Report: Dan D'Antoni 'forced out' as Marshall basketball coach

Marshall has “forced out” Dan D’Antoni as its head men’s basketball coach, according to college basketball insider Jeff Goodman. D’Antoni has coached the Thundering Herd for the the past 10 seasons, directing them to a Conference USA title and NCAA Tournament berth in 2018, where they advanced to the second round.

Assistant coach Cornelius Jackson, a Marshall alumnus, will take over for D’Antoni. He played for the Thundering Herd from 1998-01 and has been a member of the coaching staff since 2017.

D’Antoni compiled a 177-148 overall record during his time at Marshall. However, after finishing 13-20 this past season, the school felt it was time to move on. D’Antoni is set to turn 77 in July, so age may have also played a factor in the decision.

Dan D’Antoni is the older brother of former NBA coach Mike D’Antoni. He played for Marshall from 1967-70 and later became an assistant for the school upon graduation. He then spent 30 years as a high school coach in Socastee, South Carolina before joining his brother’s staff on the Phoenix Suns in 2005.

The pair worked together for the the next nine seasons as Mike later became the coach of the Knicks and Lakers. Dan took the job at his alma mater after Mike resigned as coach of the Lakers in 2014.

Aside from his NCAA Tournament appearance and conference championship, Dan D’Antoni’s accomplishments at Marshall include winning the CIT in 2019.

More on Dan D’Antoni’s replacement, Cornelius Jackson

Jackson is a West Virginia native who was named the state’s High School Player of the Year in 1996 while playing at Oak Hill. He played his freshman season of college at Tennessee before transferring to Marshall for the final three seasons of his career. He led the MAC in assists during both his junior and senior seasons.

Jackson got his start in college coaching during 2003 when he joined the staff at West Virginia State as an assistant head coach. He helped direct the team to back-to-back conference titles for the first time in program history as well as three NCAA Division II Tournament bids.

Jackson left in 2010 to join the staff at UT-Martin, which went on to win the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament during his first year on staff. He later went on to join the staff at Cleveland State, where he worked for four seasons before returning to Marshall in 2017.