Tag: Josh Pastner

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Sports Tiger Blue

SMU 66, Tigers 57

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

Facing the 21st-ranked team in the country, the Tigers would have had their hands full with a complete arsenal Thursday night at FedExForum. By the third minute of the second half, though, two starting guards (Markel Crawford and Kedren Johnson) were out of the game for good and a third (Pookie Powell) was not even in the building, nursing an illness on campus.

Despite the emaciated roster, the Tigers found themselves tied (48-48) with SMU with less than ten minutes to play after Calvin Godfrey connected on a jump shot from near the top of the key. But Larry Brown’s Mustangs then reeled off a 15-4 run, capped by junior guard Nic Moore’s dagger three-pointer at the 2:49 mark to secure the visitors’ 23rd win of the season.

Shaq Goodwin

Crawford collapsed to the ground after a collision with Mustang forward Yanick Moreira (setting a screen) with just over three minutes to play in the first half. Replays showed Crawford’s head made full impact with Moreira’s left shoulder. (No foul was called.) Crawford left the court after several minutes of attention for a bloodied mouth.

Then early in the second half — before either team had scored — Johnson was called for a personal foul (his fourth of the game) under the Mustang basket, then received a technical foul for a verbal exchange with an SMU player, which counted as a fifth, disqualifying violation. “[Sterling] Brown had something to say about the way I fouled his teammate,” explained Johnson after the game. “He approached me and said something I didn’t like, and I reacted the wrong way. The ref heard it and gave me a tech. It’s my fault; I take responsibility for it. It’s never happened to me before. It was shocking.”

“I’m proud of our guys,” said Memphis coach Josh Pastner. “We battled. We competed. Obviously, we were down some players. Kedren took that silly [technical] foul, and Markel being out with his jaw [injury]. Having those two guys down, it made it tough in the second half. Nic Moore hit a couple of big shots that broke our backs. We were mixing and matching, trying everything we could. SMU’s the best team in the league.”

The Tigers were down just two points at halftime (30-28), despite little offense from Austin Nichols (one for eight from the field) and the Mustangs taking 18 free throws to the Tigers’ three.

Shaq Goodwin had one of his best performances of the season with 17 points, seven rebounds, and a pair of blocks, helping the U of M outscore the Mustangs in the paint, 32-26. But Nichols never found his touch, missing nine of 11 shots and Avery Woodson wasn’t much better (three for 11). In addition to 16 points by Moore, the Mustangs got 11 each from Moreira and Ryan Manuel.

“We needed to come up with big plays in the final stretch,” said Goodwin. “We needed to come up with the plays they came up with. That’s why they won the game.”

“Losing Markel was a huge factor,” said Nichols. “He pretty much locked down [Ryan Boatright] of UConn. We were aiming for him to help us out with Nic Moore. That was a huge loss for us. We had to fight through it. We didn’t give up; that’s a positive. I’m proud of my teammates for not folding.”

Nick King came off the bench and scored 14 points for the Tigers, his most since mid-January.

The Tigers fall to 17-11 with the loss, which ended a three-game winning streak. They return to play Saturday night at FedExForum when Tulsa — tied atop the American Athletic Conference with SMU — comes to town. At halftime of the home finale, the 1984-85 Tigers will be honored as part of the 30th anniversary of the team’s run to the Final Four.

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Memphis Preps Blog Sports

Todd Day Returns Home

CREDIT: WKNO

WKNO

Todd Day

The question seemed easy enough, but Todd Day, Hamilton High School’s new boys varsity basketball coach, struggled to come up with an answer. Naming his favorite spot on the basketball court during his playing days was difficult only because the game was so simple for Day when he prepped at Hamilton in the late ’80s. His shooting range was infinite. When he left Hamilton and, later, the University of Arkansas, it was as those schools’ all-time leading scorer. “I guess if I had to answer,” Day finally says, “it would be anywhere on the court, but definitely somewhere behind the three-point line.”

If only coaching was as easy and smooth as Day’s jump shot. Coaching teenage boys is different. Patience is required. Lots of patience. Day learned this lesson during his five years at Memphis Academy of Health & Sciences (MAHS), where he began his high school coaching career. “It really helped me to become more patient,” Day says. “When I first started coaching, I wanted players to be as good as I was, and do the things I could do in high school. But it takes gym time. And that’s something these kids don’t get these days — a lot of gym time.”

Over the summer, Day’s patience was rewarded when Keelon Lawson decided to step down as Hamilton’s coach to join the college ranks at the University of Memphis. Finding his replacement was a no-brainer for Wildcats’ Athletics Director Jerome Griffin. All he had to do was look up to the school gym rafters, where Day’s number 10 jersey hangs. “Todd is Hamilton,” said Griffin. “He’s true and blue. Not only that, he was qualified for the position. He gives credibility to the program. The community and parents and kids can see that a kid from Hamilton can go on and have a successful college career and play professionally,” referring to Day’s four years at Arkansas and nine years in the NBA.

Day, back in the day.

Former long-time Hamilton coach Ted Anderson agrees Day was the right choice to replace Lawson. Anderson, Day’s step-father and former high school coach, admits he may be bit biased, but says coaching basketball on the high school level is more than x’s and o’s, and Day understands that. “I didn’t have to talk to Todd about basketball or give him advice on that community. He’s going home. He knows the history. He grew up over there. His biggest challenge is going to be living up to expectations.”

Day was excited for the opportunity to return to Hamilton, but admits he wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. He didn’t know how he would feel about having to carry a walkie-talkie around and making sure kids were getting to class on time. “I didn’t know how I would feel until I started walking these halls again,” he says. “It brings back a lot of memories. Just the opportunity to give back to some of the kids the things that were given to me coming here. Giving them an opportunity to further their careers is what drives me at this point.”

That and winning. And he has the roster to do a lot of it in his first year. Lawson may have left Hamilton, but he also left the program with his talented sons, Keelon, Jr. and Dedric, both consensus top 100 players. “What a gift,” Day says. “Dedric and K.J. are great players with great attitudes, plus they already kind of know my system. So it should be a good transition.”

Day and Keelon, Sr. played high school ball together and have remained friends. “The fact that we know each other makes it easier for me to talk to him about his sons,” Day says. “I’ll get with him just like I will do with all the other parents and get their expectations, but the fact that we know each other’s temperament makes it a lot easier.”

It was nearly a moot point. Dedric and K.J. were once headed to Florida to play at Arlington Country Day. But their plans changed when their father accepted a job as an assistant on coach Josh Pastner’s staff. The Lawson boys remained in Memphis and during the summer played AAU ball with Team Penny, where Day served as an assistant coach under Penny Hardaway. “It was great coaching that kind of talent,” Day reflects. “It’s a coach’s dream. We were loaded at each position. Even the bench players were great.”

And with great players come great expectations, and a great dilemma right out of the gate. “Really I’m in a no-win situation,” Day laments. “If I win, I’m supposed to win. If I don’t, it’s like ‘how could you lose with two of the best players in the state.’”

Despite the jump in talent from MAHS to Hamilton, Day insists his coaching philosophies and style will remain the same. When asked about the goal for his team this season, there is no struggling to find the answer: “Win a state title,” he says, without hesitation. “That’s always the goal.”

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Cover Feature News

HOOP CITY!

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

The Window

The Grizzlies are back with one of the best, deepest rosters in team history. It may be the best shot they’ve ever had at an NBA title.

by Kevin Lipe

“This is the year.” It’s a thing fans say to each other all the time. This is the year that the team gets over the hump. The year that everything lines up, the year that they catch the lucky breaks a team has to take to make it to a championship. This is the year. The year that we finally get to stop asking, “Are they good enough?” and just bask in it, revel in it, feel what it’s like to have something that isn’t an “almost.”

This is the year.

NBA teams are like the peonies in my backyard. They spend a lot of time looking like dead weeds, and then a lot of time as tender shoots coming up out of the spring ground. One morning they burst forth, beautiful, heavy in the dew, the air around them sweet — and then, just as suddenly, they’re gone, nothing to look at for the rest of the year. There’s a window, a time in which they’re at their peak, and then there’s the rest, three-and-a-half other seasons.

How’s that for a strained analogy? And yet, the Grizzlies are one of a handful of teams in the Western Conference that could legitimately win an NBA championship this year. Anyone who tells you any different isn’t paying attention. They’re deeper than they’ve ever been, the key players are either reaching the peak of their potential or not yet much past it. The front office has added pieces that strengthen them, but the competition is not going to stay static for long.

Larry Kuzniewski

Marc Gasol

Marc Gasol‘s Contract Extension

Marc Gasol is currently in the last year of his contract, making $15.8 million. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent when this season ends. Even if his intentions are to re-sign with the Grizzlies without ever testing the free agency waters, he can wait until the season is over and sign whatever deal the Grizzlies offer him at that point.

Gasol himself has said almost nothing about the situation, preferring to talk about winning basketball games, winning a championship, and how the team can improve. That doesn’t mean the rumors aren’t flying — the Knicks, now run by Pau Gasol’s former coach Phil Jackson, have already surfaced as a team very interested in acquiring Gasol’s services, and they likely won’t be the only ones.

The whole year is going to be like that, as general managers and agents spin up the rumor mills and try to pry Gasol away from a Grizzlies team and a city that he unabashedly loves. At some point, there will be reports that any and every team with max contract space is pursuing Gasol; that Gasol could “possibly” sign with them; that Gasol will leave the Grizzlies; that he’ll stay. It’s going to be a circus. That comes with the territory of having one of the best centers in the NBA.

It’s going to be hard for the team to keep the chatter from becoming a distraction in the locker room. Remember the run-up to the Rudy Gay trade? The whole team said they were just going to go out and play basketball and let the trade rumors fly, that they weren’t affected by it. Once the trade happened, though, every last one of them admitted that it had bothered them — especially the longest-term Grizzlies, Gasol and Mike Conley, the guys who had been with Gay all along. These guys are professional athletes, but they’re also people, and that sort of speculation is hard to shut out. If anyone can do it, it’ll be the no-nonsense Gasol, but it’ll be a major storyline going forward.

Larry Kuzniewski

Vince Carter

Whither Vinsanity?

The Grizzlies were able to land Vince Carter this summer in a deal that surprised most everyone, including the Grizzlies. Talks weren’t going well with fan favorite (and apparent LeBron James favorite) Mike Miller, and Dallas signed forward Chandler Parsons away from blood rival Houston, which left no money for Dallas to use to re-sign Carter. He and the Grizzlies started talking, and soon enough, Carter was a Grizzly, and Miller went off to sign a deal with the Cavs and chase another ring with LeBron.

At any rate, Carter (once healthy — he’s still recovering from offseason ankle surgery to repair an injury) gives the Grizzlies a new dimension of wing play that they haven’t had since, well, the Rudy Gay trade or earlier: someone who can shoot well, get to the basket when he needs to, defend, and create offense when a play breaks down. Carter, even at 37, is an upgrade over Miller in every category save three-point shooting percentage and promises to open up the floor for the Grizzlies’ bigs in ways that were impossible with the team’s roster in recent seasons.

It remains to be seen whether Carter will end up starting or fulfilling the same Super Sixth Man role he played in Dallas (though signs point to the latter, and I think that’s probably the best use of his skills at this point in his career). If he can recover fully from his surgery and integrate himself into the Grizzlies’ second-unit offense, he has a chance to really change the complexion of the Grizzlies’ bench and, of course, to be a “closer” in crunch time.

Larry Kuzniewski

Tony Allen

The Tony Allen Conundrum

Even though he arrived in Memphis a full season after Zach Randolph (in case y’all forgot the fun 40-win 2009–10 team that fell apart down the stretch), Tony Allen feels like the epicenter of the cultural explosion that is the Grit ‘n Grind Grizzlies. He’s the one who said “all heart, grit, grind” in the first place (lest “The Sefaloshas of the world” forget). It was his face and his quote that radio host Chris Vernon put on the T-shirt that launched an entire industry of bootleg/unlicensed Griz gear, lots of it bearing Allen’s likeness in some form or another.

It’s his insane, addled, ball-hounding defense that is so fun to watch in big moments, when he ratchets up the pressure, as the saying goes, and turns somebody’s water off. That and his ability to miss every single point-blank layup he gets… except the one that ties or wins the game for the Griz, his flexing on the sidelines, and his constant walking around the court mumbling to himself while everyone else is off huddling or doing some other team activity.

Allen is a major reason for the Grizzlies’ recent run of success. He is one of the key figures in the deepening of the city’s love affair with its pro basketball team, establishing roots in this city that would be hard to pull up.

Allen is also a bit of a problem: The things that make him one of the most tenacious perimeter defenders in the league also make him a wild card on offense. Sometimes, he decides to pull up for an 18-foot jumper. Sometimes, he tries to drive through three defenders to the basket and his layup bounces off the bottom of the rim (this has already happened this season). Sometimes, he makes a brilliant cut to the basket for a go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter. Sometimes, he goes rogue and tries to win the game himself, when there are other, better options on the floor. Allen’s offense is unpredictable to the point that he’s generally a liability on that end of the floor — not only because he can’t shoot very well, but also because he seems incapable of slowing himself down to process what he needs to do.

Beyond that, Allen’s stint on the bench last year clearly rubbed him the wrong way. After an extended hand injury that turned into a wrist injury that turned into “maybe they’re just sitting him so they can trade him” speculation, Allen returned to the court and started playing some of the best basketball of his career. The only problem with that, from Allen’s perspective, was that he was doing it coming off the bench. He wasn’t happy about it and made that known off the court, in the locker room, everywhere but in interviews. One gets the impression that he feels like his leadership role on the team means he’s guaranteed a starting spot, but that doesn’t seem to be the case in the eyes of head coach Dave Joerger. Allen is starting again, for now, but if someone else is playing well enough to claim that job, will Allen be pushed back to his sixth man role? And, if so, what will happen to the team’s chemistry? Do his defensive abilities outweigh his offensive limitations enough that starting him for morale/chemistry reasons makes sense from a “trying to win a championship this year” perspective?

The Grizzlies need the best Allen they can get this year, and they cannot afford for him to be a net negative. If they can keep him happy, and he can play to his strengths instead of holding back a team that needs all the offensive firepower it can get, things will be fine. If anything happens to throw that equation out of balance (whether injury, age, or Jordan Adams) the ride could get turbulent.

How Much Z-Bo Are We Getting?

Over the summer, Randolph signed a three-year contract extension with the Grizzlies for $10 million a year that will keep him here through the 2016–2017 season, at least. Randolph had a great season last year, carrying the team’s offense on his back (with no small amount of help from Mike Conley) through the dark days of Gasol’s injury.

As Randolph (who is 33) ages, his game will decline in some form or fashion, but for the Grizzlies’ title hopes this season, he’s got to be able to duplicate his success from last year, a return to form for Randolph, who suffered a major knee injury during the 2011–2012 lockout season.

There are signs of decline creeping in around the edges for Randolph: his field goal percentage has dropped, his shot gets blocked more often, he has a harder time working through his post moves to get baskets, and — most worryingly — his defense fell off a cliff last year. Randolph has never been a great defender, but in the last year or 18 months, teams have figured out that they can run pick-and-roll plays involving Randolph’s man and regularly get a pretty easy look at the basket. If he can improve on defense, or at least not get worse, he’ll probably be fine this year. This year’s new look, contract-year Gasol is only going to make the opportunities easier for him.

If he can stay healthy and can keep himself from being the main point of weakness in the Grizzlies’ fabled defense, Randolph, at $10 million this season, is likely going to be a bargain.

Back to the Window Thing

So what does this all mean? It comes back around to the idea that NBA teams have a limited window of time in which they can win a championship. There’s no guarantee of anything in sports. Things that no one can predict happen on a regular basis and change the course of entire teams, entire careers, entire franchises.

Everything is lined up for this Grizzlies team to be the best one the franchise has ever put on the court, including the 2013 team that made it all the way to the Western Conference finals. Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant (and now Russell Westbrook) have both suffered big injuries. Houston didn’t improve much this summer because it gambled on Chris Bosh and lost. Dallas added Chandler Parsons and bolstered its roster but didn’t improve dramatically. The Clippers have an even bigger hole at small forward this year than the Grizzlies did last year. The Spurs are and forever will be the Spurs.

Beyond this year, even if one assumes Gasol will return, there is no guarantee of what will happen. Things change. Players age and retire. Chemistry doesn’t work out. Trades happen for financial reasons. Other teams improve. Last year — the slow start, the Gasol and Allen injuries, the Randolph Game 7 suspension in a winnable playoff series — should’ve taught Griz fans that no season can be taken for granted.

Will this be the last year of this run of playoff success? Who knows? The team is poised to be good for the next several years, assuming they can hang on to Gasol and Conley. But every window closes at some point, and usually you can’t tell it’s happened until after your chance at winning it all is gone. When eras end, things tend to collapse under their own weight, leaving wreckage and years of rebuilding to be done.

On paper, this appears to be the deepest and best Grizzlies team of all time. Grizzlies fans should cherish this team and this year, because for once, they really could win the NBA championship — and because nothing is guaranteed and nothing lasts forever.

This is the year.

…

Guarded Optimism

The 2014-15 Memphis Tigers will lean on a pair of veteran pillars as a new backcourt finds its way.

by Frank Murtaugh

Rarely has the University of Memphis basketball program undergone the kind of personnel transition Tiger fans will witness over the course of the 2014-15 season. Just last winter, the Tigers rode the play of four guards — all seniors — to a record of 24-10 and a fourth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. Those guards are all gone, of course, leaving the ball — and the Tigers’ hopes for a return to the Big Dance — quite literally in the hands of players with exactly zero minutes played in a Memphis uniform. If you haven’t seen Pookie Powell play, or Markel Crawford, or Dominic Magee, or Avery Woodson, pull up a chair and join the crowd. Add Vanderbilt transfer Kedren Johnson to the mix and you have a quintet of new faces, each aiming to take the Tigers new places on the college basketball map.

“We’re so inexperienced, so young,” says Josh Pastner, who aims to become just the second Memphis coach (after Dana Kirk) to take the Tigers to five consecutive NCAA tournaments. “I won’t know [what we have] until we play actual competition. I have no clue. Everything’s brand new. Every game we play this year will be a new experience for a lot of these guys. We basically have three guys with game experience. That’s it.”

The “Perfect Guard”

If you combine the premier qualities of the five players likely to man the Tigers’ backcourt, you might just have the perfect college guard. Sophomore Powell may be the most versatile scorer (he averaged 27.8 points as a senior in high school). Redshirt freshman Crawford may be the best perimeter defender. Sophomore Woodson could be the best shooter (37.6 percent from three-point range at East Mississippi Community College). Freshman Magee is likely the best penetrator. (“I can drive and finish or drive and kick it out,” he says.) And Vanderbilt transfer Johnson may be the best ball-handler (he led the Commodores in assists as a sophomore in 2012-13). But how does Pastner best combine these skills on the court? And who is the guard (or guards) versatile enough to stay on the court when his go-to strength is failing him?

“There’s talent,” emphasizes Pastner. “But they have to develop a better understanding of the game, a better feel for the game. Retention is important, especially at that position. I think we’re going to be a good team, but it’s a hard read [now]. Sometimes when you least expect it, you have a breakout year. We need to find guys who know the system, know what I want, and can execute it. They’ll be the first with opportunities for game time.”

Powell spent last season with the Tigers but wasn’t allowed to practice. If there’s a player bursting for minutes on the floor, it’s the Orlando native with a toddler’s nickname. “Last year actually went by kinda quickly,” he says. “I’m just glad to be back out here, doing what I can do. I’ll bring energy every time I step on the court. And I want to show Coach I can win. I’ve never really won anything in my career.”

Larry Kuzniewski

Shaq Goodwin and Austin Nichols

The Returnees

Despite the veteran presence in their backcourt last season, the Tigers looked hopelessly overmatched against Connecticut (in the American Athletic Conference tournament at FedExForum) and Virginia (in the third round of the NCAAs) as their season came to an unceremonious close. The few current Tigers who felt the sting of those losses — most notably forwards Shaq Goodwin and Austin Nichols — will be tasked with infusing this year’s team with a dose of motivation and toughness. Along with Nick King, Goodwin and Nichols are the only returning rotation players. Kuran Iverson is also back, intent on significantly increasing the 9.1 minutes he averaged in 19 games as a freshman last season.

“I’m not looking for a leadership position,” says Goodwin, who averaged 11.5 points last season and led the Tigers with 6.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore. “Once you start singling out people, that’s where different expectations come that you don’t need. Once we’re one big team, we’ll be fine. My thing this season is staying consistent. Coach [Robert] Kirby has worked with me on rebounding and staying consistent at the free-throw line, two areas where I struggled last year.” (Goodwin shot 59 percent from the charity stripe.)

The Tigers will need Goodwin to be as fierce on the floor as he is genteel off it, and the same goes, really, for Nichols. The Briarcrest alum started every game last season, averaging 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds on his way to Rookie of the Year honors in the American Athletic Conference. Whereas Goodwin lost weight after his freshman season to make more of an impact, Nichols added close to 20 pounds this summer in hopes of the same. “Conditioning is a huge thing,” he says. “If Shaq and I can play large minutes and not get tired, that’s huge. And staying out of foul trouble. Be smart; no easy fouls.”

Larry Kuzniewski

Nick King

King will likely start at small forward, returning the Tiger lineup to a conventional two-guard, three-forward look at tip-off. The East High alum averaged just 4.9 points and 11.1 minutes per game as a freshman, but showed flashes — like 23 points against Oklahoma State in his second college game — that suggest he could be an offensive force (if his defensive limitations don’t force him to the bench).

And Iverson is excited to settle into a power-forward slot, even as a reserve. “I like being in the paint,” he says, “where I can make my moves easier, near the hoop. I can block shots, play defense, and rebound.” Adds Goodwin, “Kuran can be whoever he wants to be. He can dribble, he can shoot. He just has to put it in his mind. He’s on the right path. I see a big difference between Kuran this year and Kuran last year.”

Like his entire fan base, Pastner looks at Goodwin and Nichols as the stabilizing forces for a team desperately in need of on-court leadership. “They have to be consistent,” he says. “We have to depend on them and know what we’re getting every game.”

Frontcourt Newbies

Two new arrivals should add muscle to the Tiger frontcourt, particularly on the defensive end. Calvin Godfrey (6’8″, 233 lbs.) transferred from Southern and is actually the only senior on the team. Chris Hawkins (6’6″, 230 lbs.) averaged 15.2 points and 6.8 rebounds last season at Southwest Tennessee Community College but was limited to nine games by ankle injuries. Yet another Memphis rookie, Trahson Burrell, could earn minutes at forward, guard, or both. More wispy than Godfrey or Hawkins, Burrell (6’6″, 169 lbs.) was a scoring presence over his two seasons at Lee College in Texas, averaging 20.7 points on 52-percent shooting.

Each of the transfers will don a Tiger uniform with expectations for impacting the Memphis program immediately. “I didn’t bring them here to be 10th or 11th guys,” Pastner says. “They have to produce for the program. Calvin is 23. He has a maturity about him. Kedren started at Vanderbilt. They have to get the job done, and they know it. If there is a bruiser [on this team], it’s Calvin Godfrey.”

The Rotation

By the time conference play arrives in January, a dozen players now in the mix for significant playing time should be whittled to eight (or even seven). Pastner will go deeper on his bench only if forced. “A seven- or eight-man rotation keeps it organized,” he says, “and lets everyone know their roles. But that rotation won’t be defined in November. We’ll know by the end of November, though, because of the teams we play early. We’ll be tested.” After opening their season against Wichita State on November 18th (in Sioux Falls, South Dakota), the Tigers face Baylor on Thanksgiving day (in Las Vegas).

A Transition Year?

No team in any sport wants to be considered part of a “transition year.” The tag implies losses, growing pains, the only silver lining, perhaps, a preview of better things to come. But it’s hard to look at the roster of the 2014-15 Memphis Tigers and not have the T-word at least tickling your consciousness. “It does feel like a transition year,” says King, another sophomore thrust into a position of veteran leadership. “New faces, new attitudes. But I think we have great team chemistry. The new players are great people. If you’ve got a good person, you can make a great player.”

The way Pastner sees things, forget any notion of transition. “This is a start-fresh year,” he says. “If you’re forecasting, you’d say we’re loaded for the future: everybody’s coming back, the recruits we’re getting. But people are anxious to see how we do this year. This is a brand-new team, starting from ground zero.”

And does the 37-year-old coach feel any of that anxiety himself? “I’m rejuvenated, excited about it,” Pastner says. “There was a lot more managing last year. Every second is more teaching this year. If I wanted to, I could stop every possession of practice to teach. But that’s not reality. I have to let them play, adjust, recover on the fly. I wish they’d give us 10 more games to play.”

There’s a photo mural that runs the length of the Tigers’ practice court at the Finch Center on the U of M campus: 12 players, arms linked, only their torsos visible. No faces. The mural says, “One team. One goal. No egos.” The 2014-15 Memphis Tigers will not be a faceless team. That’s impossible in this town. Whether or not those arms remain linked (at least metaphorically) come March will depend on how trying the next four months become for a team that will spend most of the winter learning how to get along, on the court and off.

…

Schedule Highlights

• For a team learning to play together, the Tigers have a schedule luxury: nine straight home games, starting December 2nd (Stephen F. Austin) and ending January 3rd (Tulane). Oklahoma State (December 13th) will highlight this stretch. If you want to circle a few dates on your 2015 calendar, start with January 15th, when Cincinnati visits FedExForum (the Bearcats are picked to finish fourth in the American, right behind Memphis). League favorite (and defending national champion) Connecticut visits February 19th and SMU will be here February 26th.

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Letter From The Editor Opinion

Letter from the Editor: Pastner on the Hot Seat

How many times have you heard somebody say this? “Pastner needs to hire someone to help him with Xs and Os. He can recruit, but he can’t coach.”

That would be Josh Pastner, of course, the University of Memphis’ head basketball coach, whose Tigers fell in the round of 32 in the NCAA tournament and finished at 24-10. Last year’s version of this remark was: “He’s never beaten a Top 25 school.”

Critics aren’t saying that now because Pastner’s team beat five ranked teams this season in 11 tries. And those who say he needs help with Xs and Os would probably find disagreement from Rick Pitino, Mark Few, and Larry Brown — three legendary coaches who Pastner’s team defeated this year.

It’s possible that Pastner can’t coach, but it’s also possible that the four senior guards — the “Four Kings” — were overhyped, not the least by Pastner. It turned out that four kings and two skinny kids down low was not the formula for success fans had hoped for. The truth is, in some games, the kings shot like queens. When they made shots, Memphis beat some very tough teams. When they clanked the rim, they got beaten, sometimes handily.

But this is Memphis, where patience is for losers. Some “Negative Nellies,” as Pastner calls them, are saying it’s time for a coaching change. Really?

Pastner’s winning percentage after five years is around .750. His players graduate and are model citizens. Stories about his generosity and kindness to kids, old folks, the infirm, and the average fan are legion. He’s accessible to the media and gives time to countless charities and nonprofits. He’s a top-ranked recruiter. He doesn’t drink, smoke, or cuss. You’d be hard-pressed to find a better representative for the city and the university.

At this point in his career, he’s a good coach but not yet a great one. Does he have greatness in him? It’s too early to tell — he’s 36 years old — but if you think the university is going to pay millions to buy out Pastner on the chance they might (or might not) hire a better coach, you are more than delusional. World-Wide Wes, anyone?

Besides, I don’t think Pastner’s problem is Xs and Os. I think his problem is that he comes across as your sweet, kinda goofy brother who went off to join Up with People. He lacks gravitas.

His televised pregame speech before the team’s final loss went something like this: “Guys, I’ve been to the Sweet 16, okay? And I want you to experience it, okay? Guys, there’s no feeling like it, okay?” Not exactly Bobby Knight.

Instead of an Xs and Os guy, Pastner needs to hire a communications coach, someone to show him a better way to deliver his message — how to not oversell his talent or his opponent’s, for example — somebody to show him how to motivate and how to keep it real. Too much positivity can create negativity, because people will tune you out.

Pastner is right about one thing: Winning really is hard. And so is patience.

Bruce VanWyngarden

brucev@memphisflyer.com

Categories
News The Fly-By

Winners and Losers

Perhaps, more than anyone else I ever met, the late William Otis “Bill” Little understood the parameters entailed in being anointed the title of “coach.” His death last month at the age of 79 brought back memories of his befriending me when I arrived in Memphis 30 years ago as a sports reporter. We periodically met while covering the same stories on the high school athletics scene and the then-Memphis State Tiger basketball squads. A mutual admiration and our comfort level with each other soon developed to the point he’d just refer to me as “Smitty,” and I called him “Still Bill.” But it was mostly through other acquaintances that I learned what an icon in the African-American community Bill really was.

When we met, he was the sports editor for the Tri-State Defender. But his impressive resume included being a player with the Memphis Red Sox in the Negro Baseball League. He led high school baseball and basketball championship teams in 28 years of coaching. He was a respected referee in college football circles, including the SWAC Conference for 30 years. However, he always downplayed the subject of his accomplishments. Instead he opted to discuss his belief in the importance of mentoring young minds and the powerful opportunity coaches have to fill voids in those lives with positive reinforcement of ethics and values. Never once did he refer to the stale sports cliché “winning is everything.”

What my friend Bill did acknowledge — and indoctrinated in me — was the steadfast bond between this community and the fortunes of Tiger basketball. It is as if by some Siamese twins connection we collectively shared the euphoria generated by their victories and the plunge into massive depression when they lost.

Let’s be honest. The Grizzlies could win a string of NBA championships and they would never totally wrest away Memphians’ hearts from those who don the blue and gray. The Tigers are our continuing soap opera, bringing us pain, joy, disgust, elation, and frustration. We never seem to get enough of praising or ridiculing. Though players come and go in our hearts, we tend to focus our most rabid analysis on the man with the title “coach.”

In the three decades I’ve been here, whether on the sports beat or not, I have formulated my own opinions on the men chosen to assume the reins of Tiger basketball leadership. I was not a great fan of the late Dana Kirk. His self-promotion was disturbing, as well as a precursor to the disaster he would eventually leave behind for his successor, Larry Finch, to deal with. The homegrown Finch, like his mentor, Gene Bartow, was a man who truly cared about the players he recruited. No, he wasn’t the best “X’s and O’s” coach when it came to on-court strategy, but he tried to make sure the emphasis was correctly placed on the term “student-athlete.”

Tic Price was a walking disaster. Interim head coach Johnny Jones has since proven elsewhere that he might have been the one that got away. Coach Cal? Let’s just say no other coach in college athletics knows more about manipulating the psyche of the African-American collegiate athlete. Feed their egos and their dreams to get them to win. Throw them under the bus as undisciplined morons when they lose. Bobby Knight had him pegged right all along.

I do not doubt the sincerity of Josh Pastner’s passion for the welfare of his players or his allegiance to the University of Memphis. I don’t doubt he frets into the wee hours of the night about what he can do to make his team a cohesive unit, one as dedicated as he is to the task of making Tiger fans proud. At this point, you’re figuring there’s going to be a “but” placed in here somewhere? No. Instead, listen, Tiger fans:

If the team gets wiped out in the first round of the tournament, the sun will still come up the next day. A single jobless mother of three in Memphis will still wake up and wonder how she’s going to feed her kids. A father will worry about how he’s going to pay for his son’s college tuition. Someone will be murdered. Rape kits will remain untested. Babies will be born.

My mentor, Bill Little, a man who embraced sports his whole life, understood its triviality in the biggest game we all play. “Winning isn’t everything” if it teaches you nothing about the things that truly count in life.

Categories
Cover Feature News

“The Game Chose Me”

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

We take the word king seriously in Memphis. This is the city where Elvis Presley rose and Martin Luther King Jr. fell, the former providing an international brand, the latter an eternal wound. Only with more than 30 years of hindsight does Jerry Lawler seem to have earned his chosen moniker in the quasi-sport of professional wrestling. King is royalty in this town, to say the least.

Larry Kuzniewski

As a sophomore basketball prodigy at White Station High School, Joe Jackson had “King of Memphis” tattooed across his chest. He’s been fighting to meet that standard ever since.

The high school credentials were indeed regal. Jackson led the Spartans, under coach Jesus Patino, to three straight Class 3-A championship games, scoring 35 points as a junior against Raleigh-Egypt to win the 2009 title. (The Spartans fell to Melrose — a team led by Jackson’s future college teammate, Adonis Thomas — in the 2010 championship.) Over the course of his four years in green and gray, Jackson scored 3,451 points, the second most in Shelby-Metro history and fourth most in Tennessee history. Jackson became only the second Memphis basketball player to earn All-America recognition from both McDonald’s and Parade, the two most prestigious such teams in the country. (The first was Northside’s Richard Madison in 1984.) As a consensus top-15 recruit, Jackson ignored suitors across the country and made the decision his hometown wanted and expected when he committed to play for second-year coach

Josh Pastner and the Memphis Tigers.

“It’s been quite a ride,” says Jackson, as he embarks on a final postseason as a college player. “Especially my last two years. Being able to play at home, you don’t realize what a blessing it is, until you have to leave your hometown and get a career going.”

Longtime Tiger booster — and proud U of M alum — Harold Byrd has watched Jackson grow up, both as a player (Byrd sits a few rows behind press row at FedExForum) and as a community asset. And Byrd is unabashed in describing Jackson’s importance to the Memphis program.

“Joe and Elliot Perry had their choices of schools to attend but didn’t even think of going anywhere else,” says Byrd. “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. The players feel and see the love of the fans, the high regard former players occupy in the city … the hurricane-force delirium swirling around them daily like movie stars. When a [local] player plays for Memphis, the resonance and impact of being a Tiger is one that permeates his entire life.”

Larry Kuzniewski

“I didn’t fully understand it,” says Jackson, reflecting on the intensity of the spotlight on Tiger basketball in Memphis. “How severe it was going to be. Not until I got here. I wish I would have. I wouldn’t have let so much get to me [freshman year]. People want you to do this, do that. When everybody knows you, it’s a good thing, but it can be a bad thing, too. I spent two years just trying to understand that.”

Jackson will finish his college career with achievements only a select few Tigers can claim. He and Perry are the only Tigers to accumulate 1,500 career points and 500 career assists. He and Keith Lee are the only Tigers to twice be named MVP of a conference tournament. (As a freshman, Jackson clinched the 2011 Conference USA (C-USA) title and an unlikely NCAA tournament berth for the Tigers by burying two free throws with 7.8 seconds left in the game against UTEP on the Miners’ home floor.) The only Tigers to make more free throws than Jackson — Perry, Lee, and Larry Finch — have their jersey numbers hanging from the FedExForum rafters. In leading Memphis to an undefeated run through C-USA in 2012-13, Jackson was named the league’s Player of the Year. Entering this week’s American Athletic Conference tournament, Jackson is eighth on the school’s scoring chart with 1,655 career points.

Jackson takes considerable pride in what his Tiger teams have accomplished — he’s particularly attached to that unlikely 2011 C-USA title — but his devotion to basketball goes deeper than the standard “love of the game.” In many respects, Jackson’s devotion to the sport has been a business decision.

“The game chose me to play,” says Jackson. “I didn’t necessarily choose it. I know I can play basketball. I want to be able to make money off this game. I’ve got two younger sisters, and their father isn’t in their lives. My grandma is about to retire. There are a lot of family issues I can help with. I’m smart enough to get a regular job, too, but I’m young. Fresh legs.” (For what it’s worth, Jackson says his favorite college class was accounting.)

“I think Joe has exceeded expectations,” says Pastner. “He’s the most scrutinized player in the history of this program. There have been some great players here, but no player has come in with Twitter, Facebook, and the amount of coverage via TV, radio, and print. And in his hometown. When he got here, there was no upper class; we were just trying to hold it together. His class has won over 100 games, and Joe graduated in three years.”

So why do some feel Jackson has come up short as a college player? Armchair analysts love the Joe Jackson phenomenon for its extremes. After the Tigers beat Louisville on March 1st — their second victory over the reigning national champs in less than two months — some chose to focus on how poorly Jackson played, that he wasn’t on the floor for the Tigers’ 15-1 run to close the game. These analysts didn’t mention that Jackson led Memphis in scoring and assists when the Tigers won at Louisville on January 9th.

“Joe wants to win. He’s a warrior, a competitor,” says Memphis senior guard Michael Dixon.

Jackson won 109 games as a Spartan. Through the end of the Tigers’ regular season, he’s won 105 with the University of Memphis. Jackson has been a winner, and a difference-maker. If the Tigers reach 25 wins this season (they’re 23-8 entering the AAC tourney), it will be eight years in a row for Jackson’s teams. Nonetheless, there have been stumbles.

Larry Kuzniewski

On New Year’s Eve in 2011 — Jackson’s sophomore season with the Tigers — the U of M beat Charlotte at FedExForum with no Joe Jackson to be seen. He wasn’t sick, injured, or suspended. Just unhappy. (He’d taken only two shots and been held scoreless in the Tigers’ previous game against Robert Morris.) He returned and helped his team beat Tennessee four days later, but came off the bench the next 14 games behind Antonio Barton. It was no place for a king.

“I was so stressed out,” says Jackson. “I don’t think I can get to a lower point in life than that. I have family here, and I wasn’t raised with a silver spoon. They depend on me, and I don’t mean financially. I’m the lift they get when they feel I’m doing well. And when things don’t go well … My first year here, we were just trying to fix this program. Just because Joe’s here, doesn’t mean everything’s going to be dandy and gold.”

“He was struggling,” says Pastner. “It was strictly basketball. He was listening to a lot of people, and he wasn’t two-feet in on the caravan. I told him to step away, take 24 hours. Don’t come to the game, and decide if you want to be two-feet in. I didn’t want to lose Joe, but no one’s ever bigger than the program. He came back and, to his credit, it may be something that helps him the rest of his life. He shut out the negative that was in his ear. No more blame game. When he eliminated that mental clutter, he really took off.”

“I’ve seen Joe do a lot of crazy things, and that just added to the list,” says Memphis senior guard Chris Crawford.

The Tigers trailed Gonzaga by 11 points with 13:45 to play on February 8th, Joe Jackson’s 22nd birthday. In front of more than 18,000 fans at FedExForum and a national TV audience — ESPN’s “GameDay” crew was on the scene — the Tigers appeared to be the lesser team in a Top 25 match-up that was significant for each team’s RPI ranking. Bulldog center Przemek Karnowski — all 7’1″ of him — received a pass on the low block from teammate David Stockton. The Polish giant rose to the rim for a slam dunk — only to be met by Jackson. The 6’1″ point guard (as he’s listed in game programs) deflected the ball just enough for Karnowski to lose possession. The crowd roared, and Memphis outscored Gonzaga 29-12 the rest of the way.

After the game, the birthday boy was typically understated in describing a play most Memphis fans will remember as The Block. “Shaq Goodwin has a bad habit of gambling,” said Jackson with a smile. “He fronted the post, and I knew that was John Stockton’s son making that pass. I just tried

to make a play on the ball. Honestly, I was trying not to get dunked on; he was so close to the rim. I jumped to block it, and I was successful that time. That kind of changed the game.”

Pastner’s favorite Jackson moment came on Senior Day in 2013, when the Tigers hosted UAB with a chance to complete an undefeated season in C-USA play. “When Joe got here he was not a good 50-50 guy,” says Pastner. (A “50-50” ball is loose and could be recovered by either team.) “That day he won eight 50-50 balls. One time the ball went past halfcourt, and Joe was running with a UAB player. He dove face first, got the ball, and called timeout. Joe came to the bench and I gave him a huge hug. He said, ‘Coach, all I was thinking was that you’ll show that play over and over in Monday’s film session.’ It was a prized moment.”

“Joe’s the leader, our number one. He does what he’s supposed to do,” says Memphis sophomore forward Shaq Goodwin.

Larry Kuzniewski

Maybe that’s the elusive quality in defining the fabled legacy of Joe Jackson: what he’s done vs. what he’s supposed to have done. Does Jackson need a deep NCAA tournament run to cement his place in the pantheon of Tiger stars? Consider the case of Perry, a member of anyone’s Mt. Rushmore of Tiger greats. He may be one of only two Tigers to score 2,000 points, but Perry only reached the NCAA tournament twice and won a single game in the Big Dance (as a freshman in 1988). Jackson and teammate Chris Crawford will become only the sixth and seventh Tigers to play in four NCAA tournaments. (The previous five: Keith Lee, Andre Turner, Baskerville Holmes, Antonio Anderson, and Robert Dozier.)

Pastner’s take: “The only thing that’s missing for Joe — because he’s racked up a lot of individual hardware — is a deep NCAA tournament run. It’s ‘The Road to the Final Four,’ not ‘The Road to the Regular Season,’ so I get that. Players are judged on what they do in the NCAA playoffs. But anyone in the profession understands the long haul of a regular season and all the success and numbers Joe has put up. There’s no reason Joe’s number shouldn’t be hanging from the rafters when all is said and done. But the final chapter hasn’t been written yet.”

“I understand now,” says Jackson. “It was never ‘Joe Jackson isn’t good enough.’ It was just too early with too many expectations. That’s all it was. It’s not easy to make it to the Final Four. I think we have a chance; we just have to take care of business. It’s on us. Everything has to come together at the right time.”

As Jackson’s college career nears the end, Byrd recalls fondly a chance encounter — in traffic — when the player was still an underclassman. Jackson had pulled up next to Byrd at a stoplight and began waving at him, a huge smile on the rising star’s face. “Joe reminded me of a sweet little kid,” says Byrd, “unsure, looking for acknowledgment and approval. I’ve often thought of this chance meeting, knowing the pressure Joe has felt as the player, carrying the weight of hopes and expectations for one of the most demanding fan bases in the country.”

And about that tattoo. “People took it the wrong way,” says Jackson. “I know Penny Hardaway is the best player to come out of Memphis. But if you’re going to look at [a tattoo] every day, it should keep you confident. Who doesn’t want to be a king?”

Like Larry Finch, Jackson grew up in Orange Mound. Like Penny Hardaway, Jackson learned right from wrong at his grandmother’s side. Like Finch, Hardaway, and Perry, Jackson chose to play college basketball under a microscope in front of friends and family, embracing the love he came to know as a youth along with the expectations he knew would come the first time he donned a Tiger uniform. Those expectations have followed Jackson for four seasons now, somehow growing with every season-ending disappointment he and his team have met in the NCAA tournament. Joe Jackson has one more March as a Tiger. One more Big Dance. What they say is quite true: Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

Categories
Opinion

College Accounting

Every once in a while, the college football or basketball season and the 24/7 recruiting wars are rudely interrupted by a public service announcement from an appendage otherwise known as the university.

The University of Memphis has such an announcement, and it concerns a $20 million “gap” in its finances due mainly to declining enrollment and reduced state revenue.

“We don’t have a deficit,” said David Zettergren, vice president for business and finance. “We are not allowed to have a deficit. We had a balanced budget in the spring, and we will have a balanced budget in the fall.”

Brad Martin

He described the situation as a “gap” instead and said the university is doing several things to “shore it up” including restructuring workloads, voluntary buyouts, and “efficiencies” on the administrative side.

“We have done voluntary buyouts in the past, but we need to do more,” he said.

University faculty and staff were made aware of “the gap” this summer. On Tuesday, an email from interim president Brad Martin went out.

“A reconfiguration is required to address the funding gap and meet community work force demands, while also ensuring that tuition remains as low as possible,” it said. “Beginning immediately, all vacant positions (including faculty, staff, part-time instructors, and temporary appointments) will be subject to a strategic hiring review process. This review will evaluate whether to move forward with filling positions based on the implications for enrollment growth, productivity, and overall institutional efficiency.”

The announcement comes in Martin’s third month on the job and when the financial fortunes, if not the won-loss ratings of the football team, are on the rise. Despite losing 28-14 to Duke, the Tigers drew an announced crowd of more than 40,000 to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in head coach Justin Fuente’s second season opener. Fuente and basketball coach Josh Pastner are the university’s highest-paid employees.

Academia, however, does not have the luxury of television money and boosters to pay for buyouts and more English professors. And, as the football program has shown, it is risky to raise prices for something people don’t want at the old price. In June, the Tennessee Board of Regents raised 2013-2014 tuition and fees at the U of M to $8,666, highest among the six universities it governs, including Middle Tennessee State, Saturday’s football opponent.

“Enrollment is down a bit, and that impacts our budget,” Zettergren said. “It is a critical piece of the revenue stream.”

Enrollment fell 2.7 percent last year, to 20,901. Zettergren did not have an exact number for this fall, but in a meeting last week with Mayor A C Wharton, President Martin said enrollment was lower than it was in 2009.

Student tuition and fees account for two-thirds of revenue and state appropriations for one-third, Zettergren said. A tuition increase is not seen as a good idea at a time when enrollment, especially among males, is declining. The university’s focus is on retaining and graduating more students, which triggers more state funding that is now based on graduation rates and outcomes, just like public elementary and secondary education.

“As state money has decreased, we have had to increase tuition,” he said. “We are in the middle of our peer group and feel like tuition is still a good deal. We really want to hold the line.”

Martin’s executive team, he said, does “not want to alarm people” but does want to communicate the seriousness of the situation to the broadest audience in a campus forum in October.

The University of Memphis is participating in “Graduate Memphis,” a project started in 2012 by Leadership Memphis and the Memphis Talent Dividend to increase the number of adults with college degrees.

The thrust of the program so far has been on the benefits to individuals and the city. The new message, with some urgency, is on the benefits to the universities and our biggest one in particular.

Now back to our regular programming.

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Letter from the Editor: Bracketology

I’m writing this column later than usual on Tuesday morning, because I had more important things to do earlier — namely, filling out my March Madness brackets for the Flyer‘s office pool.

Years ago, I won an office bracket pool by picking nothing but the favorites. So now I usually enter two brackets — one that’s conservative, favorite-oriented, and predictable and another one that’s decided by coin flips, hunches, wild guesses, and blog rumors. I never win.

Some people spend hours factoring in the locations of the games, injured players, momentum, bench strength, and relative conference records. They will never win, either. It’s a total waste of time. The winner of your office pool will be the sister of that new guy in accounting, the one who made her picks on a cell phone after slamming a pitcher of margaritas at ¡Chiwawa!

Some people pick games based on coaches’ records in the tournament. This is also pointless. For example, Michigan State’s Tom Izzo is seen in many quarters as a tactical genius, while former Memphis coach John Calipari is widely disparaged as a hack. Yet, Calipari’s Tigers beat the living crap out of MSU in the tournament a few years back. What difference did coaching make? Bubkes.

It’s also said that teams reflect their coaches. Bunk. If so, then why aren’t all Duke players sour, pinch-faced ferrets, like Mike Krzyzewski? Why weren’t the late Coach Rick Majerus’ teams composed of massively overweight loners living in a hotel room? Former Indiana coach Bob Knight won a national championship using nothing but blistering rage, profanity, and intimidation. I doubt that his players “reflected” him. They were just terrified he was going to hit them with a chair.

Memphis’ Josh Pastner is the anti-Bob Knight, a relentlessly happy warrior who spouts positive coach-speak to anybody within earshot. He doesn’t drink, smoke, or curse. He believes fervently and repeatedly in “positive energy.” He loves Memphis. He loves Tiger Nation. He loves you. (Yes, you!) His team won 30 games this season. If we are lucky, we will get to see him coach against the genius of Tom Izzo in the second round. I have the Tigers losing that game, but what do I know? I hope I’m wrong. I usually am.

In closing, those of us who fill out brackets should remember the words of the late, great Eugene McCarthy, who said, “Being in politics is like being a football coach. You have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it’s important.”

Bruce VanWyngarden

brucev@memphisflyer.com

Categories
Cover Feature News

Dunks and Jams!

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

If only basketball had a statistic for applause. The volume (quantity?) of cheers generated. Think about it. It just might be one of the most bankable statistics a player could have. It’s one thing to negotiate a contract around your points per game or your efficiency on the offensive glass and quite another to convince an employer that you actually put fans in the seats. And better yet, you make those fans happy they purchased the seats.

When or if Dalenta Jameral Stephens gets to negotiate a pro contract, he’ll be doing it without conventional basketball numbers. He might begin by jumping to touch the ceiling of his host’s office (with his elbow). But the most convincing case D.J. Stephens could make for himself as a valuable basketball player would be some audio to enhance the video highlights from his senior season as a Memphis Tiger.

“He brings life and energy to the arena,” says Stephens’ teammate of three years, Antonio Barton. “You can hear it when [the p.a. announcer] calls his name for the starting lineup. And he deserves it. He comes out every day, putting his body on the line. He grinds, gets rebounds, dives on the floor. A guy like that, he’s special.”

Before tipoff this Saturday at FedExForum, Ferrakohn Hall, Stan Simpson, and Charles Holt will rightfully be honored as part of the program’s annual Senior Day. But you can bet on two things: the last senior to be introduced will be D.J. Stephens and the loudest cheers of the day will be for the departing native of Killeen, Texas. About the only thing over which D.J. Stephens could not leap this winter would be the height of his popularity.

“He’ll go down as one of the great, beloved Tigers, when it’s all said and done,” says Tiger coach Josh Pastner. “He’ll be up there with Elliot Perry, Andre Turner, and Keith Lee. I mean that.” Pastner has an affection for Stephens that will remain singular, no matter where Stephens goes, no matter how long the coach carries a clipboard. For Stephens will always be the first player to spend four years in a rotation coached by Pastner. In terms of player/coach marriages, Stephens/Pastner belongs to posterity.

Pastner has described Stephens as “a zero-star recruit” coming out of Harker Heights High School in 2009. (Stephens actually averaged 16.3 points and 7.8 rebounds as a senior and was named all-district.) Not until Pastner received an email from Stephens’ AAU coach did the player even register on the rookie coach’s radar.

“We needed athleticism,” Pastner says today. “I knew he could jump, that he could play above the rim. But he couldn’t chew gum and dribble at the same time.”

Stephens actually had four scholarship offers before his senior year in high school (including North Texas and Western Kentucky), but he neglected to pursue any of them. By graduation day, each offer had been pulled. As the summer of 2009 unfolded, Stephens received some phone calls from coaches (after a mass email sent by that AAU coach, Max Ivany) but only one that truly connected. “Once I got the call from Coach Pastner, I just knew,” Stephens says. “I had that gut feeling. There was a reason for me getting that call, and I was supposed to come here. He had to talk it over with his staff, but then he called me a couple of days later and offered me a scholarship.” Having not made a formal visit to the U of M campus, D.J. Stephens became a Memphis Tiger. The youngest of six siblings, Stephens felt that moving some distance from his Texas home would be valuable to his growth, both as a basketball player and a man.

As a freshman for the Tigers, Stephens averaged 7.9 minutes a game, backing up the likes of Wesley Witherspoon and Roburt Sallie for an NIT-bound team. His minutes picked up as a sophomore (11.2) then dipped his junior season (8.3) as Stephens battled tendinitis in his knees. Before the 2012-13 season began, Stephens had surgery to repair a deviated septum (imagine playing basketball with constricted breathing) and had his tonsils removed. Then at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas — the Tigers’ first test of Stephens’ senior season — he separated his left shoulder, an injury that has curtailed his practice time ever since. “The reason I don’t practice him,” Pastner says, “is he plays so hard in games. He gets banged up. I want to preserve him.”

The sight of D.J. Stephens rising above the other nine players on the court has become common at FedExForum. And so has the collective intake of breath from more than 16,000 fans when Stephens falls flat to the surface from heights most of us only see atop a ladder. Stephens was not quite six feet tall as a junior in high school when he rose to the challenge of a teammate and dunked a basketball for the first time. Since then, with added height, his view from above the rim has grown more and more familiar.

“The first time I dunked a ball, I jumped a lot higher than I expected to,” Stephens says. “After that, I was trying to dunk every chance I got. Since I got to college, I’ve grown some. Since I do jump higher than most people, it’s kinda cool to still be going up when they’ve reached their peak. But it can be a blessing and curse. If you jump high, you have a longer way to come down if you get bumped. You deal with some wear and tear. But it makes me feel blessed.”

Stephens’ jumping ability allows him to wait until a shot is released before elevating for a block attempt, a rare skill on the basketball court. And what does Stephens find more gratifying, a rim-shaking dunk or a crowd-stirring block of an opponent’s shot? He’s got a quick blend of an answer: “A block that leads to a dunk at the other end.”

It’s one thing to be blessed with leaping ability and quite another to apply the trick in the context of a basketball game. Stephens’ impact this season has exceeded the oohs and ahhs Tiger fans deliver with each of his dunks (now more than 100 in his career). Consider Stephens’ performance against Tulsa on February 2nd: 15 points (a career high), four slam dunks, four blocked shots, nine rebounds, and a three-pointer. Those all came in the first half. The Golden Hurricane was reduced to a guttural gasp in 20 minutes and almost entirely under the heel of a player Pastner considered redshirting before this season.

Says junior center Tarik Black, “We haven’t seen what we have with D.J. before. It’s not been classified. I’m not surprised at all. He’s been capable of things before, but this year is his time. A lot of players grow up in a college system, freshman year to senior year. It’s in the later years when they show their spurt … their time to shine. He’s taking advantage of his moment.”

Stephens says he would need a mechanical counter to tabulate the number of autographs he signs each week. And what are the qualities Tiger fans tell him they admire most? “People are going to love you, just because you’re a Tiger,” Stephens says. “But by the time you’re a senior, people have gotten to know you. People love my jumping ability, but the number-one thing they say is how personable I am. Down to earth. That I’m a sweet person. You can affect people in so many different ways. Just saying hello can change someone’s life. I try to be as friendly as possible.”

Stephens is on schedule to graduate in May and would love to hear his name called in June’s NBA draft. If you have doubts, don’t tell Stephens and don’t tell his coach. “I believe people would pay to watch him play,” Pastner says. “He’s continued to get better, and he has a wonderful, team-first attitude. He plays to win. Recruiting rankings can’t open up someone’s insides. They can’t show heart. Or the mind.”

The best part about Senior Day, of course, is that we see players become Tigers for life. D.J. Stephens will be a welcome member of the family. “Looking back on things, it seems like a blur,” Stephens says. “For me to be able to come from where I started and be where I am today … it’s a blessing.”

Tigers by the Numbers

Like it or not, college basketball is all about numbers this time of year. As Selection Sunday (March 17th) for the NCAA tournament looms, teams — particularly those on the proverbial bubble — are being dissected by data devotees. Rankings and records, standings and statistics … it’s a numbers game until the field of 68 is finally announced.

Remember the star power Dajuan Wagner brought the 2001-02 Tigers? Lot of good it did his team. John Calipari’s second Memphis squad was 22-9 on Selection Sunday with a one-and-done wonder on its roster. They got a one-way ticket to the NIT (which they proceeded to win).

Here’s a look at some numbers that will impact where (or if) the Tigers are ticketed for the Big Dance. (Last year, a 26-8 record — with both regular-season and tournament titles in C-USA — got them an eight seed.)

National Polls

AP: 25 • Coaches: 20

RPI

RealTimeRPI: 19 (just behind Kansas State, just ahead of Ohio State) CBSSports.com: 19

TeamRankings.com

Overall: 22

Strength of Schedule: 108 (just behind Fordham and Rhode Island)

Nonconference: 46 Conference USA ranking*: 11 (just behind the Missouri Valley and West Coast)

*League is 0-21 vs. top-25 teams

KenPom.com

Overall ranking: 37

NCSOS*: .528 (156th of 347 teams)

* a Pythagorean winning percentage (of nonconference opponents) based on opponents’ strengths and adjusted for home/road/neutral conditions.

Bracketology (Projected Seed)

Jerry Palm, CBSSports.com:9 (would face Missouri in East regional)

TeamRankings.com: 6

Bracket Matrix*: 7.69

* average seed among 96 brackets

Categories
Letter From The Editor Opinion

Letter from the Editor: The 12 Days of Josh

I’m not a swami, but here are some things I can predict with confidence …

Every year about this time, an article will appear chronicling the cost of the items in the song “The 12 Days of Christmas.” This year’s total, according to PNC Wealth Management, is $107,300. That seems a little high to me. I’m pretty sure, for example, they could have gone down to Brooks Road and gotten a better deal than the $6,294 they spent on “nine ladies dancing.” But I digress.

I can also predict that the basketball Tigers will underperform in the early season, and everyone in town will start doubting Josh Pastner’s ability to coach and/or motivate his highly rated players. To which, I say, chill out. Look at the big picture: He’s an amazing recruiter, he’s averaged 25 wins a year, he’s 34 years old, with a young family. And, yes, it’s weird that he doesn’t drink or cuss, but so what?

I remember being 34 with a young family. I had a nice editing and writing job at a national magazine. When my boss suddenly resigned, I was made managing editor. It was a great opportunity for me, but recalling the stress of those first couple years in management still gives me nightmares. I didn’t know how to hire or fire or motivate; I made a lot of mistakes. And I drank and cussed. A lot. But eventually I learned what was important and what to let slide. I learned that hiring talented people and letting them perform was better than trying to do it all yourself. Give Pastner a little more time. I predict he’ll get there (though I can’t promise I won’t cuss at him now and then).

I also predict that Delta Airlines will continue screwing over Memphis by raising airfares, then cutting flights, then citing a “lack of demand” as a reason to cut more flights. Just as predictably, each time this happens, airport chief Larry Cox and the rest of the Airport Authority board will hum along to Delta’s tune, adding that “market forces” are responsible.

Delta is “doing” Memphis an enormous economic disservice. They have broken promise after promise and are abandoning the city piecemeal. I wish Memphians worried as much about the performance of the Airport Authority as they do about Josh Pastner’s coaching skills, but that probably won’t happen.

If it will help, just imagine the increase in cost of “The 12 Days of Christmas” over the past few years if “nine flights from Memphis” was a line in that stupid song.

Bruce VanWyngarden

brucev@memphisflyer.com