By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — It will be a homecoming of sorts on Saturday night when Marshall completes half of its two-game road trip with at Eastern Kentucky.
The game with the Colonels tips off at 7 p.m. at McBrayer Arena and can be seen on ESPN+. The homecoming aspect is due to the presence of two former Marshall basketball players on the EKU roster (6-foot-9 redshirt senior Jannson Williams and 6-10 redshirt junior Iran Bennett). Additionally, the Colonels are coached by Marshall alumnus A.W. Hamilton.
“We root for them every game except one,” Herd head coach Dan D’Antoni said. “You’re competing against your brothers. We have to shut down their 3s and not turn the ball over on their press.”
Marshall (6-3) is coming off of a 100-57 win Wednesday night win over NAIA member Bluefield, while EKU (5-5) lost on Tuesday night at Southern California, 80-68.
Williams and Bennett decided to leave Marshall and enter the transfer portal after last season.
Williams started in 21 of the Herd’s 22 games in the 2020-21 season, averaging 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. He also became the Herd’s all-time shot blocker with 196. He scored 943 points at Marshall. The Newnan, Ga. native is making an impact at EKU, leading them in points (12.8), rebounds (6.6) and blocks (2.3) per game. He’s scored in double figures in five straight games, including 22 points scored in the WVU contest.
Bennett had limited playing time in three seasons at Marshall due to injury issues. He played in only one game last season, picking up 5 rebounds in 9 minutes against Wright State. His most productive season with the Thundering Herd was in the 2019-20 season, when he started 30 of 32 games, scoring in double figures in 14 games and bringing down at least 5 rebounds in 19 games.
Bennett has not appeared in any games so far this season for the Colonels.
Against Bluefield, the Herd shot just under 48 percent, but Marshall is still struggling from the 3-point line and hit only 9-of-32 triples.
“We’ve got to get better and make some shots,” D’Antoni said. “I don’t know when it will happen, but I believe it will.
“The kids come into the gym every night and make a lot of shots but it doesn’t translate to the game,” D’Antoni said. “Maybe we’re shooting too much.”
Senior guard Taevion Kinsey still leads Marshall at 21.2 points per game.
Redshirt freshman forward Obinna Anochili-Killen leads the Herd in rebounding at 7.2 per game. He’s also leading the nation with 44 blocks, two more than Western Kentucky’s 7-foot-5 junior Jamarion Sharp.
Junior guard Andrew Taylor leads Marshall in assists (53) and steals (25).
Hamilton is in his fourth season at Eastern Kentucky and has a 56-47 record.