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Throughout most of the non-conference portion of the season, Marshall had been
struggling to stack wins and more importantly, they’ve struggled to figure out who they
are as a basketball team. Before entering conference play, the Herd sat at 5-8 and
many had already written off the season and staff. In retrospect, a lot of this makes
sense, considering they lost their top two scorers (Taevion Kinsey & Andrew Taylor)
and the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year (Micah Handlogten). The newcomers had major
shoes to fill and to add even more to it, this was one of the tougher non-conference
schedules we’ve seen D’Antoni put together.

Replacing Three Starters? Well. . .Okay.

Throughout November you could see the flashes of this group, but nothing was
shown to be consistent and sustainable. Throughout the trip to the Cayman Islands and
road trip to Lexington the defense was extremely leaky and the offense couldn’t seem to
figure out how to get going, but heading into December something clicked. I believe the
guys realized that they didn’t have to fill the shoes of Taevion, Andy, and Micah, but
instead they needed to figure out their own identity. Marshall has found their identity and
it is on the defensive end, something we don’t usually associate as a strength for a
D’Antoni team.

Height and Length Everywhere. . .

Marshall has used a full one through five switching defense for quite some time
under this staff and it has always been a little inconsistent due to personnel and other
various factors, but this team is capable of effectively running this defense better than
any previous Herd team and here is why. This might be the most length D’Antoni has

ever put out there. Curfman and Voyles spearhead the backcourt, but then you have the
trio of Jacob Conner (6′ 8″), Obinna Anochili-Killen (6′ 8″), and Nate Martin (6’8″) providing
major length, which makes it extremely difficult for opposing offenses. Not to mention,
the first man off the bench is 6′ 9″ Wyatt Fricks.

. . .With Flexibility

The real engine behind this scheme is the ability for these big men to really move their feet on the perimeter. There are
many instances when either Martin or Anochili-Killen get switched onto opposing guards
and they completely hold their ground to force a bad shot, turnover, or pass out. The
guards are also pests and do a great job of getting into the passing lanes. Kevon Voyles
and Ryan Nutter specifically have excelled at applying pressure at the point of attack for
opposing offenses.

Inside the Numbers

Let’s now add in some stats to back up our claims. On the season Marshall ranks
104th (out of 362) in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency (points allowed per 100
possessions) with 100.8. Keep in mind that number includes the early season woes
versus Kentucky, Utah State, Duquesne, etc. During the first 8 games of the season,
Marshall had allowed opposing teams to score over 75 points six times. In the last 7
games, that number is two. To start conference play the Herd has held both ULL and
ULM to 61 and 57 points respectively, 32% shooting from the floor, and 16% from deep
(6/37). In the small two game sample size of conference play, Marshall would rank 2nd
in the country in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency with a tally of 83.6. It’s safe to say that
the calling card of this team is defense.

There are some drawbacks within the defensive switching scheme and those
include allowing offensive rebounds. During the past two games, Marshall has lost the
offensive rebounding battle by 5 boards and this is largely due to guards being switched
onto bigger players as the shots go up. There is no completely perfect scheme and
D’Antoni will live with this as long as the guards battle down low, the appropriate help
comes from the weak side, and all players crash the glass.

What Lies Ahead

The beauty of being in the Sun Belt is that the only shot you have of making the
dance is to win the conference tournament in March. Marshall has a long way to go to
reach that milestone, but with how the conference is shaping up, it seems pretty wide
open outside of the heavy favorites of James Madison. If the Herd can continue to stack
wins through their defensive dominance and tweak some things on the offensive end,
then watch out for this team. It’s been a roller coaster of a year so far, but it seems as if
Marshall has found their identity at just the right time.

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Luke Rubin is our new Basketball writer here at ThunderCast.Online, and he views the game with an analytic eye. You can follow him on Twitter/X at @LukeRubin9 and his Herd Hoops News account as well at @HerdHoopsNews.