I found the following quotes in a lengthy Charleston Daily Mail story by Chuck Rist. I wrote a short narrative using those quotes from 1977. Hopefully, it will prove educational for the younger posters on this board that can only associate Marshall University with its winning-football tradition, a tradition which started in the mid-1980s.
Stu Aberdeen, a former assistant basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, accepted the head job at Marshall University in March 1977. At the Herd's media day in October 1977, Aberdeen cited the "deep tradition forged by the great Cam Henderson, which goes back to the 1930s" as a reason for taking the job. "There is no school in the Southern Conference and there are precious few in the United States that can trace its tradition as far back as we can."
"He (Cam Henderson) had not just good teams, he had great teams," added the new coach at Marshall University. "His teams didn't just play in little ol' West Virginia. They played in California, Madison Square Garden, coast to coast and they set this country on its ear. They broke Long Island University's 41-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden."
"This is basketball country, Cam Henderson started that," said Stu Aberdeen. "Set this whole state, this city ablaze with basketball fever. It's never gone out, and it never will go out."
"This is basketball country," repeated Aberdeen. "No one likes to perform when no one claps. There has always been a lot of noise in the Field House."
Charleston Daily Mail, October 14, 1977
Stu Aberdeen, a former assistant basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, accepted the head job at Marshall University in March 1977. At the Herd's media day in October 1977, Aberdeen cited the "deep tradition forged by the great Cam Henderson, which goes back to the 1930s" as a reason for taking the job. "There is no school in the Southern Conference and there are precious few in the United States that can trace its tradition as far back as we can."
"He (Cam Henderson) had not just good teams, he had great teams," added the new coach at Marshall University. "His teams didn't just play in little ol' West Virginia. They played in California, Madison Square Garden, coast to coast and they set this country on its ear. They broke Long Island University's 41-game winning streak at Madison Square Garden."
"This is basketball country, Cam Henderson started that," said Stu Aberdeen. "Set this whole state, this city ablaze with basketball fever. It's never gone out, and it never will go out."
"This is basketball country," repeated Aberdeen. "No one likes to perform when no one claps. There has always been a lot of noise in the Field House."
Charleston Daily Mail, October 14, 1977