Marshall gaining high praise from conference foes

TULSA, Okla. — Don't be surprised if Tyler Wilkerson flies a little more quickly to the hole today.

The senior has dropped his mini-fro look for a more traditional clean shave in preparation for the Conference USA Tournament.

"I was talking on the phone with my parents, and I just felt like it was the best thing to do going into the tournament," Wilkerson said. "It's the end of the season, and I felt like it was time for a new look."

His change in hairstyle is symbolic to Marshall's change in respect among other C-USA teams.

Like Wilkerson's cut, talk of the Thundering Herd is fresh.

Houston coach Tom Penders voted Marshall's Donnie Jones as C-USA Coach of the Year.

"I think he's gotten more out of his talent (than any other coach)," Penders said. "I vote that way all the time. I never vote for the guy who has all the talent in the world and wins.

"I mean you can put a mannequin on the bench sometimes and win. And I think (UTEP coach and C-USA Coach of the Year) Tony Barbee did a good job, but I picked (UTEP) to win (the league) based on talent.

"But with Donnie's team, there was not that predictability at the beginning of the season, and they've gone out and beaten some good teams."

On Tuesday, the Herd earned its first piece of C-USA hardwood since joining the league in 2005.

Hassan Whiteside was named Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year and Dago Pena nabbed Co-Sixth Man of the Year.

Combine that with its highest C-USA Tournament seed in school history and Marshall has finally been mentioned in the same breathe as perennial league title contenders Memphis and UAB.

"I think it's a credit to our players and our staff," said Jones, who's compiled a 54-39 record in three years with the Herd. "We've been able to bring in some guys who work hard and listen.

"And we've been fortunate to have things go our way here as we've gotten better."
Things can head in a positive direction when you recruit NBA talent.

When Jones landed Whiteside last year, he took a player who drew interest from Big East and SEC schools and placed him in C-USA.

The rest has been history — literally.

In just 31 games, Whiteside is first in the Marshall record books for blocked shots in a career. With 13 swats against UCF in the triple-overtime marathon Feb. 27, he set the C-USA record for number of blocks in a game.

His three triple-doubles are the most by any C-USA player in a season.

"He'll be an NBA player," said SMU coach Matt Doherty of Whiteside. "Now, it depends on his motor as to whether he'll be a good NBA player, a great NBA player or just a guy that goes around the league.

"I think that all depends on his inner-drive and, from what I've seen, he probably has that."
But Whiteside's not the only Marshall player drawing rave reviews.

"The guy that really impressed me was Tyler Wilkerson," Doherty said of the All-C-USA Second Team member who toyed with his Mustangs for 22 points and 10 rebounds last Saturday in Dallas. "He's the guy, to me, that's the key to that team."

The high praise supplements the fact that Marshall's no longer one of C-USA's punching bags.

Its 23-8 record makes that 13-19 mark in 2006-07, a year before Jones arrived, seem like decades ago.

"It takes a couple of years in a league to figure out how to recruit to that league and play in that league and how coaches coach in that league," Jones said. "It's our third year and usually it takes four or five to really get a true feel for your recruits, so we're definitely moving in the right direction."

Andrew Ramspacher can be contacted at ramspacher@marshall.edu.