And it's always from somebody detached, often a West Virginia fan. The name escapes him, but he knows Marshall's DeAndre Kane when he sees him.

That sticks with me.

When you've watched the guy for four months and knew what he did in practice during a sitting-out season, you get awfully used to him. Take him for granted, much like a Toyota starting in the morning.

Furthermore, you start judging those talented players on tougher criteria. You want him going 10-of-14 from the floor every night, hitting every 3-pointer, hacking his way through every screen and never letting his man get free on a cut to the basket.

And God forbid he commits a turnover or miss a free throw. Boy, do I hear the chirping over my shoulder sometimes at a home game when he makes a freshman mistake.

Oh, he's made a few. He got pulled into another double technical last Wednesday at Texas-El Paso. He and Shaquille Johnson were cited on a battery charge in an alleged dispute over cutting line in front of a Huntington bar.

Not a heinous offense, but an unnecessary, nasty distraction.

(Immediate reaction: I've been to more establishments than I care to admit. There has never been one worth standing in line to enter.)

Those are the growin' pains, and you've got to accept 'em. I am reminded of the year I referred to football defensive end Johnathan Goddard, God rest his soul, as the Human Personal Foul. Eventually, he channeled his fury in the proper direction and was honored for it.

Kane already has earned an honor, which we should see this week. Without doubt, he should become the second Marshall player in a row to be named freshman of the year.

The league doesn't lack for decent candidates.

Jordan Clarkson has emerged off the Tulsa bench, scoring 80 points in his last five games. D.J. Newbill of Southern Mississippi is a nice talent, scoring a double-double against the Herd in Hattiesburg.

And four different Memphis Tigers have won the weekly award, including Antonio and Will Barton, point guard Joe Jackson and Chris Crawford. I like Tarik Black better than those four.

But you've seen how many awful games the Tigers have played. Their freshmen often disintegrate in hostile environments, and it seems they've all spent time in coach Josh Pastner's doghouse. As ballyhooed as this class was, none should sniff the freshman honor.

The other candidates just don't carry their team like Kane has done at times, and they're certainly not as versatile. Kane can carry the scoring load, can give you a bushel of assists and plays better-than-average defense in a wide variety of assignments.

"His productivity over 31 games speaks for itself, when you look at his numbers compared to anybody else in the league," said Herd coach Tom Herrion. "But we're not a program built on anybody getting an award, or politicking for an award. Let his play speak for itself, but he's worthy of it, yes." 

Shoot, when Johnny Thomas was injured against West Virginia, Kane guarded the power forward at times. (A favorite Kane moment: When he picked up his double technical that game, he did it in a WWE-caliber wrestling match with John Flowers. He wasn't losing, either.)

I see Kane taming his emotions and becoming tougher, more of a leader. He stays on that path, and stays to his junior or senior year, you'll see a big-time warrior reminiscent of ...

No, no, let's hold off on comparisons to the man who wore No. 22. For fear of jinxing, we'll keep that name silent. Gotta earn that one.

For now, enjoy Kane's honors and see how he handles his first postseason experience.

Yes, that was plural. Kane should get his first kudos today, when the All-C-USA teams are unveiled.

Essentially, you need to make the top 15 regardless of position. C-USA does this the right way - five on the first team, five on the second team, five on the third team and no "honorable mention." They're not handing out certificates of participation, folks.

It's so tough to make these teams, Hassan Whiteside landed on the second unit. That brought understandable grumbling that the league should do this by position.

Maybe, but in this day and age I have to side with the system as is. We live in an era of combo guards, swingmen and a bakery full of "doughnut" teams with no true centers. In some years, there haven't been three "bigs" worth consideration.

With that, let's take a wild, wild stab at who might be where:

I'll take the rap on Pitts being a "homer" pick, and I know his body of work may be considered incomplete. That spot may go to Memphis' Black or maybe Tulane's Kendall Timmons but, boy, Pitts and Kane have formed one sweet guard tandem. Pitts' 25-point, eight-assist effort Saturday against UCF was something to behold.

For player of the year, Culpepper may repeat in part because of split voting. That award is announced Wednesday, before the opening-round games begin at the Conference USA tournament.

I've been a fan of Flowers since last year's C-USA tournament. Dia has developed the complete inside-outside game that Marshall's Whiteside should have stuck around to develop.

But if I needed one man to ignite a rally from a double-digit deficit, I'd take Culpepper. Whether or not he wins, he may have a monster week on his home floor - though that could be at Marshall's expense.

Coach of the year? I see a lot of great candidates, including East Carolina's Jeff Lebo and SMU's Matt Doherty. Herrion and Southern Miss' Larry Eustachy have done nicely.

But I'm looking for the regular-season champ on this one, Alabama-Birmingham's Mike Davis.

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