Published: March 29, 2008 11:52 pm         

What will Marshall do for an encore in 2009?

A week from Monday marks the first anniversary of Donnie Jones’ official introduction as Marshall’s men’s basketball coach.

In his first season, all Jones did was coach the Thundering Herd to a 16-14 record — its first winning mark in seven years — and have them on the cusp of a first-round bye in the Conference USA tournament.

Did things work out as Jones expected when he took over last April?

“I really didn’t know what my expectations were,” Jones said recently. “I didn’t know what to expect from the guys going in. Then we got hit with all the injuries.”

Indeed. Marshall’s locker room was like the proverbial M*A*S*H unit. From the stress fracture in Markel Humphrey’s foot to Taurean Marshall’s torn ACL, Jones was faced in his first year with the task of finding enough bodies to conduct an effective practice, much less compete 40 minutes a night, two nights a week.

Find a way he did, and Marshall wound up 13-4 at home. Road woes continued, however — the Herd was just 3-10 away from Huntington.

Gone next year will be guards Marshall, Mark Dorris and Pierre-Marie Altidor Cespedes and forward Jean Francois Bro Grebe. Robbie Jackson and Jesse Oglesby, both forwards, have decided to transfer.

Humphrey, a two-time third-team selection by the league, will return for his senior year. Tyler Wilkerson emerged as potentially one of C-USA’s top post players.

Also back will be true freshmen Tirrell Baines, one of the Herd’s leading rebounders, and Matt Walls, the three-point shooter who missed much of the second half of the season with a broken hand.

They will be joined by players who come in with lofty expectations.

Three of them joined Jones on the bench as redshirts. They are guards Chris Lutz (a Purdue transfer) and Brandon Powell (Florida) and forward Tay Spann (Georgetown).

Meanwhile, point guard Damier Pitts is a good bet to start as a true freshman. He helped lead Hargrave to the prep school national championship earlier this month.

“Next year’s team will have a whole new look,” Jones said.

Yes, 2008 was a successful debut for Jones. But expect an exciting ’09 as well.

— E-mail: gfauber@

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