Published: December 05, 2008 12:02 am         

Marshall, Lathan offer active Sycamores encouragement from bench

TERRE HAUTE — The waiting is no longer the hardest part for Indiana State men’s basketball players Dwayne Lathan and Harry Marshall. Watching helplessly as their teammates struggle to an 0-5 start is just as tough.

Both Sycamores are sitting out ISU’s games at present. Lathan by NCAA rule because he has to sit out a year after transferring from Louisiana Tech, Marshall because he is academically ineligible for first semester games.

Both can practice with the team and participate in activities than aren’t game-related. Both players have sat on the bench for the Sycamores’ three home games, but all they can do is watch as ISU is off to its worst start since 1993. The Sycamores are two losses short of the worst start in school history as ISU heads to Louisville for the Marques Maybin Classic starting Saturday.

Both have their reasons as to why the team is off to a poor start.

“I just think this is a chemistry and a toughness thing. I don’t think everyone is going about [how to improve] in a different way, or that anyone is looking for theirs, or anyone’s trying to do different stuff that our coaches and players want us to do, I just think it’s a chemistry thing,” Marshall said.

Lathan, who has been an explosive presence during ISU’s practices, said there’s something isn’t carrying over for the Sycamores during the games themselves.

“It’s just a lack of focus. The way we’re playing the games is way different from the way we’ve been in practice. In practice, we’re going harder, we’re doing the things we’re supposed to do, but it seems in the games, we lose focus and play different from what we we’ve been taught. If we do the things we do in practice, we’ll be more successful,” said Lathan, who projects as a future 2-guard or swingman for the Sycamores.

Practice-to-game execution does seem to be an issue for ISU. Sycamores coach Kevin McKenna has mentioned in post-game interviews that there have been instances of players not running called plays or not executing calls made on either end during timeouts.

Considering that ISU has seven new players, it could be that players are still trying to get a feel for what they need to do to make the team better.

If each player has a different answer as to what he can do to turn things around, even if done with the best intentions, players won’t necessarily be on the same page, and it could cause more harm than good.

“I think we’re still looking for our roles on this team. I don’t think everyone knows that [what that is] yet. Everyone’s new, everybody wants to win, so they’re doing what they think they can do to help us win, but until we figure that out, we’ll be inconsistent,” Lathan said.

Lathan, who averaged 8.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in his one season at Louisiana Tech, is trying to impart his game experience to his teammates.

“I just try to work hard as I can day-to-day in practice to bring them along. For the young guys, I just try to tell them what I know [about playing Division I]. I’m not much older than them, but I have played a year, so I just try to bring them along and help their confidence,” Lathan said.

Marshall is one of the Sycamores’ leaders on and off the floor and McKenna has mentioned more than once that Marshall has tried to help his teammates by giving instructions from the sideline.

“I come to practice everyday and just try to cheer my teammates. Whether it be pointing out something they did in practice or a game, I try to talk to them and try to talk them through mistakes. Especially Tyler [Cutter] and especially Isiah [Martin] because he’s having a tough time right now. I think just showing leadership in practice and the games is helping them a lot,” Marshall said.

In the end, however, it’s up to the Sycamores themselves to work it out.

“I can give a lot of advice about playing hard or making this play or that play, things like that, but I think we just need to pick up on defense and pick up on toughness for 40 minutes in a game,” Marshall added.



ISU’S ROUGH STARTS

ISU has had just five 0-5 or worse starts in school history.

1906-07 – 0-5 start, 1-8 finish (lone win over Hanover)

1937-38 – 0-5 start, 1-17 finish (lone win over Franklin)

1980-81 – 0-5 start, 9-18 finish (ISU won four straight after its start, but stumbled in MVC play)

1991-92 – 0-6 start, 13-15 finish (ISU won 10 of 15 mid-season to recover somewhat)

1993-94 – 0-6 start, 4-22 finish



ISU’s December schedule

Dec. 6 at Louisville* 2 p.m.

Dec. 7 Lamar* 6:30 p.m.

Dec. 8 Ohio* 4:30 p.m.

Dec. 13 at Purdue 2 p.m.

Dec. 20 DePauw 2 p.m.

Dec. 23 IUPUI+ 1 p.m.

Dec. 28 at UNI 2:05 p.m.

Dec. 31 Creighton 2 p.m.

* Marques Maybin Classic at Louisville, Ky.

+ Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis