Scouting Report: Marshall Thundering Herd

Kentucky is in the middle of a 10-day stretch that could leave their heads spinning. Saint Joseph’s took the ‘Cats to overtime on Monday night featuring a high-powered offensive attack. The Hawks played fast and shot 37 three-pointers in the contest. Next Tuesday, Miami (FL) will come to come to Rupp Arena featuring one of the best offenses in the country. The Hurricanes are currently second nationally in three-point percentage at 45.8%.

However, those teams still can’t compare to what the Marshall Thundering Herd will do offensively. Coach Dan D’Antoni, the older brother of long-time NBA head coach Mike D’Antoni, plays a similar style to what made the early 2000s Phoenix Suns famous under Mike’s tutelage.

Marshall is 16th nationally in KenPom’s adjusted tempo metric and 11th in average offensive possession length at 14.7 seconds. They are going to race the ball up the floor and take the first open shot they can find. However, whether it is poor shot selection or a lack of talent, the Thundering Herd has struggled to get those quick shots to go in. So far this season they are shooting just 24.6% from three-point range which places them 340th in all of college basketball. Despite the low percentage, similar to St. Joe’s, this team is capable of getting hot and playing with any team in the country. Kentucky must be great in transition defense and stay disciplined guarding the perimeter.

As always, we have prepared a full, in-depth scouting report for Kentucky’s latest opponent. We will take a deep dive into the Thundering Herds’ personnel, break down their offensive and defensive schemes, and highlight the keys to the game for the ‘Cats. Let’s dive in and get to know more about the Marshall Thundering Herd.

Marshall Thundering Herd Personnel

Starters

#11 Kamdyn Curfman: 6’1″ 190 lbs, Senior Guard

10.4 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.4 apg

Very aggressive offensive player. Primary ball handler. SHOOTER!!! NO 3s! 41 of 58 shots have been 3s. Has made 100+ 3s at a very high percentage each of the last two seasons. 38.3% for his career on 352 makes. DO NOT CONSIDER his current percentage. You have to pick him up early in transition to keep him from dribbling into a pull-up 3. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. CHASE off of downscreens and get OVER the flares. Be willing to SWITCH anytime there is too much space to get out and take away the 3s. Shoots them off of the dribble. Get up and break his rhythm when he is bouncing it. He is better from 3 than he is from 2. Make him drive it. Would rather make him finish at the rim than give up a rhythm 3. Contest everything. No 3s!

#0 Kevon Voyles: 6’3″ 181 lbs, Graduate Student Guard

15.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.4 apg

Lefty. Very willing shooter. 7-34 from 3 this season. Career 30.4%. Much more dangerous as a left-hand driver than as a shooter. No left-hand drives! You can give him a step on the perimeter to guard against the left-hand drives. Start by going UNDER the ballscreens and handoffs. We will adjust if he makes a couple. Go up through the downscreens so he can’t curl into space and drive it. Just close out a step short with high hands and then bounce back to guard the left-hand drive. Will shot fake and pivot around at the end of his drives to come back left. Stay down, wall up, and make him finish over you. Get the ball stopped in transition. You can help some when he drives it left. Come take it off of him. Seven assists, 12 turnovers. No left-hand drives!

#4 Jacob Conner: 6’8″ 191 lbs, Sophomore Guard/Forward

6.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 apg

Very willing shooter. Over half of his shots have been 3s. 4-17 from 3, shooting 30.8% for his career. Primarily looking for catch-and-shoot 3s. Need to be there on the catch to give it a hard contest. Once you take away the initial catch-and-shoot 3 you can bounce back and guard against the right-hand drive. Capable of getting all the way to the rim going to his right. He is a good passer as well. Don’t over-help when he drives it. Serves as a secondary playmaker. Be physical with him at the end of his drives. Stay down and wall up. SWITCH if he ballscreens to get out and take away the pick-and-pop 3s. We don’t want to fly at him, but you need to be ready to contest. Switching will help us stay in front too. Will run the point some.

#25 Obinna Anochili-Killen: 6’8″ 222 lbs, Senior Forward

13.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 0.5 apg

Athletic, physical forward. Excellent around the basket and at the rim. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Have to be physical, do your work early, and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. No quick drop steps. Will face you up to drive it right some. Always comes back to his right hand to finish. Stay down, wall up, and make him finish over you. Will set downhill ballscreens on the wings to begin a lot of possessions. Be willing to switch those to stay in front of the ball. Ballscreens and rolls to the basket. Stay lower than him on the roll. Excellent offensive rebounder. Box out! Stunt and fake at him inside. No right-hand, left-shoulder baskets.

#41 Nate Martin: 6’8″ 215 lbs, Junior Forward

13.0 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 1.0 apg

Most talented offensive player. Versatile, athletic forward. Excellent right-hand driver. NO RIGHT-HAND DRIVES. He is a non-shooter from the perimeter. Back up and stay between him and the basket. He loves to fake the handoff, keep it, and try to turn the corner going to his right. Wants to face up and drive it at you wherever he catches it on the floor. Right hand, left shoulder in the post. Very bouncy. You need to be physical and get him off of the block. His percentages will go down the further off of the block you make him catch it. No quick drop steps. Will face up to drive it right. Stay down, wall up, and make him score over you. Excellent offensive rebounder. Averaging 3 offensive rebounds per game. BOX OUT! Stunt and fake at him inside. No right-hand drives!!!

Bench

#5 Cameron Crawford: 6’5″ 180 lbs, Sophomore Guard

8.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.4 apg

Skilled backup guard. Good shooter. No catch-and-shoot 3s. Need to be there on the catch to take away the obvious catch-and-shoot 3s. Get OVER the ballscreens and handoffs. CHASE him off of downscreens and get over the flares. Be very willing to switch anytime there is too much space to take him away from 3. Shooting a better percentage from 3 than he is from 2. Will drive it right to the rim, but will shoot the pull-up or look to pass it going left. Don’t over-help when he is driving it, especially when he is driving it left. Good passer. Contest all jump shots. Need to find him in transition. Don’t help too much off of him. Tighten up as the ball comes towards you. No catch-and-shoot 3s.

#2 Wyatt Fricks: 6’9″ 196 lbs, Redshirt Sophomore Forward

7.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 0.6 apg

Long, athletic, face-up 4-man. Just 1-8 from 3. Much more aggressive as a right-hand driver. No right-hand drives! You can close out short to him and just put a hand up if he shoots. More worried about him attacking the basket. He wants to attack closeouts, but if we close out a step or two short it should contain him. SWITCH if he ballscreens to stay between him and the basket on the pop. Not as much of a threat to shoot it, but we don’t want to give him a driving lane. Right hand, left shoulder around the basket. Be physical, wall up, and make him score over you. Will crash the offensive glass hard. Box him out. No right-hand drives!

#14 Ryan Nutter: 6’4″ 180 lbs, Freshman Guard

1.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 2.0 apg

Backup point guard. Primarily in there to facilitate. Not super aggressive offensively. Play him straight up. Be there to contest the obvious catch-and-shoot 3s then bounce back to guard against the right-hand drives. The deeper he drives it the more his driving to pass. Do not over-help on his drives. Get your hands up and make him finish over you at the end of his drives. Don’t bail him out by fouling. Much better free throw shooter than finisher. You can hop underneath the ballscreens and handoffs. We will adjust if he makes a couple from behind. Stay between him and the basket.

Marshall Thundering Herd Offense

The Marshall Thundering Herd earned their mascot honestly. This offense can feel like a Thundering Herd as they attack you both after misses and makes. While their results haven’t necessarily been pretty yet, there is talent on the roster to make their style of play difficult to deal with. It was a tough trip to the Cayman Islands without Obinna Anochili-Killen, who couldn’t travel due to visa issues. He creates a potent frontcourt duo with Nate Martin. Then, in the backcourt, you have to assume it is just a matter of time before Kamdyn Curfman gets hot from deep. You don’t make 100+ 3s in back-to-back seasons at as high of a percentage as he did and then suddenly forget how to shoot. We must be locked in from the tip to not let their offense get cooking.

From a schematic standpoint, the Herd are first and foremost looking to score in transition. They are going to take the first good look they can get which includes 3s from well beyond the arc. You must pick them up early and not let them dribble into good looks. Protect the basket, stop the ball, matchup beginning with the next most dangerous. That is your transition defense checklist. In the half court, they will play a lot of 5-out Motion. Expect to guard a ballscreen early in the shot clock. Also, they will get the ball to #41 Martin in space and let him operate. Must stunt and fake at him so he can’t comfortably dribble 3+ times. No matter what, you can generally expect a shot in the first 15 seconds. Be ready to defensive rebound!

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Generally speaking all five guys on the floor at any given time for the Marshall Thundering Herd can rebound the ball and bring it up the floor. That is part of what allows them to play so fast. Here you see their 5-man, #41 Martin, rebound and start the break. #11 Curfman is always the next most dangerous guy. Radford had four defenders guarding three and matched up to #0 Voyles in the corner as opposed to taking Curfman on the wing. You DO NOT have a matchup in transition. Basket, ball, next most dangerous. You simply have to find #11 Curman quicker than this or else he will make you pay.

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Here is a look at Marshall’s early ball screening action. If we get screened this much then we just need to switch it and try to X-Out to take #41 Martin away on the roll. This is too much space for him to play in. Play a little higher at the point of the screen too to help deter the pull-up 3 for #11, but also to take away that initial angle for the pocket pass.

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They like to set some early downhill ballscreens in transition as well. Anytime they are set downhill on the wing like this we need to be very willing to switch. If they set it with their 4-man, like they do in this clip, then that should be an automatic switch. After switching you need to get more into #2 Fricks’ space and do a better job contesting the face-up jump shot.

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Marshall will set some staggered high ballscreens early in possessions as well. Everything they do is aggressive and with the intent to score quickly. This is the example of when you CAN get all the way to the midline and tag on the roll from the weak side. We don’t need to guard #0 Voyles in the weak side corner or #25 Anochili-Killen at the top of the key. Get in there and try to make them throw it all the way out to a non-shooter on the perimeter as opposed to getting an easy layup on the roll.

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In the personnel portion of our scouting report, we talked about #41 Martin keeping the handoff to turn the corner and drive it right. You have to be thinking about it anytime they get to an action like this. You do not want him to turn the corner going right. He is quick, strong, and athletic driving it to the rim. No right-hand drives!

Marshall Thundering Herd Defense

Nobody would have expected the Marshall Thundering Herd to be better defensively than offensively this season. However, that is where we stand through five games due to their ice-cold shooting from three-point range. While you can certainly expect the shooting to improve, the Herd present some challenges defensively.

They are going to switch everything and try to stay in front of the ball at all times. Playing athletic forwards like Anochili-Killen and Martin allow their switching defense to be effective. Bigger guards like Voyles, Crawford, and Conner certainly help the cause as well. Voyles is an excellent on-ball defender averaging nearly 3 steals per game. We must look to attack mismatches off of the dribble, but can’t let it take away from the normal flow of our offense.

Keys to the Game

• Transition Defense. Protect the basket, stop the ball, matchup beginning with the next most dangerous. The best way to guard against transition is by scoring on offense.
• No 3s for #11 Cufrman, #5 Crawford. Almost everyone Marshall plays is very willing from 3, but these are their two best pure shooters. Need to take them away. No more than four combined 3s from those too.
• Dominate the glass. The Thundering Herd will NOT have a size advantage. We have to track down long rebounds. You must make CONTACT when the shot goes up. Get back to being 77% or better on the defensive glass.
• Shoot 75% or better from the free throw line.