HUNTINGTON -- It's steamy hot inside Cam Henderson Center, but not because it's summer.

Competition is already heating up for playing time on the Marshall men's basketball team with eight new players battling in pick-up games with five returnees.

All of them joined the Thundering Herd expecting to be starters.

"You have to find your role," said Chris Lutz, a transfer guard from Purdue. "Obviously, everybody is trying to start. But, obviously, that can't happen."

Marshall, which went 16-14 last season to end a streak of five consecutive losing records, has a solid starting point for 2008-09 with seniors Markel Humphrey and Darryl Merthie joined by juniors Adam Williams and Tyler Wilkerson and sophomore Tirrell Baines all returning.

Humphrey earned All-Conference USA third team honors the past two seasons. He's a 1,000-point career scorer who averaged 13.1 a game last season.

Merthie, a 6-foot guard who scored 8.1 points a game, was academically ineligible as a freshman and said he can regain the lost year of eligibility by getting his grades in summer school.

"Which I am doing," he said.

The new Thundering Herd players are led by NCAA Division I transfers Lutz, forward Tay Spann (Georgetown) and guard Brandon Powell (Florida).

Damier Pitts might step right in as a freshman point guard.

Freshman guards Shaquille Johnson and Dago Pena and forward Kore White appear ready to help. Marcus Goode, a 6-foot-10, 315-pound freshman, could be the sleeper in the bunch. Goode is light on his feet and has a soft touch around the basket.

Lutz said summer workouts are important for everyone, but especially for a team such as the Herd with so much newness to be meshed into a unit by the time the season opens in November.

"I think some people overlook summertime," Lutz said. "It's a good time to mix and get your chemistry down with the new players. It's playing with each other and being around each other."

The 6-3 Lutz left Purdue after the 2006-07 season when he had the best three-point shooting percentage in the Big Ten Conference. Lutz made 58 of 123 attempts for 47.2 percent. He averaged 6.1 points for an NCAA tournament team.

Lutz was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2006 when he scored 9.2 points a game.

He played two seasons for the Boilermakers, appearing in 62 games and starting 34.

Early this summer Lutz was in the gym by himself one afternoon putting up jump shot after jump shot with the help of a machine that catches the ball out of the net and fires it back.

He was totally focused and wasn't distracted by an observer. His eyes never left the rim.

"It's getting real anxious for the season to start," said Lutz, admitting it was real difficult sitting out last season and not being able to help the team.

Lutz hasn't played for the last month because of a problem with his back, but won't lose his shooting touch.

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