This week's former Marshall great came from humble beginnings in West Virginia and went on to showcase his skills not only at Marshall, but around the world from Italy to New York City.
Mike D'Antoni was born May 8, 1951 in the small town of Mullens, W.Va.
Mike's brother, Danny D'Antoni (his nickname should have been Double Dan) was a basketball player for the Thundering Herd, a three-year starter who averaged 17.5 point per game his senior season, and was instrumental in his younger brother Mike's decision to wear the green and white.
Mike went on to surpass his brother as the best point guard in Marshall history.
Over his career from 1970 to 1973, D'Antoni averaged over 15 points and 8 assists per game.
With D'Antoni at the helm in 1972, Marshall enjoyed one of its best seasons ever.
Posting a 23-4 record, while earning both a No. 8 national ranking and an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
The number 10, which was worn by both Danny and Mike D'Antoni, was retired by Marshall Athletics during a ceremony held before the Thundering Herd's September 10, 2011 contest against Southern Miss in honor of the brothers' contribution to the Thundering Herd program.
After his playing career at Marshall, Mike was drafted by the Kansas City-Omaha Kings in the second round of the 1973 NBA draft.
D'Antoni was selected for the All-NBA Rookie Second Team after the 1974 season.
After three seasons with the Kings, D'Antoni spent time with the ABA's St. Louis Spirits and NBA's San Antonio Spurs before going to Italy to continue his career overseas.
Playing for the Italian Leagues Olimpia Milano, D'Antoni became one of the most successful Italian basketball players of all time.
During his time with Olimpia Milano, D'Antoni lead the team to five Italian League titles, two Euroleague titles, two Cups of Italy and one Intercontinental Cup.
D'Antoni, who was of Italian ancestry, also played for the Italian national team in 1989.
In 1990 D'Antoni was honored as the top point guard in Italian league history and later that year began the next phase of his multi-faceted career: Coaching.
From 1990 to 1997, D'Antoni coached two Italian league teams and never failed to reach the playoffs.
In 1998, D'Antoni returned state-side to coach for the Denver Nuggets, but was fired after a disappointing, strike-shortened season.
After bouncing around the Italian League and the NBA for a few seasons, D'Antoni became an assistant coach with the Phoenix Suns in 2002.
D'Antoni was promoted to head coach of the Suns the following season with 61 games remaining.
Despite a slew of injuries, D'Antoni's Suns showed heart and he was given a vote of confidence.
After the addition of point guard Steve Nash in 2003, D'Antoni's aggressive, fast-paced style of play led to four straight seasons of 50 or more wins.
The style of play, which was dubbed "Seven Seconds or Less," earned Steve Nash two NBA MVP awards and D'Antoni a NBA Coach of the Year award in 2003.
The Suns gave D'Antoni permission to talk to other teams before the 2008 season and within the week, D'Antoni accepted a 4 yr/$24 million deal to coach the New York Knicks, where he still coaches today.
Despite a rough start to his Knicks tenure D'Antoni has been able to turn the team around behind the acquisition of stars like Amare Stoudemire, whom D'Antoni coached in Phoenix, and Carmelo Anthony.
Despite his world-wide success, D'Antoni has never forgotten his roots.
In 2011, D'Antoni teamed up with fellow Marshall great Chad Pennington in an effort to raise money for proposed athletic facility upgrades, and the two traveled around the Mountain State and surrounding areas to promote the project.
Will Vance can be contacted at vance162@marshall.edu.
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