Meaghan Nichols checked out “50 Shades of Game,” a fund-raiser for the Memphis Opera.
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Month: March 2014
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2014 Memphis Tigers “Senior Salute”
Senior Day gets me every time. Whether it’s been one basketball season or four, I develop relationships with the Memphis Tigers as they make their way through college. It’s largely one-way, as a writer should never be as interesting to his subject as vice versa. But it’s a relationship nonetheless. And as the players walk to center-court with their families — for what could be the biggest round of applause of their lives — I tend to think the same thing: “I’ll miss this guy.”
So in advance of this Saturday’s Senior Day — honoring six(!) Memphis players before the Tigers face SMU — I’ll share precisely what I’ll miss the most about each member of this team’s senior class.
• I’ll miss the family tie that is Trey Draper. No ordinary walk-on, Draper is the son of Wanda and Leonard Draper. And Leonard Draper was among the late, great Larry Finch’s dearest friends. The undersized graduate of Mitchell High School connects this team to the program’s preeminent figure in a way few Memphis teams can. Draper happened to score the Tigers’ 100th point in two wins this season (over LeMoyne-Owen and Rutgers). He earned the cheers that followed.
• I’ll miss David Pellom just being there. (Let me explain.) The graduate transfer from George Washington has had no double-doubles or game-winning shots. He’s no all-conference candidate. And there will be loyal Tiger fans who have trouble coming up with his name five years from now. But Pellom has been there — on the offensive end and defensive — countless times this season when it seemed the Tigers needed a booster. A putback after an offensive rebound. Drawing an offensive foul. A rebound in a crowd of opponents. Pellom has battled knee discomfort all season, limiting the impact he might have made. But let’s not discount the impact he has made . . . and could yet make in the postseason.
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Michael Dixon
• I’ll miss Michael Dixon’s bravado. After the Tigers’ win over Nicholls State last November, Dixon sat down next to me after the game, pointed to Geron Johnson a few feet away, and asked, “Who’s the better interview?” I laughed at the question (and refused to answer, knowing a full season lay ahead). Dixon was having fun, even after the final buzzer, but the question revealed a slice of Dixon’s competitive nature. He came to Memphis after being dismissed by Missouri (amid sexual assault allegations) before the 2012-13 season. And he has seized the chance to make a positive difference coming off the bench for a relentlessly positive coach. Rare is the guard who, without starting, scores at least 10 points in 10 consecutive games. Whether launching a three-point attempt or venturing into the lane against larger men, Dixon has personified a daring element that makes this Tiger team among the most resilient in recent history. Ask the Louisville Cardinals.
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Geron Johnson
• I’ll miss Geron Johnson’s intensity. And I’ll miss his genial nature in the media room. Johnson arrived on the Memphis campus in 2012 with a rather ugly track record, having been dismissed from two junior college programs (after being charged with attempted burglary in high school). But since the day he first met with Memphis media, Johnson has stuck to a simple, yet profound mantra: That was then; we can only control the future. He’s been a critical component in the Tiger rotation for two seasons now, and without incident off the floor. Arguably the best natural athlete here since Derrick Rose, Johnson was electric in the Tigers’ loss at UConn last month. Were it not for Shabazz Napier’s late-game heroics, Johnson’s coast-to-coast drives would have carried highlights of that contest. And he’s been a model, really, for how to handle the media spotlight in a city where basketball players are celebrities before they make their first shot. Every win, according to Johnson, is a big win. Nothing should be taken for granted in basketball. Put a game in the win column, and move on to the next. You know what they call that kind of attitude, right? Professional.
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Chris Crawford
• I’ll miss Chris Crawford’s eyes. The pride of Sheffield, if you ask me, is the best passer the Tiger program has seen since Penny Hardaway. When kids begin playing basketball, the first skill they’re taught is dribbling with their head up. But it’s one thing to look up as you dribble, quite another to see the entire floor as the likes of Magic Johnson, Penny Hardaway, and yes, Chris Crawford can. Crawford has some significant career numbers. He’s the only Tiger with 200 steals and 200 three-pointers. He’s ninth in school history with 454 assists. And the numbers Crawford put up in the 2013 Conference USA tournament — 77 points, 19 treys in three games — are already a part of Tiger lore. But that vision, those eyes. Rare indeed. Crawford and Joe Jackson are aiming to become just the sixth and seventh Tigers to play in four NCAA tournaments.
• I’ll miss Joe Jackson . . . being Joe Jackson. His was a challenge similar to that of Larry Finch, Elliot Perry, and Penny Hardaway: a local high school star who chose to be a Tiger in front of family and friends (the latter numbering in the thousands and growing with every basket Jackson made). But with the hometown adulation came acute pain when criticism was slung. Again, that family-and-friends factor. (A stranger can call me what he chooses, but when a “friend” says I can’t lead my team . . . .) Consider this a teaser, as Jackson will be the subject of our cover story in the March 13th print edition. I’ll finish with a quote from a longtime Memphis basketball observer, his identity to be revealed in that cover story.
“Joe and Elliot Perry had their choices of schools to attend, but didn’t even think of going anywhere else. Other coaches might get a player or two over time but Memphis, for the most part, owns Memphis. And that’s because of the legacy Elliot, Joe, and others have nurtured.”
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Saluting the Tiger Seniors
Frank Murtaugh reflects on the careers and contributions of this year’s crop of Memphis Tiger seniors.
Mid-South chefs and caterers displayed their culinary prowess this past weekend in competition for the Golden Duck award at the “50 Shades of Game” gala benefitting Opera Memphis.
Bison, boar, duck, elk, quail, and venison provided by local hunters comprised Saturday’s menu at the Clark Opera Memphis Center. Guests had free-range to graze at the seven different food stations.
Tierney Bamrick, the marketing coordinator for Opera Memphis, said the event is the Opera’s biggest annual fundraiser, “so we try to throw a lot at it.”
Shelby county mayor Mark Luttrell briefly addressed the crowd and encouraged the continued support of the Opera.
“Let’s leave here tonight more committed than ever,” he said.
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Tigers Come Back, Beat Louisville, 72-66
Frank Murtaugh reports on the Tigers thrilling win over Louisville, Saturday.
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Grit ‘n Grind Griz Return
It took a half for them to get started, but the Grizzlies took over the last two quarters and beat Cleveland, Saturday. Kevin Lipe has some thoughts.
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Tristan Thompson is probably having nightmares that look something like this.
Last night’s game had a first half and a second half, and the two of them didn’t have much to do with each other. At halftime, the Grizzlies were down 65-54 to a Cleveland team that was mercilessly abusing Zach Randolph by stationing Spencer Hawes far outside of the paint and daring Z-Bo to come out and contest. When Randolph left the paint, Hawes kicked to someone—usually either Kyrie Irving or Tristan Thompson—who had a clear path to score at the rim. When Randolph stayed put, Hawes sank an outside jumper. It was brutal, and Randolph didn’t do much to help his case, getting benched in favor of James Johnson much earlier than normal and complaining about it to Dave Joerger all the way to the bench.
I have zero information about this, so this is just speculation, but here’s what I think happened at halftime, with the Grizzlies trailing big after having given up two consecutive 30+ point quarters to Cleveland:
Z-Bo: [expletive] Can’t believe you [expletive] took me out of the [expletive] game, Coach.
Joerger: I can’t believe you were so [expletive] bad on [expletive] defense that I had to [expletive] sit you, Zach.
Z-Bo: [expletive]
Joerger: [expletive]. At least pretend to be trying on that end.
Z-Bo: That’s fine. I’ll show you defense, [expletive].
And, as always, Mad Z-Bo is my favorite Z-Bo. In the second half, Z-Bo was clearly playing angry, and Los Cavaliers (it was one of the NBA’s “Noches Ene-be-a” last night, so all the teams were en español) were the ones who suffered the consequences.
Randolph wasn’t the only one who needed a boot applied to his posterior at the break last night. The whole team came out in the second half with a different energy and a heightened sense of urgency and intensity, and they—with Tony Allen on the floor to guard Kyrie Irving (and James Johnson guarding Irving some of the time, too)—came out and put the screws to the Cavs, putting up a 33-15 third quarter and then nearly repeating the defensive effort in the 23-16 fourth.
Chris Herrington described the Grizzlies’ second half defense as “playoff caliber.” I’d use a different term, though: “Grizzlies-like.” Defensive intensity and execution has long been the identity of this team, and it’s the gear that they’ve most struggled to find this year—all the way back to the beginning of the season. The defense just hasn’t always been there, whether it was because of injuries and personnel changes or lineups or just plain lack of craps being given. When the Grizzlies came out in the second half last night—and let’s be clear, this Cavs team is better than their record indicates, especially right now—they looked like themselves out there.
I’m not sure what’s going to happen this summer. My feeling is that the roster is going to have to be overhauled to some extent—the most obvious places of interest are the two starting forward spots—and that next year’s Grizzlies may not look all that much like this year’s. But last night showed that this team, as currently configured, currently fighting for their playoff lives every time they take the floor in the month of March, has the extra gear that they need to be able to shut down the other guys in classic Grizzlies fashion.
If they can start hitting that gear consistently—even with Mike Conley and Marc Gasol operating at less than 100%—their odds of making it to a first round playoff series are going to be a great deal better. If they keep playing more halves like the first half last night, they’ll be out of it before April. With any luck, last night was a wake-up call of sorts. If it takes making Z-Bo mad at every halfitme to get him to a place where he can play defense, cuss him out every night. Then the Grizzlies can feed #50 after the half and get back to playing to their strengths.
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The Great American Trailer Park
Chris Davis has a video look at the Circuit Theater’s production of The Great American Trailer Park, now playing.
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Ride Like an Egyptian
Right now, you’re probably asking yourself, “Where can I ride a camel, today?” The Memphis Zoo is where. Five bucks will put you in a Lawrence of Arabia mood.
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Tigers 72, Louisville 66
A cocktail of desperation and determination can do wonders for a college basketball team. Less than 48 hours after their most deflating loss of the season, the Memphis Tigers reeled off an impossibly improbable 15-1 run to end this afternoon’s nationally televised game and beat their arch-rivals from Louisville for the second time in less than two months. The victory gives Memphis its first season sweep of the Cardinals since Larry Finch’s last season as head coach (1996-97). As the fates would have it, it’s the second such sweep by Memphis when the Cardinals were the reigning national champions, as the Tigers beat Louisville three times (including in the Metro Conference tournament) in the 1986-87 campaign.
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Michael Dixon
“We’re a veteran team,” emphasized Chris Crawford, one of the Tigers’ late-game heroes with a three-pointer from the top of the arc that gave Memphis a 68-65 lead with 1:36 to play. “We’re going to stay poised regardless of the situation. We’ve been through a lot. Basketball’s a game of runs, and we made the last run to come away with the win.”
The Tigers led the entire first half despite 15 points from Louisville’s star guard, Russ Smith. Memphis scored the game’s first six points and led by as many as seven (27-20) before settling for a 36-31 lead at the break.
But the Cardinals — who entered the contest on a seven-game winning streak — went on a 13-4 run over the first five minutes of the second half. Sophomore forward Montrezl Harrell was a man among boys for Louisville, throwing down three alley-oop dunks, one from such heights that the new banner honoring Tiger great Larry Kenon seemed to flutter in the rafters of FedExForum. Harrell’s slam following an offensive rebound with 4:44 to play gave the visitors a 65-57 lead.
A driving layup under pressure by Tiger guard Michael Dixon closed the gap to 65-63 with 3:15 left, then Geron Johnson stripped Smith of the ball and drove to the rim for his own layup to tie the score. Crawford connected for his fourth three-pointer of the game and the Tigers hit four of six free throws over the game’s last 63 seconds to seal the biggest home win of Tiger coach Josh Pastner‘s career.
“It was six-on-five because of our fan base,” said Pastner. “They were so loud. That was a big-time win, a great bounce-back win against a great team. I didn’t sleep until last night [after Thursday’s loss at Houston]. There’s no better time to hug a win than today.”
- Larry Kuzniewski
- Geron Johnson
Memphis hit six of nine three-point attempts while the Cardinals misfired on 19 of 23 shots from behind the arc. And the Tigers won despite getting virtually no offensive production from senior guard Joe Jackson (one for seven from the field) and sophomore forward Shaq Goodwin (one for eleven). Dixon led the U of M with 18 points, his 10th straight game with at least 10 on the scoreboard. Johnson added 15, Crawford 12, and freshman forward Austin Nichols scored 14. Tasked with battling the fearsome Harrell most of the game, Goodwin did pull down 10 rebounds and added four steals and three blocks.
“It’s a big win for the city,” said Crawford. “We played as a unit. That’s definitely one of the biggest threes of my career. I had to knock it down for my teammates.”
“We stayed the course,” said Dixon. “It paid off. We’ve got a lot of good players, and a lot of them stepped up today. Louisville’s a good team; we were just better today. I have the utmost faith in this team. We have a lot of resiliency. When Chris hit that three, I’ve never heard a place that loud. And I’ve played in some big-time arenas. Coach and Chris had a real heart-to-heart after the Houston game. Stay confident.”
The loss drops the 7th-ranked Cardinals to 24-5 on the season (13-3 in the American Athletic Conference), while the 21st-ranked Tigers improve to 22-7 (11-5). Memphis holds out hope of gaining the coveted third seed in the AAC tournament, to be played at FedExForum March 12-15. With Louisville departing for the Atlantic Coast Conference next season, a potential third game between these two longtime foes (today was their 89th meeting) would carry extra weight.
For now, the Tigers will relish a win over one of their league’s heavyweights, while turning their attention toward a rematch with the 11th-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats next Thursday in Ohio. The plan moving forward? Says Johnson, “Stay humble and determined.”