HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall’s 42-day basketball coaching search end with a D’Antoni after all.
Just not the one who had been the focus of numerous reports and speculation.
Dan D’Antoni, the older brother of Lakers’ head coach Mike D’Antoni, was announced as the Thundering Herd’s new coach Thursday afternoon.
Athletics director Mike Hamrick announced the hiring via Twitter ending a search.
I am proud to announce that Dan D’Antoni will be the next head basketball coach at Marshall University. #THEHERD pic.twitter.com/LxpD13FFnR
— Mike Hamrick (@TheHerdAD)
Like his brother, Dan D’Antoni, 66, is a Marshall alum. The Mullens native replaces Tom Herrion, who resigned after four seasons with The Herd.
Mike D’Antoni had been the center of speculation for several weeks as Marshall’s coaching search continued to drag on. It seemed as if circumstances were aligning for Mike D’Antoni to return to Marshall. However, the Charleston Daily Mail reported Tuesday, the younger D’Antoni had withdrawn himself from consideration due to his contractual obligations to the Los Angeles Lakers. D’Antoni still has one year left on his contract and the Lakers own him $4 million next season.
Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood removed his name from consideration Wednesday and Eastern Kentucky coach Jeff Neubauer, a former John Beilein assistant at West Virginia, informed his team Thursday that he would not take the Marshall job.
Dan D’Antoni has a long resume of coaching experience, however this will be his first adventure into college basketball as a head coach.
D’Antoni served as an assistant for The Herd in the 1970-71 season then spent 30 years as a high school coach at Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach where he won more than 500 games.
Since 2005, he has worked as an assistant on his older brother’s staffs in Phoenix (2005-08), in New York (2008-12) and in Los Angeles (2012-14).
D’Antoni was inducted into the Marshall Hall of Fame in 1990. He led The Herd with 17.5 points per game during the 1968-69 season and is among 49 players in the program’s history with 1,000 career points.