HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Tyler Wilkerson missed most of Marshall's preseason practice with a broken bone in his right hand.
The cast was removed less than two weeks ago.
But no one would have known it by the way the big man played in the Thundering Herd's season opener Sunday afternoon.
Wilkerson scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots in 13 minutes during Marshall's 110-57 victory over West Virginia University Tech. He made 6-of-9 field goal attempts and 1-of-2 free throw attempts.
"It has been hard for Tyler Wilkerson," Marshall Coach Donnie Jones said. "I have been so proud of him in how far he has grown as a human being first and second as a basketball player. What he has done off the court has carried over onto the court. He has been a leader of our guys.
"It has been really hard for him and (senior forward) Markel (Humphrey) because they have been injured. When you're injured, it's hard to take the focus off how you feel personally and focus on the team. Both of those guys have done an incredible job with that, him especially. He's in there cheering in practice.
"He's still banged up. He comes back to practice. He gets undercut and he falls down on his hand. He bruises his elbow really bad. He got a deep bruise in his knee. He has had more things happen to him in three days. But that's part of it. He plays hard now and he competes. When you play hard and compete, you usually have some bumps and bruises."
Sunday's season opener officially served as Marshall's first game in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, a Florida-based exempt tournament. The Thundering Herd will play four games, but they will count as only two.
Marshall will play Morgan State at 2 p.m. Friday, Wisconsin-Green Bay at 2 p.m. Saturday and Ole Miss at 4 p.m. on Sunday at the 6,000-seat Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The last time Marshall broke the 100-point mark was in a 101-100 overtime loss to Morehead State on Dec. 17, 2002.
A Cam Henderson Center crowd of 4,271 watched all 13 Thundering Herd players score, including five who reached double digits.
"I know our kids responded to that," Jones said of the crowd size.
Freshman guard Shaquille Johnson led Marshall with 19 points. Humphrey and junior guard Chris Lutz followed with 14 points, one more than Wilkerson. Senior guard Darryl Merthie had 10 points.
Sophomore forwards Tirrell Baines and Marcus Goode nearly made it seven double-figure scorers, adding eight points apiece. Baines and Goode also pulled down seven and 11 rebounds, respectively.
Senior forward Sam Robertson finished with a game-high 24 points in 28 minutes for the Golden Bears (4-2).
Tech, an NAIA school and Mid-South Conference member, designated the game as an exhibition and received a $5,000 guarantee.
Wilkerson was particularly impressive considering he had been sidelined for so long.
"It feels great to actually be able to come back out here and have a good game," said Wilkerson, a 6-foot-8, 238-pound junior forward from Lexington, Ky.
"We had a great game as a team. Everybody was making shots. Everybody scored on the team. It's just a great feeling to know we worked so hard in the summer and to see it pay off."
Working with Marshall basketball strength and conditioning coach John Hark, Wilkerson lost 22 pounds during the offseason.
"He was fat and out of shape last year," Hark said. "Now, he is lean and in the best shape of his life this year."
"I just give tremendous credit to John," said Wilkerson, whom Humphrey compares to Al Horford, a former Florida star who now plays in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks. "He got me ready."
Wilkerson first noticed a difference in his ever-improving physical fitness midway through the 2007-08 season.
"When you're out there on the court, you can feel your body changing as you play," said Wilkerson, who averaged 9.2 points and 5.9 rebounds last season. "At the beginning of the season, you're winded. By the end of the season, you feel like a racehorse, like you could run all day long."
Wilkerson came on strong late last season, recording double-doubles in six of Marshall's last 13 games.
"As to what he did last year," Humphrey said, "he's trying to bring it into this year and just keep it going through the whole season."
"I'm really excited about the new Tyler Wilkerson," Jones added.
Contact sports writer Jacob Messer at jacobmes...@dailymail.com or 304-348-1712. His blog is at blogs.dailymail.com/marshall.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Tyler Wilkerson missed most of Marshall's preseason practice with a broken bone in his right hand.
The cast was removed less than two weeks ago.
But no one would have known it by the way the big man played in the Thundering Herd's season opener Sunday afternoon.
Wilkerson scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots in 13 minutes during Marshall's 110-57 victory over West Virginia University Tech. He made 6-of-9 field goal attempts and 1-of-2 free throw attempts.
"It has been hard for Tyler Wilkerson," Marshall Coach Donnie Jones said. "I have been so proud of him in how far he has grown as a human being first and second as a basketball player. What he has done off the court has carried over onto the court. He has been a leader of our guys.
"It has been really hard for him and (senior forward) Markel (Humphrey) because they have been injured. When you're injured, it's hard to take the focus off how you feel personally and focus on the team. Both of those guys have done an incredible job with that, him especially. He's in there cheering in practice.
"He's still banged up. He comes back to practice. He gets undercut and he falls down on his hand. He bruises his elbow really bad. He got a deep bruise in his knee. He has had more things happen to him in three days. But that's part of it. He plays hard now and he competes. When you play hard and compete, you usually have some bumps and bruises."
Sunday's season opener officially served as Marshall's first game in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, a Florida-based exempt tournament. The Thundering Herd will play four games, but they will count as only two.
Marshall will play Morgan State at 2 p.m. Friday, Wisconsin-Green Bay at 2 p.m. Saturday and Ole Miss at 4 p.m. on Sunday at the 6,000-seat Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The last time Marshall broke the 100-point mark was in a 101-100 overtime loss to Morehead State on Dec. 17, 2002.
A Cam Henderson Center crowd of 4,271 watched all 13 Thundering Herd players score, including five who reached double digits.
"I know our kids responded to that," Jones said of the crowd size.
Freshman guard Shaquille Johnson led Marshall with 19 points. Humphrey and junior guard Chris Lutz followed with 14 points, one more than Wilkerson. Senior guard Darryl Merthie had 10 points.
Sophomore forwards Tirrell Baines and Marcus Goode nearly made it seven double-figure scorers, adding eight points apiece. Baines and Goode also pulled down seven and 11 rebounds, respectively.
Senior forward Sam Robertson finished with a game-high 24 points in 28 minutes for the Golden Bears (4-2).
Tech, an NAIA school and Mid-South Conference member, designated the game as an exhibition and received a $5,000 guarantee.
Wilkerson was particularly impressive considering he had been sidelined for so long.
"It feels great to actually be able to come back out here and have a good game," said Wilkerson, a 6-foot-8, 238-pound junior forward from Lexington, Ky.
"We had a great game as a team. Everybody was making shots. Everybody scored on the team. It's just a great feeling to know we worked so hard in the summer and to see it pay off."
Working with Marshall basketball strength and conditioning coach John Hark, Wilkerson lost 22 pounds during the offseason.
"He was fat and out of shape last year," Hark said. "Now, he is lean and in the best shape of his life this year."
"I just give tremendous credit to John," said Wilkerson, whom Humphrey compares to Al Horford, a former Florida star who now plays in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks. "He got me ready."
Wilkerson first noticed a difference in his ever-improving physical fitness midway through the 2007-08 season.
"When you're out there on the court, you can feel your body changing as you play," said Wilkerson, who averaged 9.2 points and 5.9 rebounds last season. "At the beginning of the season, you're winded. By the end of the season, you feel like a racehorse, like you could run all day long."
Wilkerson came on strong late last season, recording double-doubles in six of Marshall's last 13 games.
"As to what he did last year," Humphrey said, "he's trying to bring it into this year and just keep it going through the whole season."
"I'm really excited about the new Tyler Wilkerson," Jones added.
Contact sports writer Jacob Messer at jacobmes...@dailymail.com or 304-348-1712. His blog is at blogs.dailymail.com/marshall.
