Marshall's run-and-gun style presents a hectic challenge for the Shockers
During his playing days, Dan D'Antoni reached a breaking point that helped shape his coaching career.
If D'Antoni found an open shot, he took it. He didn't care when it came in the possession or where it was on the court. He took it, and his coach got on him almost every time. D'Antoni didn't like that.
"I told him 'Quit, and just let me take the shots that I know are good for me,'" D'Antoni said.
He has brought that mindset as the coach at Marshall, and Wichita State will have to defend it in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 12:30 p.m. Friday. The Thundering Herd has the third-shortest average time of possession and the sixth-highest adjusted tempo, according to Ken Pom.
"I'm not sure we play as fast as them," redshirt sophomore Landry Shamet said. "In film, we have seen them come down and take the first semi-open look they get. They play a unique style of basketball, which is not very identical to ours."
D'Antoni, brother of Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni, encourages his players to take the first shot available. He said taking a good shot early in the possession is better than taking a good one late. He wants them to play in the "flow" of the game, he said.
The Rockets play in a similar fashion They score the second-most points per game in the NBA and shoot the most three-pointers. D'Antoni said the system he and his brother run started in the 1950s . Centers don't post up, and the team's focus starts on the perimeter and then looks into the paint as a second option.
But the key to the system is freedom. Marshall doesn't want to restrict its players to positions and directions.
"Almost like if you were a painter," D'Antoni said. "... I prefer the freelance. He gets up; he has an empty canvas. He doesn't have directions. You just start putting it on the canvas. To me, it's a prettier picture, and it's more fan-friendly basketball."
Marshall won the Conference USA tournament with a 67-66 victory over Western Kentucky. The Herd swept Middle Tennessee State, a team that was in and out of the AP top 25 this season. It scores the ninth-most points per game in the nation at 84.3 . And though Marshall hasn't faced a lot of NCAA Tournament teams this season, it held No. 1 seed Xavier to a four-point game on the road.
In his fourth season at Marshall, D'Antoni has the Herd in the tournament for the first time in 31 years, and his players said they love the system they run.
"I would say it's the most fun style of play in the country," Marshall junior Jon Elmore said. "... It's kind of funny, we will be watching NBA games in the locker room or talking about the highlights before on SportsCenter, and we run a lot of NBA plays.
"Everything Houston does, we do. ... You will see (the) Golden State (Warriors) running our plays, and we will run their plays. Then you will see Cleveland running some of that stuff."
The Shockers have seen a similar style . Savannah State has the top adjusted tempo in the country and the shortest average time of possession at 12.5 seconds, according to Ken Pom. Oklahoma is second in average time of possession and fourth in adjusted tempo . And South Dakota State made the tournament on a high steal percentage and strong three-point shooting off transition.
Wichita State went 2-1 against those three teams, losing to the Sooners at Intrust Bank Arena on Dec. 16, but coach Gregg Marshall said having experience playing against pace will help in San Diego.
"Teams that get up and shoot threes, we struggled with all three of them," Marshall said. "... We didn't do a great job against any of the three, but we outscored two of them."
This story was originally published March 15, 2018 at 5:40 PM with the headline "Marshall's run-and-gun style presents a hectic challenge for the Shockers."