HUNTINGTON — Conference USA men’s basketball head coaches and media members selected the 15 best players for the all-conference teams.

For the third consecutive season, Markel Humphrey was among them.

“I wish I was first or second team, but I’m glad coaches have a lot of respect for me in this league,” Humphrey said. “There’s a lot of great players in this league.”

Humphrey leads Marshall University into the C-USA tournament at the end of an outstanding Thundering Herd career. He leads the Thundering Herd in scoring with a 12.7 average and in rebounding with 5.3 per game. His 55.4 field goal percentage is ranked third in the conference.

Marshall (15-16, 7-9) is seeded seventh in the tournament and plays 10th-seeded Rice (9-21, 4-12) at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Memphis.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pound senior from Atlanta is the first player in school history with more than 1,000 points (1,407), 600 rebounds (667) and 100 3-pointers (113) in a career. He is the only player in the Marshall career top 20 for points, rebounds and assists.

He has played in more games (118) than any Herd player except for Skip Henderson’s 125.

“Markel has been, obviously, a huge asset to our program,” Marshall head coach Donnie Jones said. “All four years he’s been an impact player.”

Humphrey has played with foot injuries the last two seasons.

One of his memorable moments was a 74-foot, 1-inch shot at the final buzzer to beat SMU on Jan. 21 in Cam Henderson Center. The shot is one of eight plays up for the Pontiac Game Changing Performance of the Regular Season award. Fans can vote online at www.ncaa.com.

“I still can’t believe I made that shot,” Humphrey said.

 

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Mark Webb

Mark Webb/The Herald-Dispatch Marshall's Markel Humphrey gathers with friends and family members for a photo as the Herd prepares to take on Rice during Senior Night on Wednesday, March 4, 2009, at the Cam Henderson Center.

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