Marshall's Newcomers Prove Value As Schedule Toughens

 When I previewed Marshall's season back in June, I pegged Marshall as a bounce-back candidate entering their first year in the Sun Belt Conference.

Dan D’Antoni’s fast paced, frenetic offensive is predicated on guard-like skills and capable shooters but last year’s roster was bigger than most of D’Antoni’s Thundering Herds of years’ past.

In fact, only two true guards played regular minutes: Andrew Taylor and Taevion Kinsey. In the two years prior to last, Taylor and Kinsey played on the backcourt with Jarrod West, the 5’11 point guard who took his final year of eligibility at Louisville.

The void left behind from West’s absence forced Taylor to play point guard, Kinsey to play the 2 guard and a plethora of mostly 6’7+ wings, forwards and bigs filling out the remainder of the roster. 

As a result, Marshall finished last season with its lowest team 3p% of the D’Antoni era, shooting 30.1% from deep, and its second lowest offensive efficiency (205th).

However, D’Antoni and his staff worked marvelously on the recruiting trail to build depth around their exceptional veteran duo of Taylor and Kinsey.

In mid-April, Marshall hit the portal to find a much needed smooth-shooting veteran guard with the addition of VMI transfer Kamdyn Curfman. The 6’1 guard was a lights-out shooter in coach Dan Earl’s three-point-centric offensive attack: in three years at VMI, Curfman converted a total of 270 three-point attempts at an impressive 39.2%.

At Marshall, Curfman has made 3.4 threes per game at 40.5% while adding 3.8 assists per game. Playing an average of 32 minutes per game, Curfman has been a perfect backcourt mate for Taylor (20.2 p, 4.4a) and especially for Kinsey by providing much needed spacing to let Kinsey do what he does best: use his NBA-level athleticism to attack the rim (22.0p, 6.0a and ~90% of his FGAs from inside the arc).

Last year’s 6’9 220 starting forward Mikel Byers voiding his extra year of eligibility to play professionally in Denmark opened up for a wide open competition for his departed spot in the starting lineup. Prior to the start of the season, senior Goran Miladinovic and sophomore Aymeric Toussaint looked like the most certain bets to earn the starting nod but freshman big Micah Handlongten seized the opportunity and has started every game this season.

Earning four other D1 offers prior to signing with Marshall, the 7’1 227 big from Huntersville, NC has been a low-post revelation, ranking in the top-30 nationally in block percentage, offensive and defensive rebounding rates. 

Despite his size, Handlongten possesses a latent ability, along with frontcourt starting mate Obinna Anochili-Killen, to shoot from deep. With his ability to rebound with ease, a big like Handlongten is super valuable in providing an extra layer of assurance to Marshall’s shooters knowing that a missed shot has a good chance to become second or third-chance points. 

Even with D’Antoni keeping his rotations to mostly seven or eight deep throughout the early portion of the season, freshman forward Jacob Conner has been a consistent piece off the bench. 

Playing 25 minutes per game, the 6’8 191 combo forward has quietly stuffed the box score, averaging 6.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.4 steals, 1.0 blocks and 0.6 threes made per game. The most highly recruited commit from their ‘22 class, Conner held a total of eighteen offers throughout his recruitment before committing to Marshall.

Five games into the season, Marshall has taken care of business, winning four straight after a one-point loss on opening night visiting Queens. However, only four D1 teams have played a weaker schedule than Marshall, according to KenPom. 

This will change soon: over the next three weeks, Marshall will finish up their non-conference schedule with games against Akron, Duquesne, UNC Greensboro and Toledo, all teams ranked within the top-120 in KenPom efficiency rating, before starting conference play. 

This quality slate will not only help prepare Marshall for Year One in the Sun Belt, but will also help solidify the roles and confirm the value newcomers Curfman, Handlogten and Conner have graced this roster, especially with a conference title a more than fair goal for this season.