Marshall Magazine Autumn 2022

motivation like I never had because I’ve never been through a losing season.” Kinsey and Taylor (14 points per game last year) return with a familiar cast from last year. Six-foot, 9-inch sopho more Obinna Anochili-Killen (12 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game) is back and Coach D’Antoni is eager to get him back to “blocking shots, rebounding, setting picks and playing the pick and roll.” The Herd struggled from distance last year and the staff hopes that will be rectified by the addition of VMI transfer Kamdyn Curfman. He was second in the nation in 3-point field goals made last year with 117 and shot nearly 40% from behind the arc. He also averaged nearly 16 points per game. Marshall’s fast-paced, freewheeling offense is tailor-made for an outside shooter. He thinks that will fit well in the Sun Belt Conference. “For us the Sun Belt is kind of a grittier, more athletic league,” said Curfman. “We can match up well with those teams, but I think we can provide more scoring than a lot of those teams so they’re going to have a matchup problem on a nightly basis.”

Goran Miladinovic, a junior, is one of two 7-footers on the Thundering Herd’s basketball roster for the 2022-23 season.

“We can already tell in pickup games that things run a lot more smoothly, Taylor said of Curfman. “Our flow offense is just smooth. We don’t have to worry about him knocking down his shot.” Herd fans shouldn’t forget 7-foot junior Goran Miladinovich, who played plenty of minutes last year, or junior swing man Marco Sarenac, who gives the Herd another shooter from distance. There are plenty of other position players for D’Antoni to pluck off the bench. Returning 6-foot, 9-inch sophomores Aymeric Toussaint and Chase McKey will help inside. The Herd has added 7-foot, 1-inch Micah Handlogten, who runs the floor quite well for a big man. There’s 6-foot, 8-inch freshman Wyatt Fricks who sat out last year with an injury, but D’Antoni is high on his potential. Freshman Jacob Conner also brings height and range to the perim eter, while sophomore guards David Early and Kyle Braun will provide depth at the guard positions. For Kinsey and the Herd, this will be a year to get better. “Me being more mature now I think it’s time the game slowed down a little bit more for me,” Kinsey said. “So, I’m able to make better reads and get this guy the ball or that guy the ball when they’re open. Then, we just need to make the shots.” The Henderson Center also will get a mini-makeover this fall with new playing surfaces for basketball and

Head Coach Dan D’Antoni is thrilled that guard Taevion Kinsey chose to return for his senior season instead of heading to the NBA.

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