With a 20-13 record it's safe to say this was a successful first year, but let's look into the numbers and ahead at the roster for next year.
Marshall finished as:
- 187th best offense in the country (106.2 Pts per 100 poss) (101.4 last season)
- 175th best defense in the country (106.8 pts per 100 poss) (106.9 last season, almost identical)
- 169 in Net Rating (which is just the Kenpom ranking)
In Sun Belt play only (which is when this team went up to a different level):
- 110.8 pts per 100 poss.
- 104.3 pts allowed per 100 poss.
The Herd were solid at limiting turnovers and offensive rebounding (133rd and 87th best in the country at each respective ratings). They made out nicely in a ton of defensive metrics including 3-point defense, block%, and effective fg%. On the season they shot just 32.3% from deep, but that number ticked up to 35.8% in conference play. Giant spike.
It's safe to say the they didn't shoot free throws well (just 69% on the year which ranked 294th) and they did a terrible job keeping opponents off the free throw line. Ranked 342 in the nation in that department.
This was far from an elite team, but they were gritty and versatile defensively. Offensively they found some things in conference play, but the lack of consistent shooting and true play-makers outside of Mingo haunted them. As we look at the roster next year, it is apparent they will need to target a couple bigs, a wing or two, and some guard depth. I'd expect most of these open roster spots to be used via transfer portal. Always the possibility of some of your guys transfering. Most important guys to hang on to are Mingo, Speers, Harding, and Will Moore.
2025-26 roster as of today:
PG: Mingo, Nutter, Spear (Walk-on?)
SG: Speers, Kaiden White, Pruett (Walk-on?)
SF: Slay, W. Moore
PF: Fricks
C: Harding
Depending on who is exactly a walk-on or not, I'd expect anywhere from 4-6 new faces next year. You hope W. Moore takes a huge leap and Slay to be ready right away (I'm more bullish on this idea), but those are far from guaranteed, so you ideally want to go find a starting 3. And with just Fricks and Harding in your frontcourt, you're going to need at least 3 bodies there. What they target at the 4 will be the most interesting thing for me, but definitely need someone to come in and start there. Then you need to get another 5 for sure. I'm high on Harding, but just need some experience and size there. The more versatile the better. Lastly, I think you need to find a guard that can take some of the ball handling duties from Dawson. Just need a change of pace guy who brings his own flare to the offense. Should be an exciting offseason and a crucial one for Corny!
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