Topic: H-D: Herd's Cline connects with W.Va. talent

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HUNTINGTON -- Mark Cline liked the sound when Marshall University hired Dan D'Antoni as its men's basketball head coach and he asked his assistant why the Thundering Herd only had one player from West Virginia.

Cline, who was retained by D'Antoni from former head coach Tom Herrion's staff, has coached college players for more than half of his 49 years. The Williamson, W.Va., native has recruited everywhere, but has a special connection with players from West Virginia and other places nearby.

"The thing about having kids from within a three-hour radius is Marshall means more to them," Cline said.

Forward TyQuane Goard from Charleston was the only West Virginia player on last season's Marshall roster. Guard Austin Loop of South Webster, Ohio, is from right down the road in Scioto County.

Marshall brought D'Antoni on board in April and he added non-scholarship freshman guard Brett Bowling from Wyoming East High School in southern West Virginia. The Herd has forward Shane Hall from Johnson Central High School in Paintsville, Ky., coming in for next season and also signed guard Calvin "C.J." Burks from Hedgesville, W.Va., who is reportedly sitting out next season for academic reasons.

"If kids are good enough, why not offer them a scholarship?" Cline said. "What's there to be afraid of?"

Cline was a two-time West Virginia Player of the Year at Williamson High School who led the Wolfpack to the Class AA state title in 1983, and he has many contacts throughout the state. He also received McDonald's and Street & Smith's high school All-American recognition before an Atlantic Coast Conference career at Wake Forest University where he scored 1,202 points as a four-year starter.

Marshall won't recruit players just because they're home grown, but Cline said they'll definitely get a good look. The Herd will continue looking for players nationally and pursue prospects overseas such as Serbian point guard Aleksa Nikolic who signed earlier this week.

Cline said he'll still be scouting some junior college events as well as scouring the hills and coalfields of his home state.

D'Antoni is also a southern West Virginian from Mullens and has a lot of passion for Marshall and the area, Cline said.

Cline is going into his 26th season as a college assistant coach in a career that has taken him from Mingo County to Marshall, Oklahoma, Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia Tech, Old Dominion, North Carolina A&T and Fayetteville State. He came home to the Mountain State in 2010 after four seasons with the Oklahoma Sooners.

He's worked for five head coaches -- D'Antoni and Herrion at Marshall; Jeff Capel III at Oklahoma and VCU; Ricky Stokes at Virginia Tech; and Jeff Capel Jr. at Fayetteville State, North Carolina A&T and Old Dominion.

Every move he's made created new challenges.

"Dan's style is different, but the philosophy is still the same," Cline said. "It's not what you run. It's how you run it."

Herrion resigned March 14, leaving the Herd without a head coach for more than one month.

Cline's contract was good until June and during the interim he stayed on the job conducting individual workouts for players and checking on their schoolwork.

"I stayed at it the best I could," Cline said. "They were doing stuff, but you couldn't make them do stuff."

Now, Cline is adjusting to the system and style of a new boss he said has brought a lot of energy to the program.

Assistant coaches get a lot of credit for recruiting and Cline reeled in several of the Herd's players, but he said the most fun is working with them on the court.

And, he wants to keep doing it until it's not fun anymore.

"The moment it's not (fun) is the moment I'll get out," he said.

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/sports/marshall/x271214443/Herds-Cline-connects-with-W-Va-talent