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Marshall Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Thundering Herd

By Jason Burgess

SAN DIEGO, CA - MARCH 18: Jon Elmore
SAN DIEGO, CA - MARCH 18: Jon Elmore /
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SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 18: The Marshall Thundering Herd bench reacts as they watch the end of the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 18, 2018 in San Diego, California. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 94-71. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA – MARCH 18: The Marshall Thundering Herd bench reacts as they watch the end of the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 18, 2018 in San Diego, California. The West Virginia Mountaineers won 94-71. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

Marshall’s reserves

The only returning reserve that played significant minutes is senior Rondale Watson. The 6-4 Watson saw action in 25 games and averaged 7.8 points in his first season with the Herd after transferring from Wake Forest. The rest of the bench should be comprised of newcomers, six freshmen, a couple of junior college transfers and a redshirt freshman.

Of the six freshmen, five are guards. Wilhelm Von Arndt is a 6-0 guard from Stockholm, Sweden. Taveion Kinsey averaged over 19 points as a senior at Eastmoor Academy in Columbus, Ohio while being named the Division II Player of the Year. Luke Thomas is another native of Ohio, who led Fairland High School to the Division II semifinals. The 6-0 Proctorville native averaged 15 points per game. Deaundra Murphy is a 6-3 hometown native of Huntington, WV who averaged 24.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.5 assists for St. Joe High School.

The last freshman guard is 6-5 Jeremy Dillon who scored 1,300 points for Mingo Central High School. The lone freshman forward on the roster is Cam Brooks-Harris, a 6-5 swingman from Zanesville, Ohio who scored over 20 points per game while leading his team to an East Coast Ohio League title.

Joining Brooks-Harris as frontcourt reserves are Mike Beyers and Ante Sustic. The 6-9 Beyers shot 56% from the field and 48% from three-point land at Mesa Community College in Arizona. Sustic comes to Marshall by way of Split, Croatia and Highland Community College where he averaged 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds. One player that coach D’Antoni could rely on to play significant minutes in the middle is redshirt-freshman Iran Bennett. The 6-9 350lb. Bennett was a member of the 2016 Hargrave Military Academy team that won the Prep National Championship averaging 11 points and eight rebounds.