HUNTINGTON - As Tyler Wilkerson caught his first glimpse at the stat sheet after Marshall's exhibition 108-64 win Tuesday night over West Virginia Wesleyan, somebody had already muttered "18-17."

As Wilkerson saw those numbers matched with his name Tuesday night, he realized those represented his scoring and rebounding total. At that point, he muttered, "Dwight Howard."

It wasn't a delusion of grandeur, just a comparison to the consistent double-double numbers put up by the Orlando Magic center. And really, this wasn't an instance of Wilkerson having to do it all, or trying.

He did all his damage in an economical 24 minutes, pretty much watching the last part of the second half. He hit 8-of-15 from the floor, shooting from inside and outside, plus he blocked four shots.

Granted, the smaller Bobcats didn't have many answers for Wilkerson, and the degree of difficulty will increase, beginning Sunday with the Thundering Herd's season opener against North Carolina A&T.

But Wilkerson already seems to enjoy what will be a more versatile role. Once needed to pretty much play on the blocks at center, he gets to take shifts at power forward and even small forward, believe it or not.

With a deeper and taller roster available, believe it.

"Tyler Wilkerson, whoever thought, when I got here, he'd play the 'three' spot?" said coach Donnie Jones. "You'll see him playing the 'three' sometimes this year. I looked out there one time and we were 6-8, 6-9, 7-foot and 6-7 or something like that, on the blocks. We'll play crazy lineups sometimes, and we're learning how to play with each other, and this style of play fits with that group at times."

Wilkerson is still expected to be the leading force on the front line after the graduation of Markel Humphrey, but he is far from the only factor. Tirrell Baines, the junior who came to Marshall with a Rodman-like rebounding mentality, continues to blossom with his offensive skills. He led the Herd in scoring Tuesday with 21 points to go with eight boards.

Baines still likes to clean up on the offensive glass and cut to the basket for quick passes, but he is better at driving and hitting midrange jumpers.

HUNTINGTON - As Tyler Wilkerson caught his first glimpse at the stat sheet after Marshall's exhibition 108-64 win Tuesday night over West Virginia Wesleyan, somebody had already muttered "18-17."

As Wilkerson saw those numbers matched with his name Tuesday night, he realized those represented his scoring and rebounding total. At that point, he muttered, "Dwight Howard."

It wasn't a delusion of grandeur, just a comparison to the consistent double-double numbers put up by the Orlando Magic center. And really, this wasn't an instance of Wilkerson having to do it all, or trying.

He did all his damage in an economical 24 minutes, pretty much watching the last part of the second half. He hit 8-of-15 from the floor, shooting from inside and outside, plus he blocked four shots.

Granted, the smaller Bobcats didn't have many answers for Wilkerson, and the degree of difficulty will increase, beginning Sunday with the Thundering Herd's season opener against North Carolina A&T.

But Wilkerson already seems to enjoy what will be a more versatile role. Once needed to pretty much play on the blocks at center, he gets to take shifts at power forward and even small forward, believe it or not.

With a deeper and taller roster available, believe it.

"Tyler Wilkerson, whoever thought, when I got here, he'd play the 'three' spot?" said coach Donnie Jones. "You'll see him playing the 'three' sometimes this year. I looked out there one time and we were 6-8, 6-9, 7-foot and 6-7 or something like that, on the blocks. We'll play crazy lineups sometimes, and we're learning how to play with each other, and this style of play fits with that group at times."

Wilkerson is still expected to be the leading force on the front line after the graduation of Markel Humphrey, but he is far from the only factor. Tirrell Baines, the junior who came to Marshall with a Rodman-like rebounding mentality, continues to blossom with his offensive skills. He led the Herd in scoring Tuesday with 21 points to go with eight boards.

Baines still likes to clean up on the offensive glass and cut to the basket for quick passes, but he is better at driving and hitting midrange jumpers.

"Tirrell Baines has had a great fall," Jones said. "He's had a great early practice. The big thing with Tirrell is he's a junior, he played a lot of minutes as a freshman and a sophomore. The pressure is not on him as much as it probably has been. He was a focal point as a freshman, a focal point as a sophomore, and he's still a focal point, but now he can be one of those guys.

"He handles the ball a lot more than he used to. Used to be, you put him down on the block and post him up - just like Tyler, run, catch, post up, don't do anything else. But now, those guys are catching it and running pick-and-rolls, leading the break and passing, and that's to their credit because they worked hard for that."

Then there was Antonio Haymon, the junior college transfer brought in for an immediate veteran presence at either power forward, shooting forward or even off guard. He took a little time to get going Tuesday but he ended up 8-of-12 from the floor for 17 points, with seven rebounds and a really nasty driving dunk. He also blocked a shot from behind that Wilkerson called "sweet."

Haymon is a 6-foot-6, 220-pounder who seemingly has the motor of a football defensive end.

"He played with energy; that's what he is," Jones said. "He's been trying to figure out where he fits in this system. The thing I've been telling him is he's been thinking a lot - go out there and play. He's playing with energy, rebounding, he ran the floor. Just stop thinking and playing, that's where he's going to excel."

Throw in Cam Miller and this is a pretty athletic, offensive-minded bunch. Then you add 6-10 Nigel Spikes, who barely played because of a knee contusion, and ridiculously long 7-footer Hassan Whiteside, and who knows where the front line can go?

Wilkerson was just happy they all could play on the same side for once.

"I get tired of banging against these guys," he said. "We keep hurting each other in practice; I'm ready to play somebody else."

Reach Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.