Senior Day can be awkward. Before the Tigers’ 2014-15 home finale, the only senior on the roster — Calvin Godfrey — walked to center court to receive the customary salute, along with a framed jersey from coach Josh Pastner. It’s a special moment to witness every year.
But Godfrey played exactly one season of basketball for Memphis. We were just getting to know the lunch-pail forward when it was time to say goodbye. Such will be the case again this Sunday, when two more senior “one-and-dones” suit up at FedExForum for the last time. Caleb Wallingford made more impact as a U of M pitcher than he did as a guard on the hardwood. (He started 13 games for the 2015 Tiger baseball team.) Ricky Tarrant Jr. took over point guard duties this winter and became, in the eyes of Pastner, a member of this team’s key trio, pivotal to the success (or failures) of the squad. He’ll be saluted, though, having played more college games for Tulane than for Memphis (and a few for Alabama).
Larry Kuzniewski
Kedren Johnson and Trahson Burrell are a bit more familiar, having spent two seasons in blue and gray, with Burrell taking star turns this season as the Tigers’ sixth man. (Against East Carolina on January 24th, Burrell finished one assist shy of becoming just the third Memphis player to record a triple-double.)
But we know Shaq Goodwin, know him well. The Atlanta native — a McDonald’s All-American from Southwest DeKalb High School — is a member of a dying breed in college basketball: the four-year starter. If you’re good enough to start as a freshman at a prominent program these days, surely you’ll be cashing your first NBA paycheck before any music is played on Senior Day. Not Shaq Goodwin, though.
If Goodwin doesn’t miss another game, he should finish his Tiger career at least tied for 10th in games played. With 39 more points, Goodwin will join an exclusive club in Memphis history, players who rank among the program’s top 15 in scoring and top 10 in rebounds. The three others: Keith Lee, Forest Arnold, and Kelly Wise. Having entered the season with career averages of 9.5 points and 6.0 rebounds, Goodwin saved his best basketball for his senior campaign. His 14.9 points per game this season rank ninth in the American Athletic Conference. His 8.2 rebounds per game rank sixth. Only teammate Dedric Lawson ranks as highly in both categories. A second-team all-conference honoree as a sophomore, Goodwin will get plenty of votes for the first team at season’s end.
But Shaq Goodwin’s legacy as a Tiger will be one with contradictions. He was awarded the AAC’s Sportsmanship Award as a junior and has played with the brightest smile this program has seen in recent memory. But his senior year has been tarnished by a suspension for tripping an opponent (from the Tiger bench) and the technical foul he earned for dangling from the rim — by his right elbow — following a breakaway dunk at Tulane. The latter penalty provided the Green Wave a precious point in a game Memphis lost in overtime, one of the most embarrassing defeats in Goodwin’s college career. This is a young man you’d want babysitting your kids — especially with a basketball court nearby — but not necessarily occupying the next seat in a boardroom. Childish exuberance can be endearing until it presents as immaturity.
Larry Kuzniewski
When I asked Goodwin last fall about his primary objective as a senior, he emphasized consistency. And he has indeed been the most consistently solid performer on the Tigers’ current roster. Alas, Goodwin’s elevated play won’t be enough to reach the NCAA tournament unless the Tigers catch lightning in a bottle at the AAC tournament next month in Orlando. Among all the games Goodwin has played as a Tiger, only four were in the Big Dance. It’s a contradiction matched only by Anthony Rice (three NCAA tournament games) among the U of M’s career-games leaders.
I’ll miss Shaq Goodwin. He stuck around while prominent teammates like Tarik Black, Nick King, and Austin Nichols chose to jump ship for other programs where they’d be more comfortable. (Goodwin will graduate in May with a degree in Human Services.) Goodwin has stood by his embattled head coach, displaying the kind of loyalty rarely seen in boardrooms of struggling companies, let alone college basketball programs in the crosshairs of a fed-up fan base. There’s maturity in that, a grace that shouldn’t be taken for granted.
Sunday’s game will not be a sellout. Who knows how many Tiger fans will be standing and cheering for the pregame senior salutes. It won’t be as many as Shaq Goodwin envisioned when he played his first game as a Tiger in November 2012. But he will have earned the cheers. As for those in attendance, they should be grateful for one last smile, among the brightest in Memphis Tigers history.