Fouled Off: As basketball season nears, there's hope for Herd hoops

What a difference a year makes.  At least we can hope so.

 As the air gets chillier and basketball season comes upon us I am reminded of the last time the Marshall men's basketball team played a meaningful game, which was, coincidently, its last game of the 2009 season. 

At the conclusion of a game that brought a season and a career to a much too early end, a watery-eyed Markel Humphrey spoke to me in the concourse of the FedEx Forum in Memphis about how much his college career had meant to him and how he wished it was not now over.

I couldn't help but feel the same. 

Humphrey was a powerhouse player for the Thundering Herd. A player who battled setbacks to become arguably one of the best to ever put on the Green and White, no matter the sport.  He was a rare competitor whose career will always be appreciated in Huntington.

Flash forward to now and a new MU team with an old feel will soon take the floor of the Cam Henderson Center.  Back are four starters from a year ago and, despite the loss of Humphrey, the Herd comes into this season with one of the most talented teams in recent memory — on paper at least.

With a new season comes new expectations.  Unfair or not, the sporting world is an arena where expectations surround a team year in and year out.  A sub-.500 record and a one-point loss to the Rice Owls in the first round of the Conference USA tournament were not the way most fans would have predicted last season to go, so this season it is no surprise that fans are having a hard time viewing this team with high expectations. 

The kind of expectations teams crave to start a year.  The kind of expectations you would give to a team that is a real contender to win a conference title.

I, for one, say this: I'm as excited as ever for 2009-10 version of the Marshall University men's basketball team to hit the court — giddy, almost.

As a person who witnessed the loss to Rice firsthand, I am anxious to get to this season and not continue to have that game as my last memory of Marshall basketball.  I am also ready to view this team with high expectations, not only because Donnie Jones is the right man for the job at Marshall, but because I think this team has exciting potential.

So, while I will miss Markel Humphrey this year, I won't miss thinking about that scoreboard in Memphis telling me that Marshall was eliminated far too soon. 

Here's hoping this year's version of the Herd doesn't disappoint — either its fans or itself.  Here's hoping Marshall can surpass the expectations fans give them. Here's hoping the Cam Henderson Center is hopping with Herd fans for every game. 

Here's hoping the 2009-10 season is one to remember in Marshall hoops.

Dave Traube can be contacted at traube3@marshall.edu.