Tag: Josh Pastner

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Music Music Features

Kedron Johnson: From Hoops to Hip Hop

CREDIT: Adrian Berryhill

You might remember Kedren Johnson as the Vanderbilt transfer who helped shape the final years of the Pastner era of the Memphis Tigers. As a shooting guard, Johnson quickly became a crowd favorite, known for his defensive tenacity and his impressive spin moves. But these days the former hooper is more concerned with studio time than SportsCenter plays. I caught up with Johnson to find out more about how the former Memphis Tiger deals with his new spotlight. — Chris Shaw

How much basketball are you playing these days?

These days, almost none. I love to watch it, and I play and I still shoot around, but that’s all.

How do you use a Division 1 basketball career to your advantage as a musician?

Around seventh grade, I hit like a six-inch growth spurt, and that made basketball a lot easier. When I was 10, I started recording with my mom’s laptop, so I’ve been doing music longer than I’ve been playing basketball, but it was the tool to train me for a music career. It allowed me to study music. When I got to Memphis, I had to make sure that my coach understood that that’s where my heart was. They had to really understand that music is what I wanted to do. That was the first step.

When did you realize you wanted to pursue being a recording artist?

Around 16, I got serious about it. I started getting equipment, and I pretty much knew that I was going to make music. All of the college decisions came after my decision to play basketball. Music was always in the back of my mind. I was just trying to get as close to that dream as I could.

So much time and energy goes into being a college athlete. Do you feel like the work ethic required to be a Memphis Tiger basketball player helped you as an artist?

Definitely. It’s not just the basketball part of it, that puts more stress on it, but just college trained me to rethink how I could be better at whatever it is I’m working on. Coming out of college, I’m always thinking about what I’m supposed to be doing — what’s next? Am I slacking or wasting time?

How did your teammates react when they knew music was your main thing?

They all respected it. They all liked to listen to music, but no one else was talking about quitting basketball. It was strange to them. They had aspirations to go to the NBA while I was thinking about my music career.

The city of Memphis already knows you as a basketball player. What do you want to convey as a musician?

I can do so much more with music, and I can touch people in a deeper way through music as opposed to sports. There is not much you can convey through sports other than “go hard, go hard, go hard,” but with music, I can convey a lot of different feelings.

What’s the biggest difference between music and basketball?

The main difference is that people think I’m crazy. People think I’ve lost my mind. It’s been that way for a while. Now that basketball is over, people think I’m crazy for doing this. [People say] “Why would you not try to go overseas,” but that’s not what my calling is. I just don’t feel that way. Basketball was a tool that helped me unwrap my gift.

Kedren Johnson’s debut single “Notification” will drop early this year.

Categories
From My Seat Sports

Giving Thanks for Sporting Events of 2016

This is my favorite column of the year, a chance for me to fill that mocking space on my screen with the sports-related subjects I’m most grateful to have in my club car on this train called life.

Gratitude. Give it a chance.

• I’m grateful for Year Seven of the Memphis Grizzlies’ “core four.” I wish we could come up with a more distinctive tag for our “fab four”: Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Tony Allen, and Zach Randolph. They’ve earned that much, sticking together in one of the NBA’s smallest markets in an age when as many as five years with a franchise — for a single player, let alone a quartet — is considered lengthy. For some perspective, the Lakers’ great foursome of the Eighties — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, and Michael Cooper — played exactly seven seasons together. More recently in San Antonio, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Bruce Bowen broke up the band after seven years. Four years with one super-teammate (Dwyane Wade) was enough for LeBron James, and they won a pair of titles together. We won’t see another foursome like this at FedExForum.

Tubby Smith

• I’m grateful for Georgia Tech hiring Josh Pastner . . . and Memphis hiring Tubby Smith. Exhale. Last winter was excruciatingly uncomfortable for anyone in proximity to Pastner and the multiplying empty seats on game nights at FEF. And that contract(!) that made it all but impossible for the U of M to dismiss him. Thankfully, these kinds of divorces seem to unfold as they should. A good man is in a happier place. And a good program can aim to be great again under the wise watch of a man aiming to take a sixth program to the NCAA tournament.

• I’m grateful for an early look at Alex Reyes. The big righty appears to be on his way to stardom with the St. Louis Cardinals. It was nice to watch a few Reyes outings at AutoZone Park, the latest Redbirds coming attraction.

• I’m grateful for George Lapides and Phil Cannon and all they gave the Memphis sports community. Like days of the week, a sports community — its teams, its fans, its sponsors, its venues, its media personalities — has a “feel.” George and Phil brought a warmth — and distinct passion — to sports in Memphis. They live on in every one of us who attends a ball game now and then.

• I’m grateful for Mike Norvell’s energy and confidence. He’s the first Memphis Tiger football coach in generations to face an imposing task in filling his predecessor’s shoes. He has graciously saluted Justin Fuente’s achievements in building the program . . . while emphasizing it’s not where he and his staff want it be. Not yet. His prematurely gray hair gives Norvell the appearance of a man beyond his 35 years. So does his attention to detail and single-minded focus in making Memphis a premium program. It’s the hardest sports job in town.

• I’m grateful for my daughters’ continued commitment to team sports. One will play her senior high school softball season as an All-Metro outfielder, while the other played her first varsity soccer season as merely a freshman. They are bright, skilled, beautiful young ladies. And they know well the values that make a good teammate. Such is necessary in the wide world that awaits them.

• I’m grateful to be following in the footsteps — literally, and rapidly — of my 5K-running wife. Her commitment to not just running, but competing, is a healthy rebuke of any middle-age ceiling on athleticism. I’m especially grateful for her waiting for me at the finish line, one race after another.

• I’m grateful for you. And every one of the Flyer readers who give us a platform to share news, views, and analysis of the people and events that make Memphis such an extraordinary town. I appreciate your counterpoints, value your applause, and listen to your criticism. You give my job redeeming value.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Categories
Editorial Opinion

Let the Sun Shine In

Who said there was nothing new under the sun? Depending on your religiosity, the answer is either the Almighty Himself or the vaguely cynical old churchman who authored the Biblical text known as “Ecclesiastes.”

In any case, now that we’ve reached a point on the calendar where the sun is more or less reliably shining, let us submit the idea to the proof test.

What’s new? Between the previous warm season and the one we’re now enjoying, the University of Memphis has acquired new coaches for its two major sports programs — football and basketball. One of the newbies is Tubby Smith, who won an NCAA basketball championship at Louisville some years ago and who, as recently as last season, was named “Coach of the Year” for his work at Texas Tech. Considering that, only weeks before Smith was snagged, UM’s basketball program seemed incurably bogged down, with two straight seasons without a post-season tournament for the Tigers and a contract with then Coach Josh Pastner that had come to seem over-endowed (to many disappointed boosters, anyhow), Smith’s acquisition does indeed seem to make the sun shine brighter.

And, on the football side, there’s new coach Mike Norvell, the former offensive coordinator at Arizona State, who comes in this year to replace Justin Fuente, who, in his brief tenure, had returned the University’s football program to a measure of the sunshine it had seemed to lose in the several previous years and had won a) 19 games in a two-year span, b) a conference championship, and c) a major bowl game. Can Norvell do as well? By the reckoning of several people equipped to judge such things, Norvell’s first recruiting class may be the most promising in the nation, and, in a self-introduction of sorts to the Rotary Club of Memphis on Tuesday, the 34-year-old Norvell, the self-described “youngest head coach in college football,” certainly seemed convincing as he talked up his team as a family and promised to lead his young charges to the “next step” on their lives and to “excellence on the field, in the classroom, and in the community.”

A tall order, maybe, but even in making his case, Norvell lit up the room. It is easy to imagine him doing the same on the practice field.

And sometimes old wine comes in new bottles and seems the riper and better for it. At the very time that political figures in Tennessee and various presidential candidates in the nation at large have been urging a revision of our criminal justice system, here comes what we judge to be a bright new idea from former Memphis schools superintendent, former Memphis mayor, former charter-school entrepreneur Willie Herenton, who two weeks ago proposed an innovative scheme to house youthful offenders in pleasant, rehab-focused local surroundings, near their homes and loved ones, rather than in far-off, menacing penal institutions that double as crime schools.

Worth a try, we say, and, best yet, Herenton, who hopes for official state support, isn’t asking local taxpayers to foot the bill.

Let the sun shine in: That’s not exactly a new idea, but it’s still a good one.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

[UPDATED] University of Memphis Hires Tubby Smith as New Basketball Coach

CREDIT: Tubby Smith at UM Press Conference

“Today the University of Memphis has hired the most accomplished [basketball] coach in our history. He is precisely the right coach at the right time for the University of Memphis.” — U of M president David Rudd

Josh Pastner was 14 years old when Tubby Smith presided over his first college basketball game as a head coach. The more telling number is Smith’s age (40) when he first walked the sideline — in 1991 —  as coach of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

In naming Smith the 18th men’s basketball coach in Memphis history today, the powers that be at the university chose a career profile that couldn’t be more different from that of Smith’s predecessor. Whereas Pastner had no head-coaching experience when he was given the job (in 2009) at age 31, Smith has 25 seasons of Division I head-coaching experience on his resume and has taken five programs — Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Texas Tech — to the NCAA tournament. He won a national championship at Kentucky in 1998, his first of 10 seasons at the helm in Lexington. (Smith’s departure from Kentucky in 2007 led to the departure of John Calipari from Memphis two years later). At age 64, Smith becomes the oldest basketball coach in Tiger history. 

Tubby Smith at UM Press Conference

Frank Murtaugh

Smith won the 2003 Naismith Coach of the Year award at Kentucky and was named SEC Coach of the Year three times. He earned Big 12 Coach of the Year honors this year for having led Texas Tech to a 19-13 season in the nation’s toughest conference. (The Red Raiders lost to Butler in the first round of the NCAA tournament.) Smith’s overall record is 557-276. He was an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team in 2000.

Some highlights from Smith’s remarks at his introductory press conference:

“Our philosophy has always been big on love, family, and discipline. You can imagine, growing up in a household with [15] siblings, that was a focal point. You can’t survive, prosper, and grow without love.”

“Everyone I’ve coached and taught as a teacher, I love them all. I may not have liked everything they did, but I’ve loved them all. I was blessed to have parents who made me go to Sunday school. You have to have some values.”

“You don’t become successful without surrounding yourself with people whose goals are at least equal to yours, or greater. I’m a blue-collar worker. We put on our practice gear and we work with these young men. I just got to meet our present players, and they’re fine young men. We talked about goals: our basketball goals, our social goals, our academic goals, our spiritual goals. There’s a lot of pride in this program and university.”

“My dad told me that if you cut grass the right way, you’ll always have grass to cut. You’ll have a job.”

“When you see this team play, you’ll leave saying they played hard, played together, and played smart. That’s what we preach and teach. The fundamentals of the game are critical.”

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Josh Pastner Leaving Memphis For Georgia Tech

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

In a still-breaking development, it appears Josh Pastner is departing the University of Memphis to become the new head basketball coach at Georgia Tech. A press conference is scheduled later today in Atlanta to announce the move officially.

The voluntary departure means the U of M will not be required to cover the guaranteed balance of Pastner’s contract (through the 2019-20 season), a figure north of $10 million. The coach’s standing in the local community plummeted over his last two seasons, each ending without a postseason appearance for the Tigers. Attendance for Tiger games at FedExForum barely reached 6,000 last season. (Average ticket sales for 2009-10, Pastner’s first season in charge, was 16,498.)
Larry Kuzniewski

Over seven years in Memphis, Pastner compiled a record of 167-73 and reached the NCAA tournament four times (though never the Sweet 16). The last two seasons, though, were clouded by the departure of key players like Austin Nichols and Nick King, highly ranked local recruits who were unable to find comfort under Pastner’s guidance. After an 18-14 season in 2014-15, the Tigers went 19-15 last season, reaching the final of the American Athletic Conference tournament but again falling short of even an NIT bid.

Pastner replaces Brian Gregory at Georgia Tech, members of the acclaimed Atlantic Coast Conference. Gregory went 76-86 over five seasons with the Yellow Jackets. Duke assistant Jeff Capel had been considered a candidate for the job but removed himself from the search earlier this week.

U of M athletic director Tom Bowen will now be tasked with finding a coach for a program with very little “in the cupboard,” so to speak. Star forward Dedric Lawson is exploring his standing with NBA scouts and may enter June’s draft. Junior guard Avery Woodson has announced he’s transferring. Whether or not Pastner’s top 2016 recruit, point guard Charlie Moore, remains committed to the program is in doubt.

More to come as developments with this story unfold.

Categories
Letters To The Editor Opinion

What They Said…

CREDIT: Greg Cravens

Greg Cravens

About Frank Murtaugh’s post, “Memphis Tigers Post Mortem” …

Josh Pastner is my guy. He’s 38, a great recruiter, has gotten us to the tourney three times, and is destined to make a great run because he’s a great coach.

How stupid will Memphis look if he leaves and gets that run for another school? I’m a true fan of Memphis, but unfortunately our fans will turn their backs on you the minute things aren’t going the way they imagined it.

We’ve got to go through it to get to it. If we bring another coach in, we lose the recruits coming in, and to recruit a decent team will take a couple years or more. No one said it was easy, but for the sake of Memphis, Tiger fans need to be patient and loyal. Go Tigers, go!

Stevo37

Pastner may be a nice guy, but that isn’t the only requirement for being a head coach. We all knew when he took the job that he was coming in green. Heck, he started off badly by saying in his first interview with the Commercial Appeal that if his team tried on defense, he’d let them run on offense. That might be fine in high school, but it’s a recipe for disaster in college.

Being a mediocre coach would have been okay if he had made efforts to get better. That should have included bringing in an experienced bench coach who could help him learn the ropes. That he never did was his failing. It’s also the responsibility of the AD to recognize that. His teams look lost on defense. Trying hard isn’t enough, and too often, he didn’t hold his players accountable on the court. When your power forward runs down and attempts a three-pointer when the clock has barely started, why does he stay on the floor? The fact is, Pastner had the talent to be in the sweet 16 or better almost every year.

The city of Memphis has great talent. Any good coach should be able to keep the best talent home, not chase them away. Pastner needs to GO, GO, GO!

DatGuy

Dedric Lawson has done his year of indentured servitude, and there’s not much promise of improving his position next year, while there’ll be plenty of opportunity to suffer an injury. He should take as much money as he can get. Whoever gave Pastner that contract should foot the bill to buy him out of it.

Jeff

If you’re Pastner, you’d be crazy to take another job. Where else are you going to get that level of salary guaranteed for the next four years? If he walks away, he leaves $10.6 million on the table. If I’m him, I’m staying until they either fire me (and pay me), or until the contract runs out. I might leave if I’m down to the last year in my contract. In that case, I could pass up $2.6 million in the final year, if I got a nice $1.5 million gig with a fresh start.

GroveReb84

About Toby Sells’ story, “Q & A with Tina Sullivan” … 

It seems to me that there’s a parking solution that would be acceptable to the Memphis Zoo and the Overton Park Conservancy: Couldn’t overflow parkers be directed to the nearby Center City Shopping Center? All it would take is a shuttle, charging a nominal fee, to ferry zoo-goers from the shopping center to the zoo’s front gate. The Greensward could be preserved (as it should be; the zoo has taken over too much of the park), and the zoo would have parking for busy days.

Cheryl M. Dare

About President Obama and the Supreme Court …

The cover of the November 14th Time magazine had Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s face on it. The caption read “Change.” That’s because Mitch and other Republican leaders promised to cooperate and work with Democrats for the good of the country. For the last two years, Republican politicians have done the exact opposite, obstructing President Obama at every turn.

McConnell said he was going to “teach the GOP a new word: ‘Yes.'” The “Party of No” had no intention of honoring this promise. 

Now McConnell is leading the Republican charge to keep Obama from his constitutional duty to select a new Supreme Court justice. As Donald Trump might tweet: “Losers!”

Brad Levin

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Memphis Tigers Postmortem

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

An offseason brings questions, and for the 2015-16 Memphis Tigers the questions are big (“yuuuuge,” a certain Donald might say). Josh Pastner’s seventh team applied a bit of lipstick to a pig of a season with a run to the American Athletic Conference championship game last weekend. But in coming up short against UConn, the Tigers (19-15) will be filling out brackets like millions of other fans this week instead of analyzing an opponent (and potential opponents) in the NCAA tournament.

A few questions that need answering by November:

Larry Kuzniewski

Josh Pastner

• How did the Tiger program fall so far?
After his team’s win over UCF on February 17th, Pastner went in an interesting direction with his postgame comments. The win over the Knights had improved the Tigers’ record to 15-11. Said the coach, “Besides the Ole Miss game at home — and we had an hour-and-a-half black-out [before tipoff] — and the game against UConn at home, the other nine losses . . . we should have won the game probably. We had chances to win in the last two minutes of the game. We should have won the games. Even if we had won six of the nine, it would be a different deal. We’ve blown a lot of games. We haven’t gotten some breaks, whether it’s injuries or the ball hasn’t bounced our way, the whistle hasn’t gone our way. Basketball is a make-and-miss game. You gotta be really good defensively, and we got away from that.”

Pastner didn’t mean the comments to be self-incriminating, but they encapsulate the view held by most of his critics. He’s not helping the Memphis program win games. Coaches have little, if anything, to do with blowouts (wins or losses). Talent disparity will turn some games ugly every season. But the close games, those decided in the final minutes . . . these are the moments a coach makes himself valuable, the moments where he stabilizes his team and secures his job standing. Recruiting and development will determine a team’s talent level. But there will always be close games, and a coach has to help win them. If the Tigers lost nine games (at least) this season they should have won, their coach is a primary culprit.

• Did the Tigers’ run in the AAC tourney help Pastner’s job status?
The wins last weekend were the most fun the Tigers (and their fans) had this season. But it’s hard to imagine a pair of March wins — over Tulsa and Tulane — in a near-empty arena in Orlando helping to fill FedExForum next November. Memphis finally did have some breaks: 1) No SMU in the field, 2) Opposite side of the bracket from UConn and Cincinnati, 3) Tulane’s quarterfinal upset of Houston. And they took advantage for a pair of blowout victories. But back to the previous question: Coaches have little to do with blowouts. I don’t see Pastner’s Q rating getting a bump.

• Will Dedric Lawson be back for a second season?
Having been wrong so often, I’ve quit forecasting a star underclassman’s return to the Memphis program. There have been young Tigers needing more college development who have still left after one or two seasons: Darius Washington, Elliot Williams, Will Barton, Adonis Thomas. Whatever the mock drafts might say (and none have Lawson going in the first round this year), whatever our eyes might tell us about a player’s shortcomings, the mighty dollar is the loudest and most consistent influence on a player’s decision to stay in college or declare for the draft.

Larry Kuzniewski

Dedric Lawson

I’d like to think family sentiment might keep the talented Lawson in a Tiger uniform. Would he like a full season playing with his older brother, K.J.? (K.J. was redshirted after suffering an early-season foot injury.) Would he like to play another year under his dad’s watch? (Keelon Lawson completed his second season as an assistant on Pastner’s staff.) Dedric’s decision will come down to Keelon’s view of his son’s value (or future value) for an NBA team. Only one scout or GM needs to suggest Lawson is a pro for him to take the leap. And I think that’s what will happen.

• Is there anything positive to Pastner remaining head coach at Memphis?
This, of course, is the $10.6 million question. It’s hard to imagine Josh Pastner wanting to stay in a place where a fan base and, yes, media have turned so sour on his job performance. To date, he’s spoken (publicly) as though he intends to be back for an eighth season, to welcome Charlie Moore and Jimario Rivers to a roster that will require much more to make next season an improvement over the last two. You could say he has 10.6 million reasons to make this his public stance. That buyout clause hinges on Pastner being fired.

And $10.6 million is a lot of money to pay someone not to work for you. That’s the only positive I see in a scenario that has Pastner back on the bench for the U of M. The athletic department at the university will spare itself the embarrassment of the worst contract in college basketball history blowing up in the lobby.

An announcement will be made soon, one way or the other. And there will be angry Memphis Tiger fans, either way. This is one definition of misery. Sad but true, 19-15 seasons are beneath the standard for the University of Memphis. For now, be grateful for one season with the sublime Dedric Lawson and four with Shaq Goodwin. And take comfort knowing football season is less than six months away.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

AAC Championship: Connecticut 72, Tigers 58

The UConn Huskies extinguished the Tigers’ last flicker of hope for an NCAA tournament bid in winning the 2016 American Athletic Conference tournament title today in Orlando. UConn led virtually start to finish and and answered a pair of second-half Tiger runs with tears of their own. Despite committing four fouls, Shonn Miller led Connecticut with 13 points and Rodney Purvis added 12 as the Huskies improved to 24-10 with their third win over Memphis this season.

The Tigers trailed by 13 (32-19) at halftime, having missed 19 of their 25 shots over the game’s first 20 minutes. But a 13-1 run keyed by a three-point shot and three free throws from Ricky Tarrant Jr. brought the Tigers within four (36-40) with just over 13 minutes to play. UConn stretched the lead back to 17 (59-42) only to later see Memphis score nine straight points to pull within eight with 3:05 left on the clock. The Huskies countered once more, though, scoring 10 of the game’s final 14 points. The win is UConn’s first in the AAC final after losses the previous two seasons.

Four players for each team finished the game with four fouls. UConn shot 46 percent from the field while Memphis hit 38 percent.

Tiger forward Dedric Lawson scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to tie the program’s freshman record for double-doubles (17) set by Keith Lee in 1981-82. Tarrant was the only other Memphis player with double figures (11) on the scoreboard.

While the Huskies await their seeding and placement in the NCAA dance party, Memphis (19-15) is left to wonder if its run to the tourney final will be enough for a bid to the NIT. (An 18-14 record wasn’t enough last March.) If theTigers don’t land a berth in the second-tier event, today’s game will have been the last in a Memphis uniform for seniors Shaq Goodwin, Trahson Burrell, and Tarrant. Speculation will begin on the status of Lawson, the AAC Rookie of the Year and now eligible to enter this summer’s NBA draft.

The last time Memphis missed consecutive NCAA tournaments was in 2001 and 2002 under coach John Calipari. The Tigers reached the NIT semifinals in ’01 and won the event the next year.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

AAC Tourney Preview

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

For more than 300 college basketball teams, the NCAA tournament begins this week. Beyond the highest-ranked teams in the country, the only way to dream of “One Shining Moment” is to win your conference tournament. Three wins — maybe four — in as many days. There’s no more rigorous fight for a dance ticket in any sport, including the pros.

I think it’s more likely we see Josh Pastner pose for a photo with a middle-finger raised than we see the Memphis Tigers win this week’s American Athletic Conference tournament. But as Lloyd Christmas emphasized so eloquently in Dumb and Dumber . . . there’s a chance.

Larry Kuzniewski

Shaq Goodwin, All-AAC?


The bracket in Orlando couldn’t have been filled more favorably for the 17-14 Tigers. The U of M wants no part of SMU, Connecticut, or Cincinnati, having gone 1-5 against this trio during the regular season. The Mustangs won’t even be in the field, serving a postseason ban for academic misdeeds. And the Huskies and Bearcats are on the opposite side of the bracket, meaning the Tigers wouldn’t face either team until the final and, importantly, cannot face them both this weekend. Instead, Memphis gets Tulsa (20-10) in a Friday-night quarterfinal. On February 28th at FedExForum, the Tigers beat the Golden Hurricane, 92-82. Most revealing from that contest: Tulsa showed little resistance for the U of M’s two most potent threats. Senior Shaq Goodwin had 28 points and 11 rebounds in the victory with freshman Dedric Lawson adding 27 points and 12 boards. In no other AAC game this season did the Tigers shoot better than they did that Sunday afternoon (54 percent).

If the Tigers can knock off Tulsa, they’d likely face Houston (22-8) in a Saturday semifinal. Memphis led the Cougars at halftime (48-40) on February 10th in Texas, only to be thoroughly dominated in the second half. Can Devonta Pollard again score 34? Damyean Dotson 21? The Tigers hope to find out while top-seeded Temple wrestles with UConn or Cincy in the other semifinal.

Coach Josh Pastner will likely bring up the story of his second Memphis team this week. The 2010-11 Tigers — featuring freshmen Will Barton, Tarik Black, and Joe Jackson — entered the Conference USA tournament in El Paso with a 22-9 record, having lost three of their last four games and dancing precariously on the bubble of the NCAA tournament field. They proceeded to win the tournament, taking three games in three days, including two over teams (East Carolina and host UTEP) that had beaten them during their late-season slide.

The Tigers need to win at least one game this week to earn consideration for the NIT. Eighteen wins weren’t enough last year, remember. It’s a band-of-brothers road trip for the U of M. Embattled coach, talented but under-achieving roster of players, and virtually no expectations any longer to meet. Lace ’em up, hit the floor, and see what happens. Yep, there’s a chance.

• Despite finishing seventh in the American, the Tigers feature two players who will be considered for first-team all-conference honors. Freshman Dedric Lawson should make the team, having finished fifth in the league in scoring (15.4 points per game) and atop the AAC in rebounding (9.2). Senior Shaq Goodwin finished seventh in both categories, his numbers this season (15.2 and 8.0) considerably better than those he put up as a sophomore (11.5 and 6.5) when he was named second-team All-AAC. How a team with two such stars managed to finish 8-10 in league play will be a good conversation starter over the offseason.

Categories
Sports Tiger Blue

Tigers 63, Cincinnati 59

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Thirty-nine hours after their most dispiriting loss of the season, the Tigers secured their biggest win to date. With double-doubles from Shaq Goodwin and Dedric Lawson (each had 20 points and 11 rebounds), the U of M never trailed Cincinnati and avoided what would have been the first three-game losing streak in seven years under coach Josh Pastner. Junior guard Avery Woodson drained a three-pointer from the right wing after the Bearcats’ Troy Caupain had closed the Memphis lead to one with 1:45 left in the game. He and Ricky Tarrant Jr. combined to hit four free throws in the game’s final 15 seconds to lock up the victory. And the win couldn’t be more of a relief, particularly for Pastner.
Larry Kuzniewski

Dedric Lawson

“We just needed to start fresh,” said Pastner, who spent almost the entire game seated in his chair on the Memphis bench. “Nine-game [regular] season, let’s see how it goes. No regrets. Let’s leave it on the floor, have fun, have toughness. New day, new season. Let the chips fall where they fall. We had a good practice yesterday, and a good team meeting. The guys responded. All credit goes to the players. That’s not an easy situation to play in: two-game losing streak, tons of negativity, and a quick turnaround against a very good Cincinnati team.”

Among the players who responded with the greatest impact was swingman Trahson Burrell, back in the rotation after a one-game disciplinary suspension. Burrell contributed nine points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block . . . and could have played better (he missed 11 of 14 attempts from the field). He exuded the positive energy his coach craves after the game. “I love Coach P,” said Burrell. “He’s looked out for me the last two years; helped me become a man.”

Freshman Craig Randall made his first start for the Tigers (in place of Sam Craft). Pastner said he wanted to “get a look” at Randall in the interests of relieving the minutes load Tarrant has carried all season. Randall’s only two points were the first two of the game. He delivered a pair of assists in 12 minutes on the floor. (Tarrant only took one shot from the field and played just 18 minutes.)

Similar to Thursday night against Connecticut, the Tigers played much better in the first half than they did in the second. But their halftime lead today (15 points) proved to be just enough for the win, despite only six field goals made in the second half. Memphis outrebounded the Bearcats, 49-38, and made 18 of 24 free throws. The Tigers committed 13 turnovers, seven fewer than in the loss to the Huskies.

Memphis improves to 14-9 for the season and 5-5 in the American Athletic Conference, while Cincinnati falls to 17-7 (7-4). The Tigers and Bearcats have split their two meetings each of the last two seasons. Caupain led Cincinnati with 17 points and Gary Clark added 15.

The U of M hits the road for its next two games, at Houston (Wednesday) and at Tulane (next Saturday).