I just finished reading an article on Tamar Slay and seeing Hassan Whiteside play so well the last few games and it got me thinking... If you were to create an All-Time Marshall basketball team, what 15 players would you choose? Let's say for the sake of argument that you must have 3 from each position. Obviously we all come from different eras and have different favorite players. I'll be the first to admit I am fresh out of college, have only followed Marshall basketball since the Tamar Slay/JR Vanhoose years, and definitely have a bias toward my favorite players. Anyway, here's mine. Feel free to post your own.
Head Coach -
Cam Henderson. Obvious choice really. Invented the fast break and the 2-3 zone defense, had a great record here, and won the 1946-47 NAIA Championship. Plus the arena is named after him for goodness sakes.
Point Guards -
1. Hal Greer. I mean come on, how could a list of the greatest all-time Marshall players not begin with Hal Greer? NBA HOFer, voted top 50 greatest NBA players of all-time, and locally raised from Huntington. Plus his team led the nation in scoring averaging 88 points per game.
2. Skip Henderson. Even with his post-college struggles, I heard about Skip's basketball ability from my parents who watched him play. After looking him up I found that he has the record for most points in a game, season, and career at Marshall. Hard to deny his place on this list.
3. Mike D'Antoni. This was a tough one for me. Mike was a great point guard at Marshall and one of the best Italian players of all time, but honestly he is a better coach than he was a player. I could have easily added John Taft (SoCon POY twice), Jason Williams (pure PG, never been a more inventive passer in the game of basketball, and he has a pretty cool nickname), or Damier Pitts (Helped beat WVU, high on the All-Time list of assists and steals, and you can't tell me you've seen a prettier shot than his high-arching runner). But in the end, I had to go with the biggest name and that is Mr. D'Antoni.
Shooting Guards -
1. Leo Byrd. Helped Hal Greer lead probably the best basketball team Marshall has ever had, won the gold medal in the 1959 Pan American Games, is in the Marshall HOF, and has his jersey retired in the Henderson Center.
2. Tamar Slay. His size and athleticism were impossible for any SG in his conference to stop, played a few years in the NBA, is all over the top ten in Marshall's record books, and had a lengthy career overseas.
3. Deandre Kane. Complain and moan all you want (he sure did), but you will never convince me that he is not a great basketball player. His attitude may have held him back a bit, but with a different coach (like Dan D'Antoni) he seriously could have led that team to the Sweet Sixteen. He was too big, too fast, and too good for anyone in C-USA except those pesky thugs from Memphis. Call me bias, stupid, or ignorant, but Kane was a baller, plain and simple.
Small Forwards -
1. Russell Lee. Any argument here? I highly doubt it. Lee is beloved by the Marshall faithful. I remember at the final Field House event his ovation was huge. Perhaps the biggest other than Hal Greer's. I don't have many stats on him, but really Marshall doesn't have a great pedigree of Small Forwards to go on. 2 and 3 will be tough.
2. Markel Humphrey. Unless I am missing someone, Markel gets this spot by default. He has the skill to back it up and if he had a better coach (don't get me started on Ron Jirsa) he might have a better spot in Marshall history.
3. Chris Lutz. Have you ever seen a more pure shooter than Chris Lutz? Ok, maybe Dago Pena but he was too inconsistent and I haven't seen enough from Austin Loop yet to say he shoots better than Lutz. Chris Lutz was one of my favorite players and my favorite shooter along with Ronny Dawn. This is simply a bias third pick because I don't know of any other Small Forwards to put on the list and I'll be the first to admit that. I'm sure someone older has a better SF list.
Power Forwards -
1. Charlie Slack. The 3rd player on this list from the Cam Henderson era. Could have listed him as a center as I believe he played both but why nit-pick. Set the NCAA record for rebounds per game in a season that still stands today with 25 per game.
2. Dennis Tinnon. Double-Double machine. All he did was score and get rebounds and that's all he needed to do. By far the most consistent player I've ever personally seen at Marshall. You knew every game what you were gonna get out of Dennis Tinnon.
3. George Stone. Led his MU team to the semifinals of the NIT in 1967 and made the tourney again with Dan D'Antoni in 1968. Also played 4 seasons in the ABA finishing tenth in ABA history in 3 point FG percentage.
Centers -
1. Hassan Whiteside.Even though he only played 1 year at Marshall, there is no denying that talent-wise he is the best center all-time at MU unless you consider Charlie Slack a center. He set the NCAA record for blocks in a season (Anthony Davis has since broke the record but needed 3 more games to do it), got drafted in the 1st round, and his play for the Heat right now speaks for itself. imagine what Whiteside could have done here if he stayed even just 1 or 2 more years.
2. JR Vanhoose. Along with Tamar Slay, JR Vanhoose led the late 90s Herd team to a few big wins and a pretty good record. Not the best player ever but a solid player night in and night out. Also he is 2nd all-time in rebounds at Marshall. I can't find any arguments against his place on this list and that is reason enough for me to put him 2nd at his poistion.
3. Mark Patton. Gotta admit a little bias here again as I graduated from Cabell Midland, but he is clearly one of the best native West Virginians to play for Marshall. He and Ronny Dawn are the only reasons that team was even slightly successful. Not to mention they did beat WVU a few times which is always an added bonus.
Honorable Mention -
Jason Williams
John Taft
Danny D'Antoni
Damier Pitts
Shaq Johnson
Tyler Wilkerson
Andy Tonkovich
Ronny Dawn
Walt Walowac
Cebe Price
Gene James
Keith Veney
Head Coach -
Cam Henderson. Obvious choice really. Invented the fast break and the 2-3 zone defense, had a great record here, and won the 1946-47 NAIA Championship. Plus the arena is named after him for goodness sakes.
Point Guards -
1. Hal Greer. I mean come on, how could a list of the greatest all-time Marshall players not begin with Hal Greer? NBA HOFer, voted top 50 greatest NBA players of all-time, and locally raised from Huntington. Plus his team led the nation in scoring averaging 88 points per game.
2. Skip Henderson. Even with his post-college struggles, I heard about Skip's basketball ability from my parents who watched him play. After looking him up I found that he has the record for most points in a game, season, and career at Marshall. Hard to deny his place on this list.
3. Mike D'Antoni. This was a tough one for me. Mike was a great point guard at Marshall and one of the best Italian players of all time, but honestly he is a better coach than he was a player. I could have easily added John Taft (SoCon POY twice), Jason Williams (pure PG, never been a more inventive passer in the game of basketball, and he has a pretty cool nickname), or Damier Pitts (Helped beat WVU, high on the All-Time list of assists and steals, and you can't tell me you've seen a prettier shot than his high-arching runner). But in the end, I had to go with the biggest name and that is Mr. D'Antoni.
Shooting Guards -
1. Leo Byrd. Helped Hal Greer lead probably the best basketball team Marshall has ever had, won the gold medal in the 1959 Pan American Games, is in the Marshall HOF, and has his jersey retired in the Henderson Center.
2. Tamar Slay. His size and athleticism were impossible for any SG in his conference to stop, played a few years in the NBA, is all over the top ten in Marshall's record books, and had a lengthy career overseas.
3. Deandre Kane. Complain and moan all you want (he sure did), but you will never convince me that he is not a great basketball player. His attitude may have held him back a bit, but with a different coach (like Dan D'Antoni) he seriously could have led that team to the Sweet Sixteen. He was too big, too fast, and too good for anyone in C-USA except those pesky thugs from Memphis. Call me bias, stupid, or ignorant, but Kane was a baller, plain and simple.
Small Forwards -
1. Russell Lee. Any argument here? I highly doubt it. Lee is beloved by the Marshall faithful. I remember at the final Field House event his ovation was huge. Perhaps the biggest other than Hal Greer's. I don't have many stats on him, but really Marshall doesn't have a great pedigree of Small Forwards to go on. 2 and 3 will be tough.
2. Markel Humphrey. Unless I am missing someone, Markel gets this spot by default. He has the skill to back it up and if he had a better coach (don't get me started on Ron Jirsa) he might have a better spot in Marshall history.
3. Chris Lutz. Have you ever seen a more pure shooter than Chris Lutz? Ok, maybe Dago Pena but he was too inconsistent and I haven't seen enough from Austin Loop yet to say he shoots better than Lutz. Chris Lutz was one of my favorite players and my favorite shooter along with Ronny Dawn. This is simply a bias third pick because I don't know of any other Small Forwards to put on the list and I'll be the first to admit that. I'm sure someone older has a better SF list.
Power Forwards -
1. Charlie Slack. The 3rd player on this list from the Cam Henderson era. Could have listed him as a center as I believe he played both but why nit-pick. Set the NCAA record for rebounds per game in a season that still stands today with 25 per game.
2. Dennis Tinnon. Double-Double machine. All he did was score and get rebounds and that's all he needed to do. By far the most consistent player I've ever personally seen at Marshall. You knew every game what you were gonna get out of Dennis Tinnon.
3. George Stone. Led his MU team to the semifinals of the NIT in 1967 and made the tourney again with Dan D'Antoni in 1968. Also played 4 seasons in the ABA finishing tenth in ABA history in 3 point FG percentage.
Centers -
1. Hassan Whiteside.Even though he only played 1 year at Marshall, there is no denying that talent-wise he is the best center all-time at MU unless you consider Charlie Slack a center. He set the NCAA record for blocks in a season (Anthony Davis has since broke the record but needed 3 more games to do it), got drafted in the 1st round, and his play for the Heat right now speaks for itself. imagine what Whiteside could have done here if he stayed even just 1 or 2 more years.
2. JR Vanhoose. Along with Tamar Slay, JR Vanhoose led the late 90s Herd team to a few big wins and a pretty good record. Not the best player ever but a solid player night in and night out. Also he is 2nd all-time in rebounds at Marshall. I can't find any arguments against his place on this list and that is reason enough for me to put him 2nd at his poistion.
3. Mark Patton. Gotta admit a little bias here again as I graduated from Cabell Midland, but he is clearly one of the best native West Virginians to play for Marshall. He and Ronny Dawn are the only reasons that team was even slightly successful. Not to mention they did beat WVU a few times which is always an added bonus.
Honorable Mention -
Jason Williams
John Taft
Danny D'Antoni
Damier Pitts
Shaq Johnson
Tyler Wilkerson
Andy Tonkovich
Ronny Dawn
Walt Walowac
Cebe Price
Gene James
Keith Veney