Tag: Tigers

FROM MY SEAT: Just Thinking…

Post author By Frank Murtaugh
Post date September 10, 2007

• As
disheartening as it was to read of the Tiger basketball program’s latest
appearance on the police blotter, it was that much more discouraging — though
somehow not surprising — to find Joey Dorsey’s name in the mix. When freshman
Jeff Robinson and transfer Shawn Taggert were arrested on Beale Street in the
wee hours of September 2nd, some margin might have been granted to a pair of
kids not yet aware of the responsibility that comes with the quasi-royalty of
being Memphis Tiger basketball players. (Having been on campus a year, though,
Taggert gets less margin than does Robinson.)

But Joey
Dorsey? The 23-year-old senior “leader” of a team with national title hopes?
Having been previously connected with transgressions large (bar brawls in
February and June) and small (pouring water on another U of M student), Dorsey’s
track record already made him a lightning rod for controversy. Even if he was,
say, handing out 20-dollar bills, for the 6’9″ center of the city’s flagship
basketball institution to jump on top (!) of a bar is well beyond any boundaries
of taste and civility (at least this side of the Coyote Ugly staff).

I, for
one, can’t figure Dorsey out. I recall his humble post game assessment as a
sophomore on areas he needed to improve upon for his team to advance deeply into
the NCAA tournament. When I tried to touch on the same area last winter, he held
up his hand and proclaimed his policy of not speaking with the press. From
there, he proceeded to compare Ohio State’s Greg Oden to the Biblical David with
Dorsey himself in the role of Goliath . . . in front of the national press.
However lacking Dorsey may be in the details — and message — of scripture, he’s
apparently just as shallow when it comes to his conduct after dark. It’s gonna
be an interesting year covering the Tiger cagers.

• When I
saw Pete Sampras win the 1996 Kroger St. Jude championship at The Racquet Club
of Memphis, I told myself that — at age 26 — I had already seen the greatest
tennis player I’d ever see. From his serve to his forehand, from his net game to
his decade-long consistency, Sampras was a standard I placed on a pedestal
beyond reach of mortal players.

Then
along came Roger Federer. In winning his fourth straight U.S. Open — on the
heels of winning his fifth straight Wimbledon title in July — the 26-year-old
Swiss titan has made a tennis court his canvas, his opponents merely part of his
medium of choice. Whether it’s power (he out-aced Andy Roddick, remember) or the
surgical precision of his groundstrokes, Federer brings a beauty to a sport that
has been customarily bludgeoned in recent years by power-serving sluggers who
can’t cover half the court if their service is returned. Next time you watch
Federer play, count the times he stumbles or grunts. (Wouldn’t you think the
countless players — men and women — who incorporate screams with every stroke
might look at Federer and reconsider their volume as wasted energy?) With 12
Grand Slam titles to his credit, Federer may well break Sampras’ record of 14
next year. It seems the only challenge ahead of this racket-toting magician is
Rafael Nadal’s supremacy at the French Open and a calendar-year Grand Slam
sweep. Don’t bet against him.

• On
July 19th, I took my 8-year-old daughter to her first night game at AutoZone
Park. It happened to be Rick Ankiel’s 28th birthday. When Ankiel reached first
base after his second at-bat, the stadium organist serenaded the Thursday-night
crowd — and Mr. Ankiel — with the familiar jingle of “Happy Birthday.” I
remember how complicated it felt to try and explain to Sofia how exceptional it
is for a baseball player who has reached the highest level of his sport as a
pitcher to metamorphose into a power-hitting outfielder . . . and return to the
major leagues. That conversation was, well, kid stuff compared with the topic of
human growth hormone. Is a third-grade mind ready for a summary of HGH?

• The
39-19 loss suffered by Southern Miss at Tennessee Saturday is not a good sign
for Conference USA. It’s never easy to win in Neyland Stadium, but when the
preeminent program in C-USA loses by 20 to a team generally considered the third
best in the SEC’s Eastern Division, the recruiting gap between these conferences
is growing, not shrinking. Try convincing a blue-chipper life as a Golden Eagle
— or as a Memphis Tiger — would be better than that of a Vol, or a Gamecock, or
heavens, a Wildcat.

Tags baseball, basketball, joey dorsey, Rick Ankiel, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis, Tigers

Cover Feature News

Roaring Back?

Post author By Frank Murtaugh
Post date August 30, 2007

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

However hot, hazy, and humid, August in Memphis is a time for optimism if you’re a football fan. Before the season’s opening kickoff — this Saturday for the University of Memphis, in the Liberty Bowl against Ole Miss — every team from UCF to UCLA is undefeated. For the 2007 Memphis Tigers, optimism is a welcome tonic.

Having survived a 2-10 trainwreck in 2006, head coach Tommy West turned his staff inside out over the off-season. Six of West’s nine full-time staffers are new to the program, the lone holdovers being offensive coordinator Clay Helton, offensive line coach Rick Mallory, and linebackers coach Kenny Ingram. Add the requisite hope and optimism of a new job to the mix and this year’s squad will take its lead from a staff that has little tolerance for any aftertaste from last season.

“They’re good teachers,” says West of his new assistants. “And that’s what coaching is: teaching. I’m really excited about it.”

West dismisses any thoughts of the risk in such a dramatic turnover in staff. “I keep a good grip on things,” he says. “And I do what I think is necessary to move us forward. The [challenge] has been to get everybody on the same page. We know how to win. That’s what I had to impress on them: You’re not coming into a program that hasn’t won. We’re not here to get on your page. You need to get on our page. We’ve been to more bowl games than all of them. And they’ve done a good job of understanding what we do and how we do it.

“When you’ve had a staff together for four or five years,” he continues, “it’s easier for the head coach. The other coaches know what’s expected. That’s my job, to coach the coaches. It’s their job to coach the players.”

Here’s a look at the season ahead through the eyes of three of the new coaches.

Brent Pry (Defensive Line)

The 37-year-old Pry arrives in Memphis having spent the last five seasons at Louisiana-Lafayette (ULL). During Pry’s time at ULL, the Ragin’ Cajuns won a Sun Belt Conference championship and saw three defensive players selected in the NFL draft. Having played collegiately as a safety at Buffalo, Pry has taken a unique path to overseeing defensive linemen.

“I’ve coached them all,” Pry stresses. “When I went to Virginia Tech as a grad assistant, I coached the line for three years. I coached the secondary at Western Carolina, and I’ve also coached linebackers. We had some great defenses at Virginia Tech, and that was primarily because of our front four. You can take a ball game over from the defensive line. If they can’t block you up front, they can’t do much of anything.”

Pry seems every bit as happy to be in Memphis as West is to add him to the mix. “I wanted to work for Tommy West six years ago,” he explains, “and it didn’t work out, but I’ve always had a great amount of respect for him. Coming from Virginia Tech and knowing Tommy when he was at Clemson, I’ve got a lot of respect for the kind of defensive coach he was. I also had a close relationship with [new defensive coordinator] Rick Kravitz.”

Though new to the Mid-South, Pry has a feel for the lay of the land. And he has a unique perspective — optimism, remember — on the team he inherits. “Coming from the Sun Belt Conference,” Pry reflects, “we played a lot of Conference USA schools, so I had an idea of what was good and what wasn’t in this league, and I was very impressed with the talent on this football team. [Last year’s] record was not indicative of the talent.”

Larry Kuzniewski

Darin Hinshaw

Pry has a different angle — again, coming from the Sun Belt — from fans who continue to insist this is SEC country. “Conference USA has a bigger, better athlete,” Pry notes. “There was speed in the Sun Belt, though not as much. The overall makeup of your roster has much greater potential in this league. In the Sun Belt, maybe the top 10 guys could play in this league. I also think there’s a greater commitment from the administration in this league.”

Considering last year’s Tiger team suffered a nine-game losing streak — one that didn’t include the season-opening loss to Ole Miss — how can Pry carry his rosy outlook with a straight face? “Anytime you make a change at the coordinator position, it’s tough,” he stresses. “You’re going from a very different scheme. Joe Lee Dunn’s scheme was atypical. To change from that scheme was difficult. The kids had to be exposed to new adjustments and things they didn’t have to deal with under the old system.

“We had a head start this spring, really diving into the 4-3 and what Tommy and Rick Kravitz want to do,” Pry says. “I expect to see a lot of improvement. The first thing that comes to mind when I look at a defensive line is mentality. Along with coaching technique with this group, I’ve coached the heck out of them when it comes to mentality. The more maturity I can get out of this group, the more commitment. It’s a tough position to play, especially on first and second down. You’ve got to have a mature bunch. Do they understand the work involved? Do they understand the commitment, the unselfish approach? They have to get the most out of every rep, every practice. It’s an image that they’re forming, to be respected by their teammates and their coaches.”

In identifying a leader among his unit, Pry points to a rookie defensive tackle: “Freddie Barnett, the junior-college transfer, has been a real inspiration. He has tremendous ability and all the intangibles. He’s unselfish, talented, and a very big team player. He’s constantly pushing the rest of the group.”

Greg Terrell — a C-USA All-Freshman selection a year ago — is another player fans should spotlight this fall. “Greg has put on about 30 pounds,” Pry says. “He’s bigger and stronger. He’s growing into the new system, and there’s a lot of competition at the [defensive end] position. Greg’s had to work harder than he ever has before. He’s beginning to understand that you’re not going to get by on ability alone.”

Larry Kuzniewski

Rick Kravitz

Darin Hinshaw (wide receivers)

Led by sophomore Duke Calhoun (42 receptions for 681 yards in ’06), the Tiger receiving corps should be a strength this fall, particularly if senior quarterback Martin Hankins builds on his strong finish last season and tailback Joseph Doss keeps opposing defenses honest against the run. The pass-catchers will be guided by 35-year-old Darin Hinshaw, a record-breaking quarterback at Central Florida during his playing days and most recently the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Georgia Southern. Hinshaw also spent five years at Middle Tennessee State, where the Blue Raiders developed into one of the highest-scoring offenses in the Sun Belt.

Ask Hinshaw about his unit and the coach has to take a breath before reeling off the names he expects to make an impact: Calhoun, Carlos Singleton, Earnest Williams, Steven Black (a junior-college transfer), Carlton Robinzine (recovered from a knee injury that cost him the 2006 season). It’s a case of strength in numbers that the Tiger passing game hasn’t always enjoyed.

“Through the course of a season,” Hinshaw explains, “you’re going to use all your receivers, and they’re gonna have to rotate. When you can rotate a starter and backup and not lose anything, that’s huge. Normally, defensive backs don’t rotate at all, so you have a chance to run some deep routes, tire them out, and not lose anything at receiver.

Larry Kuzniewski

Tommy West

“We run sets with three and four receivers,” Hinshaw continues. “We’re going to move them around, to get them in position to get mismatches. When you have one great receiver, the defense will roll coverage to him. But when you have good receivers on both sides, it creates one-on-one matches. We’ve got to make plays.”

Hinshaw loves the leadership Calhoun has shown at the start of his second college season. “Duke’s always the first in line for sprints,” Hinshaw says. “When you have a guy with talent like his wanting to work, it gets everybody focused.”

Whether it’s size, speed, strength, or versatility, Hinshaw feels the Tiger wideouts are equipped to create their share of headaches for the opposition. “We’ve gained a lot of experience at the position,” he notes. “We’re gonna move Duke around a lot, and we’ll have depth with Maurice Jones. Earnest Williams is going to be one of the top inside receivers in the conference. Usually you have one guy, then you have a bunch of average players that you’re trying to get better. I feel like we have weapons that can catch the ball and score. We’ve got strong receivers: Jones broke the school squat record [for receivers] this summer.”

A quarterback’s blood still pulsing through his veins, Hinshaw recognizes the development of Martin Hankins as critical to his unit’s performance in the season ahead. And he likes what he sees thus far. “[Hankins] has really come along from where he was last year,” Hinshaw says. “He’s gotten bigger, stronger, and he’s gotten a lot more confident with the receivers. When a bunch of guys get hurt, you lose that relationship. [Backup quarterback] Will Hudgens is a leader, too. And he’s had a good summer.”

With seven or eight receivers in the mix, Hankins had better become familiar with faces before he starts gazing downfield. And those receivers he ultimately sees had better catch the ball, because a ready-and-able replacement will be on the sideline.

“That’s what’s great about making each other better, the competition,” Hinshaw says. “If you don’t have someone pushing you from behind, you can get stagnant. As a group, we’re working to make each other better and win as a team. Some games you may catch 10 balls, others you may catch three. It depends on what the defense is doing. Everybody’s gotta be ready to perform and to make plays.”

Larry Kuzniewski

Brent Pry

Rick Kravitz
(defensive coordinator)

It’s almost a universal truth among Tiger fans that the 2006 season was all but compromised with the midseason dismissal of defensive coordinator Joe Lee Dunn. As Pry notes, the adjustments forced upon players — while preparing for the next week’s foe — proved too much for the Tiger defense. With West himself overseeing the scheme transition, important details were lost in translation. The end result: an average of more than 30 points allowed per game.

To the rescue comes Rick Kravitz. Having first filled the role of defensive coordinator in 1986 (at Florida A&M), Kravitz brings a single-minded determination for defensive improvement to the 2007 Tigers. During a decade spent at South Florida, Kravitz coordinated a unit that ranked among the top 20 defenses nationally three times. (Last year — his only season at North Carolina State — the Wolfpack finished 13th in the country against the pass.)

Having been on the opposite sideline, Kravitz welcomes the chance to mold a defense at West’s side. “Knowing Coach West’s defensive background,” Kravitz says, “it was exciting to get the chance to come here and learn some things from him. He’s a fundamentals coach, which I like. He’s a guy who lets you coach. He wants things done his way, which is natural. He’s straightforward.”

Larry Kuzniewski

#22: sophomore wide receiver Duke Calhoun

He won’t go so far as to describe a “Rick Kravitz philosophy to defense,” but the 53-year-old Florida native does believe there is value in change. “I bring — along with the other new coaches — some enthusiasm and excitement. Defensively, we’re developing an attitude. If the ball’s on the one-yard line, you know, we still have a yard to go. We’re being positive, aggressive. If we can improve 2 percent a day, after 20 days we’ve improved 40 percent.”

How is a defense that was so staggered a year ago reshaped into a unit capable of beating Division I-A competition? Kravitz considers the answer elementary. “We have to continue to work on fundamentals and get better at what we do. If we do that, no matter what we run, we’re going to be a better defensive team. Kids have bought into my fundamentals, and that’s how you get better and better.”

Kravitz echoes Pry’s sentiments about Barnett when describing the off-season leaders of his defense. He also says defensive back Dontae Reed — a transfer from Ole Miss — has made a difference. “They encourage each other,” Kravitz notes. “Dontae has gathered players for workouts, taking responsibility and getting things done.”

A new season, a new schedule, and lots of new faces. Why not be optimistic as year seven of the Tommy West era dawns in Memphis?

“With six new coaches,” Pry says, “it forces you to move forward. We weren’t here for [the 2-10 season]. It’s been a breath of fresh air, a renewal.

“This is the most well-disciplined football team I’ve ever been around,” he adds. “And it starts at the top with Coach West. These players — and the coaches — have a tremendous respect for him and how he wants to run this program. The whole group is coming together as a football team.”

The first exam is Saturday against Ole Miss.

Tags Brent Pry, Coach, Darin Hinshaw, football, Rick Kravitz, Tigers, Tommy West

Sports Sports Feature

Tough Enough?

Post author By Frank Murtaugh
Post date February 1, 2007

I’m still trying to figure out the 2006-07 Memphis Tigers. Having won nine straight games (through Saturday’s victory over Southern Miss), the Tigers appear to be running away with a second consecutive Conference USA championship. But that’s part of the catch, isn’t it? They’re running away with, well, the C-USA championship.

Sorry, but such title runs don’t capture the attention of SportsCenter. What will this team have to offer come March? Who is the go-to player in crunch time? (What would you have said a year ago about the answer to that question being Jeremy Hunt? Hunt took over the Southern Miss game and essentially won it by himself.) Can Coach John Calipari toughen his young squad in ways C-USA competition cannot?

The answers to these questions await as winter winds gradually give way to spring’s thaw. But with nine regular-season games left to play, here are a few lessons we have learned.

• Reclamation Rules! Among the new slogans I’ve heard Calipari preach this season is, “It’s about the path, not the prize.” If such is the case, the paths taken by Hunt and Kareem Cooper have been as winding — and rocky — as a backwoods ski trail. A season ago, Hunt was “permanently” suspended for a pair of assaults that had the sharp-shooting swingman appearing at 201 Poplar. As for Cooper, the sophomore center was suspended for the first eight games this season for transgressions away from the basketball court. Were it not for his teammates making a public appeal, Cooper may well have played his last game as a Tiger.

Cutting to the present, Hunt is the team’s second-leading scorer (13.9 points per game) and one of the top sixth men in the country. Cooper has embraced the role of Joey Dorsey’s backup and played so well that highly touted freshman Pierre Niles has been a casualty of limited minutes. Cooper’s soft hands — particularly evident on his lefty hook shot — complement the fearsome play of Dorsey and create matchup problems for Memphis opponents that can’t go as large off the bench.

• Rebounding Wins. Duh. There have been but four games this season in which the Tigers were out-rebounded — against Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Arizona, and Southern Miss. Three losses and a game Memphis should have lost. The Tigers are easy to brand as “small,” considering the number of guards (six) they have in their nine-man rotation. But Dorsey has averaged just under 10 boards a game, Robert Dozier is pulling down almost six per contest, and Chris Douglas-Roberts is one of the best rebounding guards ever to wear a Tiger uniform. Add Cooper to the mix (more than five rebounds a game off the bench), and you have a team that can clean glass with the best of them. Well, at least the best C-USA has to offer (that qualifier, once again).

• Guards, Guards, Guards. (Might be a nice rewrite for Mötley Crüe.) Douglas-Roberts, Hunt, Antonio Anderson, Andre Allen, Willie Kemp, and Doneal Mack: six push-it-up playmakers crammed into a total of 200 player minutes per game. While it may have fans checking the scoreboard to remember who’s in and who’s out, Calipari is enjoying the luxury of substituting immediately for any ball-handler who isn’t getting the job done at either end of the floor. With their top scorer (Douglas-Roberts) forced to the bench with an ankle injury early in the January 16th UAB game, Calipari utilized Mack for 20 minutes and got seven points and three assists out of the exchange.

“I told Chris,” said a smiling Calipari after the game, “you better be worried about your position right now, if that kid plays like that.”

Through Saturday’s win, Kemp, Allen, and Anderson have combined for 190 assists and only 100 turnovers. For some perspective, consider that last season, Darius Washington — the team’s starting point guard — had 110 assists and 111 turnovers. It’s the kind of efficiency that lets a coaching staff sleep well at night. And the kind of team play that helps a fan keep hope in his hip pocket, however many other questions remain to be answered.

Tags basketball, Tigers, U of M

Sports Sports Feature

Encore Performance?

Post author By Frank Murtaugh
Post date November 16, 2006

CREDIT: Larry Kuzniewski

The number 16 has become rather sacred in the world of college basketball. If your team reaches the second week of the NCAA tournament in March — the Sweet Sixteen — you can count the season a success. With that spirit in mind, here are 16 questions to be answered in the months ahead by the 2006-07 University of Memphis basketball program.

• What kind of carryover can we expect from last season’s 33-4 performance? How about zippo? Nada. The old goose-egg factor. The U of M enjoyed its finest season in more than a decade in 2005-06, but the style and flavor of this year’s team could hardly be more different. With the departure of three stars, the team has lost 53 percent of last year’s scoring. Rodney Carney (an All-American), Shawne Williams (C-USA’s Freshman of the Year), and Darius Washington were John Calipari’s first three options on offense a year ago, leaving Chris Douglas-Roberts as the top veteran scoring threat on this year’s team. Add to all this a freshman point guard — Bolivar’s Willie Kemp — establishing a tempo to his liking, and you have some growing pains certain to bite before conference play begins in January. So raise the C-USA championship banner from a year ago, toast the Elite Eight appearance one last time. And move on to a new season and new team.

• Is the U of M a renegade program? Before you get hot and bothered over such a question even being raised, consider some variables: The national media loves a whipping boy in college basketball. The ingredients for such a program are the following: a highly paid, high-profile coach, plus consistent dominance in a mid-level conference, with a mixture of one-and-done — or two-and-done — stars leaving school early. (See UNLV in the 1980s, Cincinnati in the 1990s.) Now, the big difference between previous whipping boys and Calipari’s program is that the U of M has kept itself off the NCAA sanctions list. With the return of Jeremy Hunt (by every definition to this point, a renegade player), the Tiger program needs to aim high — on and off the court — to avoid this label. The suspension of Kareem Cooper before the season’s opening tip sure doesn’t help matters.

• What does the return of Jeremy Hunt mean for the U of M program? To begin with, it means a new definition of the word “permanent” (as in “permanently dismissed”). It means the Tigers will suit up a player whose case involving the assault of his former girlfriend won’t be dismissed — permanently — until just before the Conference USA tournament opens in Memphis. It also means the Tigers will have a graduate coming off their bench, Hunt having earned his degree in August. (More than former stars Antonio Burks or Rodney Carney can claim.) Yes, Hunt is a renegade seeking redemption, and he might receive his share of boos at FedExForum. Just how much he contributes to the success of this year’s team will depend on how healthy he is — a major variable for Hunt — and just how forgiving his coach and teammates prove to be.

Larry Kuzniewski

Sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts

• Why isn’t Darius Washington still a Memphis Tiger? Put your ear to the ground on this one and you’ll get answers as varied as the dribble-drives Washington utilized over his two seasons at FedExForum: bad advice from his father; bad advice from Calipari; pro ambitions with more hubris than substance; the need — as a new father — for a source of income, any source of income. Washington is going to be a sad footnote to the Calipari era of Memphis basketball. Perhaps he was expendable with the arrival of Kemp. But what price will Washington (and his family) pay for this divorce?

• Who will be the leader of the 2006-07 team? Washington’s departure will leave more of an intangible void than it will on the floor. Rodney Carney was a brilliant four-year star, but he was as quiet as a church mouse after the opening tip. Shawne Williams, alas, might have grown into a leader, but he’ll have to do that now as an Indiana Pacer. Sophomore guard Antonio Anderson has the demeanor of a floor leader, if not the position for it. Look for Andre Allen to point the way for this year’s squad, even if he’s coming off the bench for the precocious Kemp. Emotion counts for a lot in college hoops. Washington, as all of Tiger Nation remembers so well, wore emotion like Superman’s cape. When chests need punching this winter, the fist will likely be that of Andre Allen.

• What is John Calipari’s agenda? All those North Carolina State rumors last spring certainly didn’t hurt the sale tag for Conference USA’s highest profile. Entering his seventh year in charge of the Memphis program, Calipari has six 20-win seasons, an NIT championship, an NCAA regional final, two conference players of the year, and four conference freshmen of the year under his belt. So what’s left to prove? Calipari’s been given everything he’s asked for at the U of M, so it’s easy to understand a comfort zone, even as far from his native Northeast as the 47-year-old coach may be. And with the Final Four within sniffing distance just last spring, Calipari’s mission of making Memphis a “national program” is being realized. The U of M will not be John Calipari’s last coaching job. But for now, if it ain’t broke …

• Who might surprise us on this year’s team? Regardless of their prep credentials, freshmen are unknown variables, so we’ll scratch Kemp, Hashim Bailey, and Pierre Niles off this list. But keep an eye on Robert Dozier. Among the five ballyhooed freshmen who arrived on campus a year ago, Dozier brought the least fanfare. But he developed into a major contributor off the bench with his rebounding skills and — considering his size — nice offensive touch. He’s the kind of player who will never be your star of the game, but when you check the stat sheet, it’s 12 points and eight rebounds, one night after another. It’s not unreasonable to consider Dozier an all-conference candidate.

• Which player can the Tigers not win without? Joey Dorsey. A true center is the rarest commodity in college basketball today: a player with size and strength, a shot blocker on defense, more comfortable with his back to the basket on offense. That’s Joey Dorsey, folks, and there’s no reason he shouldn’t aspire for all-conference honors this season. Late last season, after a win over a game UTEP team at home, Calipari said the following: “You’ve got to learn to play when guys are bumping and grinding, if you really want to do something unique. Every team we play is going to get rougher and more desperate.” If there is such a thing as a Calipari mantra, “Play Tough” is it. No one will provide more toughness for the 2006-07 squad than their 6’9″, 260-pound junior from Baltimore.

Larry Kuzniewski

Sophomore guard Antonio Anderson

• Does Memphis own the C-USA Freshman of the Year trophy? You might say that, just don’t be looking for any Four-Year Player of the Year hardware. Dajuan Wagner in 2002. Sean Banks in ’04. Darius Washington in ’05. Shawne Williams last season. (We hardly knew ye!) Kemp will be among the leading contenders for the league’s rookie-of-the-year honors, but here’s hoping he becomes the first such honoree under Calipari to enjoy a Senior Night.

• Will immaturity catch up with this year’s team? Some would say it has already. Incidents involving Dorsey and Bailey have already made headlines and raised eyebrows. When Anderson and Douglas-Roberts stepped forward and defied convention by pointing fingers at the transgressors — and away from the “good guys” on the team — you had to wonder about the cohesion of this young squad. When sophomores are the vocal leaders before the season’s first tip-off, how much maturity can be expected?

• Do the Grizzlies help or hurt the Tiger program? Having shared an arena (two, actually) for five years now, this is a matter still worthy of debate. It goes without saying that good basketball — on any level, including the local prep hotbeds — benefits any group that sells basketball tickets. So the Grizzlies bringing the finest pro players to town has only heightened Memphis’ reputation as a basketball-crazed city. On the other hand, when you’re budgeting your discretionary income and it comes down to the Grizzlies and Spurs on a Tuesday night or the Tigers and UTEP on a Thursday, unless your loyalty to the city’s flagship university runs out your ears, you’re heading for the NBA game. All of which places a premium on, yes, the coach of the U of M program. If you doubt Calipari sells tickets, you’re probably still convinced the Mighty Miss flows north. And it’s why the U of M has met each and every one of Coach Cal’s salary demands … so far.

• Why is Tony Barbee laughing? Only 36 years old, the new head coach at UTEP suddenly has a springboard to what should be a long and successful coaching career. Having played for Calipari at UMass and served as an assistant at the U of M for six years, Barbee has a grasp on the Cal way of doing things and in some respects is ahead of where Calipari was at this stage of his career. (UTEP has a higher historical profile than UMass did upon Calipari’s arrival in 1988.) One of the most heartfelt handshakes of the season will come on March 1st, when the Tigers visit El Paso.

• Which home games should not be missed? Ole Miss (December 9th) and Cincinnati (January 4th) are sure to draw big crowds to FedExForum, but if I’m buying the tickets, it’s a pair of late-February conference showdowns that get my attention: February 22nd vs. Rice and February 25th vs. Houston. Within a four-day period, you’ll be able to see all five preseason all-conference players in action: Dorsey and Douglas-Roberts for the home team, the Cougars’ Oliver Lafayette and Lanny Smith, and the preseason player of the year, Rice’s Morris Almond. Along with UAB, these are also two of three teams in C-USA that might challenge Memphis for the league title.

• What do Zach Curlin and Dana Kirk have to do with this season? With 25 wins, Calipari will move past Kirk (158) and Curlin (172) for second in Tiger basketball history. Over his six seasons in Memphis, Calipari has averaged just under 25 wins a year. (Larry Finch remains at the top of the list with 220 wins.)

• Who’s next in the 1,000-point club? In each of the last four seasons, at least one Tiger scored his 1,000th career point. Entering the 2006-07 campaign, the closest active Tiger is Jeremy Hunt with 625 points. Unless Hunt averages more than 12 points a game, look for this streak to come to an end.

• How deep into March will this team play? With the number of variables introduced each and every season, forecasting the NCAA basketball tournament in November is a Herculean gambit. But here’s where I see this year’s Tiger team coming up short: fight or flight. We tend to forget that the magical run Memphis made last year actually began with the team’s unlikely run to the C-USA tournament championship game in 2005 (the epic loss to Final Four-bound Louisville, when Washington missed his free throws at game’s end). Players like Washington, Carney, and Dorsey entered last season with a competitive edge toughened by heartbreak. Add the best freshman class Calipari has recruited and you had a concoction for greatness, at least on the scale measured by C-USA. With the defections of Washington and Williams and off-court distractions already part of the story for 2006-07, the Tigers are playing uphill before Thanksgiving. Veteran leadership is a must for a lengthy dance in March. Don’t expect this year’s club to reach that fabled second weekend.

Tags basketball, Tigers, U of M

Sports Sports Feature

Summer Sizzlers

Post author By Frank Murtaugh
Post date August 17, 2006

You think Major League Baseball is suffering under a cloud of steroid-tinted scandal? Just hop on a bike anywhere near Paris and shout the name, “Floyd Landis!” The latest doping saga to hit the Tour de France — one that appears will cost Landis his 2006 championship — is beyond the scope of anything baseball fans might imagine. (Consider if baseball players were tested — randomly and regularly — right up through and during the World Series. Then after a game-winning homer is hit in Game 7, the hero tests positive for a steroid the very next week!) How does this sport, so extraordinarily popular in Europe, regain its integrity?

It should start by following the money: sponsors. Entities like Phonak (which sponsored Landis’ team this year), the Discovery Channel, even the U.S. Postal Service (the latter two each sponsored Lance Armstrong during his seven-year reign in France) simply must take the condition of their cyclists as seriously as they do the gains they achieve through their “product placement” in the greatest bike race on earth. When the sponsors incorporate their own methods of testing, or at least establish a one-strike-and-you’re-out policy for cheats, the cyclists will have much more to lose by dancing on the edge of substance abuse. And if the sponsors aren’t willing to step up? Cycling’s powers that be should include those sponsors in the bans they’re so willing to hand out to an athlete when a sample comes up positive.

• I had a chat with University of Memphis football coach Tommy West last month, and the most striking impression I came away with is that he is simply not worried. Not about the loss of DeAngelo Williams, not about the question marks at his quarterback position, not about the loss of some standout defensive players from a year ago. Entering his sixth season in charge of the Tiger program, West seems to have the energy of a first-year coach, his perspective significantly impacted by the bypass surgery he underwent last February. “It made me stop and appreciate more,” said West. “It made me realize how much I really do enjoy doing what I’m doing. I really like being where I am.”

• I also interviewed John McEnroe about his upcoming visit to Memphis (October 4th-8th) for the Stanford Championships at the Racquet Club. When I asked McEnroe who would have won a match in their prime between Pete Sampras and Roger Federer, McEnroe claimed the two greats would have different advantages on different surfaces and that their contrasting styles would leave a series of matches fairly even. When I followed with a hypothetical between McEnroe himself and either Sampras or Federer, the seven-time Grand Slam champ humbly said he might win “two or three out of 10” against the sport’s two most recent titans.

• The Redbirds are having their worst season in nine years in Memphis. But their parent club is in a tight race for the National League Central title. Am I the only reader of our beloved daily paper turned off by the overwhelming coverage of college football? Do we need 1,500 words on UCF coach George O’Leary when it’s 102 degrees outside?

• I saw six rather eloquent speeches in Canton’s Fawcett Stadium on August 5th as the latest class was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Highlights were the sentiments of Troy Aikman (a Hall of Famer before his 40th birthday!), John Madden (he believes the busts talk to each other after the Hall closes each night), and Reggie White’s widow, Sara (who mentioned how happy the Whites’ two years in Memphis were, a time when the couple welcomed their son, Jeremy, into the world). But I think my favorite remark was a simple but heartfelt request from Rayfield Wright (the great Dallas offensive lineman of the Seventies): “Parents, teach your children well. Remember, you are the windows through which your children see this world.”

Tags Redbirds, Sports, Tigers, U of M