Herrion resigns as Herd coach

Published 8:28 pm Saturday, March 15, 2014

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Marshall basketball coach Tom Herrion resigned Friday after the Thundering Herd went 11-22 this season.

Athletic director Mike Hamrick announced the move two days after Marshall lost to Old Dominion in the second round of the Conference USA tournament.

Hamrick said he met for nearly an hour Friday morning with Herrion, who had two years remaining on his contract.

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“At the end of the day, the program wasn’t moving in the direction that both Tom and I thought it needed to move in,” Hamrick said. “We have to bring the energy back to Thundering Herd basketball and we’ve got to find the right person that can do that.”

Herrion, 46, compiled a 67-67 record in four seasons at Marshall but went 24-41 in his final two years.

In a statement, Herrion said he appreciated the opportunity to coach at Marshall.

“We wish the entire Thundering Herd Nation great success moving forward,” Herrion said.

Herrion saw success in his first two seasons, going 43-26. In 2011-12, Marshall advanced to the conference championship game and earned its first NIT berth in 24 years.

Marshall’s roster lost its top seven scorers from a year ago. Herrion parted ways last May with DeAndre Kane, who graduated, transferred to Iowa State and was an all-Big 12 first team selection this season. Elijah Pittman led Marshall in scoring over the first nine games before he was suspended indefinitely in December and never returned.

“I have high expectations,” Hamrick said. “I sensed this year that there was not a lot of energy in our program and I sensed apathy within our fan base. We just didn’t win enough basketball games.”

Herrion was hired in April 2010 after Donnie Jones left to become Central Florida’s coach. Before that, Herrion was an assistant coach at Pittsburgh for three seasons. He also was the head coach for four seasons at the College of Charleston and spent eight years on Pete Gillen’s staffs at Providence and Virginia.