante Sustic, and six-foot-three DeAundra Murphy in front of the basket. He then leaped over all of them with his legs spread and dunked the ball, sending the crowd into a loud cheer and the public address announcer Mike Kirtner yelled, “Superman!”

Marshall Head Coach Dan D’Antoni said, “we might have the best dunker in the country,” and, “you’re not going to see any better than what he can do,” D’Antoni said.

“It was fun,” Kinsey said. “Jumping over three people, I haven’t ever really done anything like that. Especially as big as those guys are, I have never done anything like that.”

The event started at 6 p.m. and was free for all to attend. The men’s basketball team met fans when they entered and the first 1,000 people received Herd Madness t-shirts. While the spectators waited on the teams to be introduced, the pep band played while the cheerleaders and dance teams performed.

There was also a Shooting Stars competition where members of the Herd men’s and women’s teams played together. Each team had three players and had to make three shots from different spots on the court before ending by making a half-court shot. The teams were timed and the team with the lowest time won.

The team of Jeremy Dillon, Logan Fraley, and Taylor Pearson defeated the team consisting of Kia Sivils, Shayna Gore, and Jon Elmore in the finals.

The final event was a three-point shootout where the men’s team of Elmore, C.J. Burks, Jarrod West, and Jannson Williams defeated the women’s team of Gore, Fraley, Taylor Porter, Khadaijia Brooks.

Herd women’s Head Coach Tony Kemper addressed fans during Herd Madness. “I tell our team all the time that this is a great place to play basketball, and this crowd proves it,” Kemper said.

At the end of the event, coach D’Antoni said, “I think you’re going to have a fun time this year,” referring to the spectators and fans that attended the event.

The Marshall men’s basketball team has exhibition games on Oct. 28 against Glenville State and Nov. 1 against West Virginia Wesleyan before opening their season on Nov. 7 against Eastern Kentucky University.

The Herd women’s team opens their season Nov. 7 at home against Indiana State University.