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Where Are They Now?

Three years later, the remnants of Johnny Jones’ last Memphis team are still chasing the dream.

By Chris Gadd

It was a spring evening nearly three years ago. Johnny Jones’ tired and teary-red eyes gave much away as he entered the room, even before he said a word. It was the end of a season, and also the end of Jones’ tenure at the University of Memphis.

Though his exhaustion was apparent, Jones, the interim head basketball coach, walked with his head held high following the Tigers’ season-ending 80-76 loss to the DePaul Blue Demons. Looking out into the Conference USA Tournament media room, Jones left everything there — his tears, his feelings, and his head-coaching position.

“We had a winning year, regardless of what our record says,” Jones said, minutes after then-Tiger senior Keiron Shine’s potential game-tying three-pointer rimmed out. The heartfelt speech Jones delivered, entirely crediting his players and staff for a complete turnaround of that potentially disastrous season, left even the supposedly unbiased media with a sense of loss. Former Flyer editor Dennis Freeland wept openly as Jones left.

As for the group of players who Jones said “never quit,” five starters returned to play under current Memphis head coach John Calipari: Earl Barron, Shannon Forman, Marcus Moody, Courtney Trask, and Kelly Wise. Paris London and Shamel Jones also made contributions the following season.

Today, only three of those players still play collegiately — Barron, Trask, and London. Jones is now head coach of Sunbelt Conference member North Texas University. But he still fondly remembers that first team he called his own.

“I thought they were winners, regardless of what the record or polls showed, and I will think that forever,” Jones says. “It was important to me to let people know how proud I was of that team. They played hard and put everything on the line every night.”

But the Tigers’ record was indeed a losing one: 15 wins and 16 losses. And it was after that final loss that Memphis basketball history and the lives of several players and coaches were forever altered — though “what-ifs” still abound.

Had the Tigers rallied from an early 24-point deficit to beat the Blue Demons, that win would have guaranteed Jones a .500 record. Another win in the third round, then a victory in the conference championship game, and suddenly the Tigers not only have a winning record, but an automatic NCAA Tournament spot. And coaches who make the Big Dance aren’t usually asked to resign. Two days after the DePaul loss, Calipari’s hiring made national headlines.

One holdover from the Jones era remains central for the Tigers, figuratively and literally — senior center Earl Barron. He has fond memories of his first season, when he was an unknown freshman out of Clarksdale, Mississippi, and has talked with Jones once since parting ways — at the 2001 NIT when Jones was an Alabama assistant coach.

Barron has stayed in closer contact with Trask, who frequently travels to Memphis to visit with one of his best friends, Tiger senior Nathaniel Root. Trask plays for some different Tigers now in his Baton Rouge hometown — the kind at LSU. Many believed Trask’s strong, almost son-like connection with Jones was the reason for his transfer. Barron and Trask say it’s not so.

“That was the big thing for him, being back home and close to his mom and around all his friends,” Barron says. “He got along with everyone here too, but there he is real familiar with his surroundings.”

Adds Trask: “The main reason I transferred to LSU was to be back home and help out my mom. She’s a single parent. People think it was a personality conflict between me and Coach Calipari, but it wasn’t.”

However, it’s almost certain that Trask, who played three minutes and scored two points in LSU’s Saturday game versus McNeese State, wouldn’t have left had Jones remained at Memphis.

“I talk to Coach Jones once every few weeks,” Trask says. “We mainly talk about life. We don’t talk much about basketball at all. He says he’s happy.”

Another Tiger from that team has dropped off the Division I map, though he’ll never be forgotten in the annals of Memphis high school basketball — current Arkansas State senior Paris London. He starts for the Indians (2-3) and averages 12 points and 5.6 rebounds a game.

London, who has two kids now, Colby and Caleb, with wife Natema, thinks of his time under Jones — sandwiched between seasons under Tic Price and Calipari — as a tough learning experience no young athlete should have to endure.

“How can you prepare an 18-year-old for the coaching situation that I went through,” says London, who is now on his fourth coach with ASU’s Dickey Nutt.

Jones and London have kept their conversations to a minimum since they compete against each other in the Sun Belt Conference. Still, mutual admiration remains.

“I saw him last year when he came through to play ASU,” London says. “He said as long as I keep up the good work then I should be able to get where I want to be.” And where London wants to be is still the NBA.

“I want to keep bouncing the ball until it stops,” London says. “Getting a degree is important to me, but I want to put off using that degree for a job as long as I can.”

He’s not alone. All three players express strong interest in reaching the basketball heights. But the fact they’re still playing, having overcome such obstacles, attests to Jones’ belief that they have already reached it.

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Silver Lining

Veteran leaders are emerging as the Grizzlies continue to struggle.

By Chris Herrington

The much-needed home win against Phoenix on Sunday notwithstanding, the Memphis Grizzlies are coming off a desultory stretch of basketball. But one notable silver lining from the last week has been the emergence of veterans Wesley Person and Lorenzen Wright.

The Grizzlies are among the youngest teams in the league: Person, an eight-year-vet at 31, and Wright, a six-year-vet at 27, are the most experienced players and both had provided erratic production off the bench through the first month of the season. But a combination of improved play and injuries to starters Shane Battier and Drew Gooden have pushed Person and Wright into the starting lineup, and both have made the most of the opportunity.

Person was brought aboard in the offseason to be a designated sniper, but he didn’t live up to his reputation early on. Under new coach Hubie Brown’s more disciplined rotations, Person has found his rhythm and a consistent role (prior to Battier’s injury) as first player off the bench, playing starter’s minutes at scoring guard over nominal starter Gordan Giricek. Person is currently third in the league in three-point shooting at .475 but has shot a scalding .560 from downtown in December.

Wright’s recent emergence has been even more dramatic. Early on, he lost his starting center job to Stromile Swift, then to Pau Gasol when Brown decided to start rookie Drew Gooden at Gasol’s natural power forward position. Wright hadn’t given the team much reason to keep him in the lineup. In November, he averaged 7.4 points and only 4.1 rebounds per game in 20 minutes a night. But something clicked on the road trip, and Wright has reeled off a four-game stretch that’s seen his numbers shoot up to 14.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

Wright said after Sunday’s win that he’d been hampered by tendinitis in his knees early this season and was finally starting to feel healthy again. He’s now reminding Grizzlies fans of the player who started last season with double-doubles in seven of the first eight games before injury curtailed his production.

There is a glass-half-empty view of Wright’s game. On a team with three rookies who never met a shot they didn’t like, one could make the case that Wright has been part of the problem on the offensive end: He may be the team’s most ineffective and unwilling passer and, since the beginning of Brown’s “regular season,” Wright’s taken more shots relative to his time on the floor than anyone else on the team.

Over the four-game stretch that’s marked Wright’s emergence, he led the team in shot attempts with 54 (to Gasol’s 39), which can’t be what Brown wants: This team may have a better chance of winning with Wright on the floor but not with Wright as the primary option on offense. One gets the feeling that Wright’s a great role player who hasn’t fully accepted that status. And while his earlier penchant for getting his shot blocked seems to have abated as he’s regained some of his explosiveness, his limited offense skills were apparent even in the win over Phoenix, when a turnover, blocked shot, and airball helped Phoenix race out to a 10-2 lead. But if Wright was partly to blame for the horrid start, he was also key in getting the team back on track. Wright has rebounded more effectively than anyone on the team, and his toughness and aggression have made a tangible difference in the team’s play. After seeing Gooden torched for 14 points and 15 rebounds a few games earlier by the Suns’ man-child rookie (and one-time University of Memphis signee) Amare Stoudamire, Wright made it a point to take him out of his game. Wright’s physical play and who knows what else resulted in a confrontation between the two in the second quarter. Wright admitted in the locker room afterward that he tried to get Stoudamire’s mind on things other than the game. It worked: The rookie had a horrible game and played only 10 minutes in the second half.

And, as adept as Wright was in psyching out the other team, he was equally effective psyching up his own. He stayed in Gasol’s ear throughout the fourth quarter, policing his play like a stern older brother and shooting icy glares whenever Gasol’s intensity seemed to lag. Gasol scored 10 points and nabbed 7 rebounds in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Brown remarked afterward how well Gasol and Wright played together, how Wright’s physical play and knowledge of the offense afforded Gasol more room to operate. Brown didn’t seem ready to go back to the Gasol/Gooden pairing anytime soon. And no wonder — the pairing of Pau Gasol and Drew Gooden at the power spots hasn’t been working. It forces Gasol out of position and Gooden’s perhaps overly aggressive play on the offensive end has limited Gasol’s touches. On the defensive end, the pairing of Gasol and Gooden leaves the team too small, too soft, and too inexperienced. Starting Wright at center gives the starting unit much better balance, chemistry, and toughness.

But it also creates questions. The tension between winning now and developing talent for the future is common for young teams in the NBA. The battle for playing time between veterans and younger (and perhaps more talented) players is a dominant story right now for the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards, for instance. Given the improved play of Wright and Person, this could become a controversy for the Grizzlies as well. But there’s a difference between Person and Wright: Person’s contract is up after next season, and he’s seemingly not part of Jerry West’s three-year plan for playoff contention. Wright is four years younger than Person; he’s got a long-term contract that makes him hard to deal; his local connections make him a fan favorite; and, at his best, he provides solid production and toughness at the position (center) where such attributes are scarce. Wright can be part of this team’s core for the playoff run. Assuming Gasol is a given, managing minutes among Wright, Battier, and Gooden could be tricky. Perhaps the abandoned Drew Gooden experiment at small forward will get another look sooner rather than later.

Fifteen Seconds to Victory

Pau Gasol transformed the Grizzlies — and himself — against the Wizards.

By Chris Herrington

Heading into this season, second-year forward Pau Gasol was clearly recognized as the Memphis Grizzlies’ central building block, a reigning rookie of the year coming off a stellar performance at the World Championships. In the preseason and through the first several regular season games, Gasol gave every indication that he would become one of the NBA’s most dominant offensive big men sooner rather than later.

But a 13-game losing streak, a tumultuous coaching change, and an on-court slump took some of the shine off Gasol’s game. He has struggled to find a rhythm and role in new coach Hubie Brown’s share-the-ball motion offense, his offensive struggles exposing his porous defensive play. A wrist injury suffered at the Worlds was revealed as more of a problem than Gasol cared to admit — the injury and protective soft cast limiting his offensive versatility and his ability to rebound. Suddenly, a fan base frustrated with losing began to doubt Gasol’s stature, with trade scenarios and talk of rookie Drew Gooden as the team’s real future star popping up on talk radio, on message boards, and around water coolers.

In truth, many of the issues curtailing Gasol’s offensive production were around during the Lowe tenure as well. During eight games under Lowe, Gasol took fewer shots in more minutes than Gooden and shot the ball less frequently relative to his time on the floor than the team’s other significant rookie, Gordon Giricek (not to mention frontcourt reserve Lorenzen Wright). But this was masked by Gasol’s efficiency, a gaudy 55 percent shooting clip that enabled him to score 21 points a game despite taking far fewer shots per game than any other 20-point scorer in the league.

Under Brown, these problems have been exacerbated, with Gasol’s shot attempts and his effectiveness plummeting. Through Brown’s six-game “evaluation period,” Gasol averaged 10.5 points per game on mere 40 percent shooting. And the only players taking fewer shots relative to their playing time have been point guards Brevin Knight and Earl Watson. Partly, this is a result of a breakdown in the continuity of Brown’s offensive sets, possibly from the quick-trigger approaches of Gooden and Giricek, but also from Gasol’s lack of aggressiveness and execution on the offensive end.

In some ways, the team’s game Saturday night against the Washington Wizards was a continuation of these problems. Gasol had a season-low five shot attempts and had only his second single-digit scoring game of the season. But there was a clear difference on the court. For one thing, the team seemed more active in trying to get Gasol the ball. Three times in the first half, Gooden spotted Gasol open around the basket but was a beat late on his pass, resulting in a turnover each time. Washington guards were regularly dropping down on Gasol in the post to deny the entry pass.

The other difference is that, after some early pouting, Gasol got his head in the game and refused to let his lack of offensive touches affect his play on the other end, resulting in his most effective game yet on the boards. He was more aggressive blocking out an athletic Wizards frontline and controlled the defensive boards. Gasol’s defensive rebounding helped the Grizzlies stay in the game, but it was his play down the stretch that was most heartening. Through the losing streak, the Grizzlies had been in several games down the stretch but were unable to execute effectively to win.

Saturday night looked to be more of the same. A nine-point Grizzlies lead was cut to nothing when Wizards point guard Tyron Lue knocked down a fadeaway jumper at the 2:57 mark to tie the game, 74-74. A series of turnovers, missed shots, and clutch play from Michael Jordan seemed to have created a familiar fourth-quarter meltdown. But, over the next two minutes, it was Gasol, not Jordan, who imposed his will on the game, sparking the Grizzlies to a 7-0 run to put the game away. Stars are supposed to take over down the stretch, and fans have wondered if the Grizzlies had anyone who could do this. On Saturday, Gasol was a finisher, but he took over in a manner most probably weren’t expecting — without scoring a point. Gasol dominated the two-minute stretch with defensive rebounding, shot blocking, and passing.

On the possession after Lue’s jumper, Gasol received the ball on the left block and, when Lue dropped down to help cover him, recognized the double team and found an open Watson at the top of the key for a three-pointer. Then, a few seconds later, came one of the most inspired sequences of Gasol’s young career — the 15 seconds that won the game.

Jordan drove by Shane Battier to launch a shot (1:42), but Gasol and Wright closed the lane to force a miss. Wizards forward Kwame Brown snatched the offensive rebound and went up with it, only to be blocked by Gasol with his bad hand (1:40), then Wizards guard Jerry Stackhouse launched a long jumper (1:34) over tight Wesley Person defense. He missed and Gasol grabbed the defensive rebound. At that point, Gasol paused, as if he were looking for a point guard to hand the ball to, as he typically would after a defensive rebound. Then, for some reason, he sprinted downcourt with the ball, leading the break. Just inside the free-throw line, with Wizards defender Lue backpedaling, Gasol gave Lue a skip step, head fake, and then shot a no-look pass to Person on his right for the lay-up (1:27). The best part? That he also had the presence of mind to hop slightly left after delivering the pass to avoid Lue and avoid picking up an offensive foul. A possession later, a driving Gasol found Battier open under the basket and delivered a pinpoint pass. Battier was fouled, knocked down both shots, and the game was over.

Gasol had plenty of help Saturday night: Point guard Earl Watson had what might have been his best game as a pro. Battier played tough defense on a hot Jordan. And Person and Giricek delivered quietly stellar play, combining for 25 points on 10 of 19 shooting and, more importantly, holding Stackhouse to four of 19 and only two free-throw attempts. But Gasol delivered the victory. Great players make great plays at crunch time. This team hadn’t had that until Saturday. Hopefully, Gasol can build on that momentum now. And hopefully, his coach and teammates can start getting him the ball.

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Cold War Hoops

The U of M gets back into the win column with some help from Ronald Reagan.

By Chris Gadd

The little guy, actually, the littlest of guys, was able to live out a dream.

The enemy talked a lot about the home team’s weaknesses — and then backed up those tough words with even tougher actions.

And the boys in gray, white, and blue had little choice but to retaliate and face the consequences of the fallout from their large-scale counterattack. Ronald Reagan politics this was not.

But, if University of Memphis head coach John Calipari, who doubles as the school’s hoops commander in chief, has his way, Reagan-style policy will soon be making a comeback.

That’s why it’s only fitting that unheralded walk-on Brian Mitchell pulled up for a buzzer-beating jumper from the right wing.

His shot was unsuccessful, but the University of Memphis pulled away late for a 78-54 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff at The Pyramid. After losing 81-80 in overtime Friday to Austin Peay, the Tigers defeated Pine Bluff in a hot-blooded fashion that belied the cold weather that kept many fans from making the journey downtown.

Indeed, if college basketball is a Cold War, with an underlying dislike between the two competing teams, then the Tigers’ war with Pine Bluff turned rather warm. Neither the victory nor Mitchell’s shot nor the cameo appearances of the other two Tiger walk-ons will be remembered by Memphis fans as much as the bench-clearing brawl that erupted with 5:37 left in the first half. Tiger players Almamy Thiero, Billy Richmond, Anthony Rice, and Clyde Wade were all tossed for their involvement; Golden Lions Antwan Emsweller, Lamarquis Blake, and Don Fleming were also ejected.

Seeing Mitchell, a University of Memphis senior who officially played one minute alongside fellow walk-ons Garrick Green and Patrick Byrne, smile while soaking up the post-game congratulations of his friends, one could almost forget about the Lions, and Tigers, and bear hugs — oh my!

“I didn’t get a real good look. I just tried to get it up there and give it a chance,” said Mitchell about what was likely the first — and last — shot of his collegiate basketball career. “It’s a good feeling, just to get the opportunity to play. Not many people get the chance to do what I did.”

But it wasn’t the walk-ons’ play or former walk-on Nathaniel Root’s shooting (he made three three-pointers) that mattered to Calipari at game’s end. He cited the team’s lack of intensity and began talking about their poor play, while the media contingent was visibly squirming with anticipation, hungry to ask Calipari about the fight.

When WREG Channel 3 sports editor George Lapides opened the questioning, Memphis’ own Great Communicator wasted little time providing his viewpoint.

“I’m gonna be honest with you,” Calipari said. “It’s the Reagan-era policy: When they know that you’ll fight, they won’t fight you.”

If Pine Bluff was playing the part of the old Soviet Union, then Golden Lion senior Kory McKee apparently forgot to take his finger off the button. And so did suspended junior Tiger point guard Antonio Burks. McKee got into a pre-game jawing match with Burks and had to be restrained by Memphis senior Chris Massie.

Burks would later say he “didn’t start nothing,” but McKee had a different tale.

“Well, first of all, Burks, he was looking at me, just staring me down like I was a woman,” McKee said. “I mean, I don’t know this man. I guess he was trying to get in my head. I asked him, ‘What are you looking at?’ I wasn’t going to let anyone talk to me any kind of way.”

By now everyone knows how the fight was started, how it ended, and who will serve suspensions.

But, according to Calipari, it never had to happen.

“Word spreads around the country that you’re soft,” Calipari said. “We have to have the Reagan defense. We’ll just pile up weapons, and if you come after us, we’re blowing you up.”

Tiger fans will have no trouble fondly recalling those years of Reagan, Rubik’s Cube, big hair, and even bigger national defense spending. After all, it was 1985 when a school named Memphis State last made it to the Final Four.