Tag: Derrick Rose

Categories
Beyond the Arc Sports

Notes From Memphis Grizzlies Media Day 2023

Jaren Jackson Jr. (Credit: Aimee Stiegemeyer)

It’s about that time again – time for Memphis Grizzlies basketball.  

The Grizzlies held their preseason media day today, with general manager Zach Kleiman and head coach Taylor Jenkins available to answer questions.

Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins (Credit: Aimee Stiegemeyer)

There was also a brief media availability for each player, with the notable exception of Ja Morant.

Morant’s absence loomed large and unfortunately, that will be the case going forward. He will be serving a league-issued suspension for the first 25 games of the season.  

This means the focus, for the time being, will be on building chemistry without their star point guard.

The front office swung for the fences during the offseason, acquiring Marcus Smart from the Boston Celtics as well as signing league veteran and former Memphis Tigers basketball star Derrick Rose to a two-year contract. 

All signs are pointing to another exciting season from your Memphis Grizzlies.

Derrick Rose (Credit: Aimee Stiegemeyer)
Steven Adams (Credit: Aimee Stiegemeyer)

Here are a few things that Grizzlies fans can look forward to in the upcoming season:  

Per general manager Zach Kleiman, Ja Morant will be allowed to practice and travel with the team during his suspension. However, he will not be allowed to sit on the bench during that time.  

Forward Ziaire Williams feels confident heading into his third season. “No one has worked harder than me this summer,” said Williams. “I’m ready, you’ll see.” Williams struggled last season after missing extended time with right knee pain, attributed to patellar tendinitis.

Jaren Jackson Jr. (Credit: Aimee Stiegemeyer)

Jaren Jackson Jr. is committed to being a better rebounder this season. “It’s on my mind,” he said. “I’m coming into my size and body, so it’s no excuses.” Jackson is the reigning defensive player of the year for good reason, but he acknowledges the need to improve in this area.  

Marcus Smart (Credit: Aimee Stiegemeyer)

Marcus Smart is already locked in, and among other things, said he’s “looking forward to helping keep Jaren out of foul trouble.”  

What a coincidence – I am also looking forward to Marcus Smart keeping Jaren out of foul trouble.  

Training camp begins Tuesday, October 3rd, and the first preseason game is scheduled for October 8th at home against the Indiana Pacers. 

 Stay tuned for our upcoming season preview and for all things Memphis Grizzlies.

Categories
News The Fly-By

Life After Sports

From Derrick Rose to Tyreke Evans, former Memphis Tiger Doneal Mack witnessed several of his teammates go on to play in the NBA.

But Mack knew going to the league wasn’t guaranteed, which motivated him to get his degree. And after playing basketball overseas for three years, he traded in sports for entrepreneurship. Mack currently owns his own 18-wheeler trucking company, D-Mack Trucking.

“At first, it was hard, because I wanted to play basketball, but I also had to work,” Mack said. “As you get older, you have to give it up. The ball doesn’t roll forever.”

Doneal Mack

The probability of a student-athlete playing professionally is extremely slim. According to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) data, only 1.2 percent of men’s basketball student-athletes are estimated to be drafted into the NBA, and only 1.6 percent of football student-athletes will go to the NFL.

A University of Memphis research team was recently awarded a $10,000 grant from the NCAA to develop a four-phase career readiness program for student-athletes who don’t go pro after college. Entrepreneurship training, project-based learning, workplace readiness training, and a practicum with a community partner are among aspects being explored with the initiative.

Members of the U of M’s Center for Athletic Academic Services, University College, and sports and leisure studies departments collectively created the program.

“We want our student-athletes to do more than just graduate. We want them to be successful,” said Bob Baker, director of the Center for Athletic Academic Services. “Unfortunately, because of the time demands that they are under, they don’t have a lot of time to do internships and to get professional development experiences. A lot of them have hopes of playing professionally, but outside of that they’re not sure about what they’re going to do.”

The U of M was one of six universities selected to receive the grant out of a pool of nearly 140 applicants.

Due to student-athletes being required to attend numerous practices, conditioning sessions, and team meetings, and travel to away games, they’re more likely to miss classes, study less, and not secure an internship.

Billy Smith played shooting guard for the U of M from 1990 to1993. He said balancing his athletic career with school wasn’t easy, but he managed to do it.

“[Participating in] practice and then having to go to class and be just as productive is one of the toughest parts of being a collegiate athlete,” Smith said. “A lot of times, you may see athletes dozing off in class. That’s because they’ve been up since about 5:45 a.m., when the average student is still asleep. As an athlete, that can be one of the hardest transitions to make.”

Like Mack, Smith had aspirations of going pro but wasn’t drafted. He earned his degree in sports medicine and currently works in pharmaceutical sales.

Since the 2010-11 school year, only 12 U of M student-athletes have continued their athletic careers at the professional level, according to Baker. He said the new career readiness program would be a tremendous benefit for U of M athletes considering the likelihood of them not going to the league.

“I think this will increase their awareness, and it will change their mindset in terms of what’s going to happen and what options they will have after their sports [career] ends,” Baker said.

Categories
Opinion

Rating UM President Shirley Raines

Shirley_Raines.jpg

University of Memphis President Dr. Shirley Raines is leaving in June. I was only on the campus a dozen or so times during her years, and often as not it was for a press conference involving football or basketball or the athletic director. So I did not follow her career first hand, but I disagree with those who are saying her biggest failing was the on-campus stadium issue.

Tellingly, it was former Mayor Willie Herenton who first broached the idea of a new stadium, in a surprise announcement during a press conference on New Year’s Day that wasn’t even staffed by the daily paper. At no time after that do I remember the university’s A-List donors to the athletic department publicly clamoring for a new stadium to be built on campus or anywhere else. Rather, there was support, admittedly tepid, for keeping the home field in the Liberty Bowl Stadium and fixing it up. If Mike Rose, Fred Smith, and Brad Martin had joined Harold Byrd in his call for a new stadium then Raines would have signed on too, I believe. Instead she threw it to a committee. Big deal, that is pretty standard procedure.

The biggest disgrace of the last 12 years was the Derrick Rose entrance exam farce. All he had to do was give a sample of his handwriting, which he refused to do, to clear up the matter. So the university athletic department leadership and administration including Raines backed Rose’s sham play and jumped on the NCAA and the testing services. Rose was soon gone, with John Calipari following, and the NCAA sanctions at about the same time. The administration’s response should have been, “Young man, make what choices you must, but if you are part of this university know that we will in no way be complicit in any shenanigans or cover-up involving your entrance tests.”

My visits to the university for academic affairs were few and far between, but I always thought the campus looked very nice and I would have been proud to have sent my children to school there if that had been their desire. Dr. Raines has a couple more months before she leaves, and it isn’t realistic to expect current faculty and staff to objectively evaluate her years. So I asked my friend Bob Levey, the former Washington Post columnist who held the Hardin Chair of Excellence in Journalism, for his thoughts. This is what he wrote.

“During Shirley Raines’s ten years as president, The University of Memphis could have slid toward becoming a community college. The deck was totally stacked. UM didn’t have the right friends in Nashville. It didn’t do as well as it might have in fundraising. And its students didn’t seek the liberal arts curriculum as much as they should have. President Raines fought valiantly—and quite successfully—against all three of those problems. She shored up departments like art, journalism and history when so many were saying that they didn’t produce jobs (they have, they do, they will). Besides, she steadied the ship during a recession that really socked UM students and the city. I give her very high marks.”

Categories
Sports

The Case for Tennis Pros as Great(est) Athletes

CREDIT: memphistennis.com

Andy Roddick

  • memphistennis.com
  • Andy Roddick

This won’t go down well with football and basketball fans, but the best pro athletes in Memphis — counting coordination, stamina, nerves, and agility — may be the tennis players coming to the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships at the Racquet Club in February.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Pros Scout Derrick Rose at Tigers/ASU Game

From the Seattle Times: ‘On nights like this, you wonder what all of the fuss surrounding Derrick Rose is about.

“The 6-foot-3 freshman point guard, considered perhaps the best men’s college basketball player in the country, finished with five assists and four points as the Memphis Tigers strolled to an 84-63 victory against Arkansas State at FedExForum on Tuesday night.

“With a handful of NBA personnel in attendance, including Sonics general manager Sam Presti, Rose didn’t show his amazing athleticism that’s on display in a YouTube highlight clip, which is drawing raves from streetballers and NBA players.

“He didn’t dominate, instead taking a backseat to sophomore guard Willie Kemp, who led the Tigers with 22 points, and junior wing Chris Douglas-Roberts, who added 16.

“If there’s a negative to Rose’s game, it’s his mechanical jump shot and a quiet, low-key demeanor, which can be construed as nonchalance when he’s on the floor …”

Read more about Rose and his NBA prospects.

Categories
Sports Sports Feature

Tigers Glide Past Tennessee-Martin; Rose Debut a Good One

(AP) – Derrick Rose didn’t take long to adjust to the college game.

The highly touted freshman had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists in his collegiate debut and No. 3 Memphis beat Tennessee-Martin 102-71 on Monday

Calipari said Rose might be the player Memphis needs this year to push them into the Final Four.

“You need to have a guy, that when the game is on the line, he can just dog the other guys and do whatever he wants when he wants,” Calipari said. “He can do that.”

Memphis senior forward Joey Dorsey has a sprained right shoulder sprain and did not play. He is also expected to miss Tuesday night’s game with the injury. Shawn Taggart, a transfer from Iowa State, started in his place and finished with 15 rebounds.

The Tigers will play Richmond, which beat Maine 44-42 on Monday, in the regional final Tuesday night. The winner will play in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 15.