HUNTINGTON – There’s something a little different, a little special, going on at Marshall University these days.
Usually, he’s sitting on the basketball team’s bench, with assistant Scott Rigot to his right and assistant Mark Cline to his left.
He wears a T-shirt under a sports coat. (If he just had a solid-colored mock turtle neck …) And he works chewing gum like a beaver works a birch tree.
It’s Thundering Herd coach Dan D’Antoni, of course. A little different. A little special.
“The Marshall fans,” said booster and Charleston lawyer Rusty Webb, “are 100 percent behind Dan. They’re in love with his fast-paced offense.”
No wonder. Marshall went through a mind-boggling stretch on Thursday against Old Dominion in which it didn’t score for the first eight minutes of action. Yet the Herd won 90-86 in overtime. Consider ODU hadn’t given up 70 points to any team this season — including Louisville, LSU and VCU.
This D’Antoni thing is more than that though. It’s his quirky personality. He’s said to go out every morning in his front yard and hug a tree because he’s happy to be on this earth. (“That’s what he told us,” said forward Ryan Taylor. “I don’t know. He loves his house though.”)
There was, of course, his analytics speech after the Pitt game. (If you don’t know about that, Google it. It’s worth your time.)
And Thursday’s contribution to D’Antoni lore?
“Everybody thinks I’m worried about [Saturday’s 7 p.m. game against] Charlotte,” he said. “I’m not. I’m worried about getting up to the top of my hill. My wife slid down. So if you see me in the same outfit tomorrow, I slept in the car.”
His postgame press conferences are becoming must-see. Also, D’Antoni is building his program with a net that isn’t widely cast. He has four West Virginians on scholarship and two more on the bench. Three others are from nearby.
The result has been a team with 10 wins in 16 games and a 3-0 Conference USA record. Two of its losses were a) one in overtime to Cincinnati, and b) one by six points to Pitt.
“I’ve got to give it to these kids and, really, the last three teams,” D’Antoni said. “Think about it. We were 0-16 with one team and didn’t quit. They won seven straight at the end of the year. We were 0-6 last year and didn’t quit.
“Our guys have earned the respect of the city and the state and surrounding areas … I just think they’ve earned it by their work.”
On Thursday, MU had to work very hard. ODU coach Jeff Jones (yes, the former Virginia player and head coach) had his team playing at a high level.
Yet what was most notable was the crowd at the Henderson Center. Although it was a snowy night, 4,573 showed up — and were loud.
The crowd rose as a Jon Elmore trey put MU within 63-59 after the Monarchs had once led by 14. (ODU led for 38:40 of the game; MU led for 2:30.) They roared when Elmore stole the ball right after, made a layup and gained a free throw, which he converted.
And the crowd celebrated after a replay showed the ball went out of bounds and to Marshall with 2.6 seconds remaining in overtime.
They embraced the victory. And MU fans have embraced their coach more and more as the days move on. Remember, when D’Antoni was hired he was blistered via social media worse than a bad beekeeper because of his age.
“Our fans are really behind Dan,” said athletic director Mike Hamrick on Thursday. “He’s a son of Marshall. They want to see one of their own be successful.”
He’s getting there. And he’s doing it with a flair probably not seen in the program since Rick Huckabay.
“Everybody loves Coach Dan and what he’s brought to the university,” Taylor said. “I don’t know about other coaches, but he really cares about Marshall, whether it be basketball, football, academics, whatever.”
It seems MU supporters are taking in the whole package that is D’Antoni.
And caring right back.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.
