Marshall basketball coach first gained fame in South Carolina
From McClatchy and wire reports
Marshall basketball coach Dan D'Antoni
Orlando Jorge Ramirez
USA Today Sports
SAN DIEGO, Calif.
The Marshall Thundering Herd celebrated like never before.
For the first time in six tries during 62 years, the Thundering Herd won an NCAA Tournament game.
Jon Elmore scored 27 points and Jarrod West hit a huge 3-pointer with three minutes left to help No. 13 seed Marshall topple fourth-seeded Wichita State 81-75 in the East Region.
When the buzzer sounded, West raised his arms in the air and joyously ran practically the length of the court before joining his teammates in celebration.
"Long time!" coach Dan D'Antoni said moments later.
Was it ever.
The Thundering Herd (25-10) made its first NCAA tourney appearance in 1956 and made its most recent one in 1987, losing all five along the way. The 1987 loss was later vacated due to infractions. Its only postseason victories were in the NIT in 1967, when D'Antoni was on the team.
"So we've got a little bit to do," said D'Antoni, the older brother of Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni. "I like these guys. I like the chance riding with them, fun to be on a trip with and they're fun to watch to play and it's real fun when we win. So we're going to try to do that one more time.
"I told them the beginning goal is to win the NCAA Tournament. Wherever we get in the car driving down the road to that championship, when it stops we'll all get off and we'll be happy because we like who is in the car. We like the journey we're on. We're looking forward to the next leg, and I have confidence in these guys that they'll give you a real good ballgame and got a great chance to win."
D’Antoni won 524 games and helped create one of the nation’s premier high school basketball tournaments in the Beach Ball Classic while coaching at Socastee from 1975-2005.
D’Antoni’s Socastee teams captured 12 region championships and eight region tournament titles, and earned 21 state playoff appearances.
He coached in three Lower State finals (1982, 1998, 1999) and reached the 1998 Class AAAA state championship game, losing to South Aiken by a point on a shot with 0.4 seconds remaining.
He coached more than 60 players who played collegiately, including his three sons Matthew (Brown), Andrew (the U.S. Military Academy at West Point) and Nick (William & Mary), who was one of two S.C. Gatorade Players of the Year coached by D’Antoni, along with Alvin Green.
He was a founder of the Beach Ball Classic in 1981, and more than 100 tournament participants have gone on to play in the NBA. D’Antoni served as the head coach for the South Carolina All Star Team in the SCACA All Star Classic in 1993, and was inducted into the Socastee High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.
After leaving Socastee, D’Antoni joined the staffs of his brother, Mike, with the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers. He served as a summer league head coach for the Lakers in 2013 and Knicks in 2010, and assisted with the U.S. Olympic Team in 2008.
While playing at Marshall, D’Antoni earned all-conference honors, helped the Thundering Herd reach back-to-back NIT Final Fours in 1967 and 1968, and was inducted into Marshall’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990.
With Friday's win, Marshall advances to face West Virginia on Sunday.
"I like our style. I like our kids. Our kids fit the style real well," D'Antoni said. "They're hustlers. They put their heart on the line, and usually I'm pretty good at quotes. But I'm so excited I'm losing my mind! I don't know, I'm just happy where we are and I'm never at a loss for words. Hell, I'm at a loss for words."
