Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Basketball reception tickets are hot item
4/6/2019 2:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Big Green Scholarship Foundation, Word on the Herd
Big Green Scholarship Foundation has limited availability to the annual banquet
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – The Marshall men's basketball program completed another season featuring a championship trophy and rewritten record book.
Now, the program will have a night dedicated to honoring a decorated senior class and the people behind the success.
The 2018-19 men's basketball end-of-year awards reception is set for Saturday, April 13 – one week from today – at the St. Mary's Center. Tickets are $100, and availability is limited. The Big Green Scholarship Foundation, which is selling tickets to the event, has been trying to keep up with demand since Marshall captured the CollegeInsiders.com Tournament (CIT) championship Thursday night at the Henderson Center. A loud and rowdy crowd spilled onto the court in the wake of the Herd's title game win, watching as players put on their championship shirts and cut down the nets. That enthusiasm has continued in the days since.
Thursday's season finale was a fitting end to the collegiate careers of C.J. Burks, Jon Elmore, Christian Thieneman and Rondale Watson. That quartet led Marshall to 48 wins in the last two seasons, which included the program's first Conference USA championship, first NCAA tournament win and this week's CIT title.
The Big Green's basketball banquet is a classy annual event, and includes food catered by 21 at the Frederick. The venue shifted this year to accommodate the high demand.
That's not surprising after what this group has accomplished.
Elmore – from nearby Charleston – holds the school record for points, assists, 3-pointers, 3-pointers attempted, free throws and free throws attempted. He also holds the league record for points, assists and 3s. He is the only player in Division I history with at least 2,500 points and 750 assists, and he soared past some of the biggest names in the sport's history in 2018-19. Consider this: Elmore passed Davidson great Stephen Curry, now an NBA star, on the career points list in the win against Green Bay. He also moved past Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues on the NCAA's career assists list that same night. One is considered an all-time scoring legend in college hoops history, and the other is one of the greatest distributors this level of basketball has ever seen.
Elmore didn't single-handedly shake the cobwebs from the program's dancing slippers.
Burks, also a state native, finished his career as the fifth-leading scorer in program history. He also ranks in the top 10 in program history in 3-pointers and steals, and flirted with the top 10 points list in C-USA history. He shined the brightest on the biggest stages, like his steal and breakaway dunk on national television when No. 13 seed Marshall ousted No. 4 Wichita State in the 2018 NCAA tournament. It was no surprise to see Burks hoist the MVP trophy after Thursday's championship game, a 28-point effort tilting the momentum for the home team.
Watson and Thieneman have been invaluable contributors to Dan D'Antoni's program and the Herd's success. They were part of the team's 68 wins in the last three seasons – consecutive 20-win campaigns – something rarely seen around these parts. Marshall won 10 of its last 11 games this season, including seven consecutive wins inside the Henderson Center.
The last part is important. This team, you see, plays for each other, to be sure. But this team plays for the fans, too. That's why the basketball banquet is so meaningful to everyone involved with the program. Marshall won school-record 16 games inside the Henderson Center this season. This is the first time the program has won at least 15 games at home in consecutive seasons since the Henderson Center opened. More than 100,000 fans attended home games this season, and Thursday's championship environment rocked and rattled the visitors while motivating the home team.
The banquet allows everyone to come together for one more night to celebrate what was achieved.
"We have a banquet Saturday," D'Antoni said after Marshall defeated Green Bay in the finals. "Hope everybody will come. Buy a ticket. Hopefully some are still available. If not, stand outside."
For more information, contact the Big Green: 304-696-4661 or biggreen@marshall.edu
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a seven-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
