Memphis Tigers Basketball

Who’s ready for some college basketball?

Well, for all you die-hard fans out there willing to sacrifice some shuteye for a little early season action, the Miami-Memphis matchup looks to be the game for you.

The Canes and the Tigers will tip off at 11:59 tonight at Memphis’ FedEx Forum. The game will serve as the kickoff to ESPN’s 24-hour  marathon of college basketball coverage.

A few of Tuesday’s games that should be of interest to college basketball fans include No. 24 Virginia Tech visiting No. 3 Kansas State (4:00 PM ET, ESPN), Thad Matta’s No. 5-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes traveling to Gainesville to take on the No. 10-ranked Florida Gators (6:00 PM ET, ESPN) and the capper will be last year's national championship runner-up Butler heading down to Kentucky to take on Rick Pitino’s new look Louisville team (8:00 PM ET, ESPN).

Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though.

The Miami-Memphis battle looks interesting on a few different fronts, and not just because any college basketball action after midnight is awesome (this coming from an East Coast guy who has stayed up late on countless occasions hoping his WCC bets pan out).

This Memphis team is an interesting bunch, especially now that fresh-faced head coach Josh Pastner has had a year to get his feet under him.

With the type of talent the Tigers have this season, they should undoubtedly be the favorites to win Conference USA.

The loss of freshman Jelan Kendrick, a former McDonald’s All American, is a blow, but remember he was an unproven commodity. He simply became an example that Pastner wanted to send to his team—we don’t tolerate BS around these parts anymore, Calipari is in Kentucky now.

Kendrick isn’t even old news, he’s news that never was. It’s time to focus in on some of the great talent Memphis has out there on the court.

Veterans like Will Coleman and Wesley Witherspoon are some of the best players in the conference, and the infusion of new stars like hot-shot recruits Will Barton, Joe Jackson, Chris Crawford and Antonio Barton can only help.

Tonight will be a great test for Pastner’s bunch.

This Miami team isn’t the same one that won 20 games last season, but there’s enough talent and athleticism there to give Memphis a quality run.

The two Miami players to watch are guards Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant, who combined for 43 points in the team's opening season win over Jacksonville.

The pair could offer up a tough matchup nightmare for Memphis, but if the Canes really want to hang in during this one, it’s the frontcourt play that will make the difference.

While no one is going to mistake this Miami team for Duke or North Carolina, hopefully they should at least provide us with an entertaining early season showcase.

This Memphis team is one of the more intriguing squads we have in college basketball this season and finding out what they’re capable of doing to Miami should be enough to keep you hardcore college fans up past your bedtime.

Last year's version of Conference USA was as talented as any since the league lost Louisville and Cincinnati. This year's version might not mirror that with the possibility of one exception, the Memphis Tigers.

With arguably the best recruiting class in the country, the Tigers have officially reloaded and are poised to retake the C-USA title. If all the parts mesh, this team could easily be in the top ten early in the season.

The league lost a number of highly-skilled players due to graduation or the NBA draft. Hardest hit could be defending tournament champs Houston and surprise third place finisher Marshall. Here is a rundown for this season.

Memphis

Elliot Williams, Willie Kemp, and Doneal Mack, all starters, are gone. Problem, right? Not when Will Barton, Antonio Barton, Joe Jackson, Chris Crawford, Tarik Black, and others are ready to step in. This ultra-talented group is added to holdovers Wesley Witherspoon and Will Coleman, and joined by transfer Charles Carmouche (New Orleans) who has two years of experience and is eligible immediately because the Privateers have moved to D-3.

The key here is replacing the leadership that Mack and Kemp brought and for Pastner to mesh all of this talent. If a more experienced coach (Calipari) had this class, you would hear talk about the Final Four. Pastner, in his second year as head man, has to show he can coach as well as recruit.

Prediction: First

Southern Mississippi

All five starters return for the Golden Eagles, who finished 8-8 in the conference last season but reached twenty wins for the season overall. Gary Flowers (second team all-conference) and Sai'Quon Stone (all-defensive team) lead the Eagles.

The starting five is solid but coach Larry Eustachy needs to develop some depth behind this group. Incoming JUCO transfers Dwayne Davis and Ahyaro Phillips, who played one season at Nevada and is a solid rebounder, hope to step in and help do this.

Last season, the Eagles lost at home three times during the conference schedule (UTEP, UAB, Memphis) by a combined ten points. Reversing this will land Southern near the top of the league.

Prediction: Second

UTEP

I wouldn't suggest that Tim Floyd is not capable of winning the title this season. He is a proven college coach and retains the services of C-USA player-of-the-year Randy Culpepper and all-defensive team selection Julyan Stone. The Miners did, however, lose the bulk (literally and figuratively) of the frontcourt as Derek Caracter (drafted) and Arnett Moultrie (transfer) are gone. Also, guard Myron Strong was recently kicked off of the team.

Claude Brittain has shown some ability to mix it up down low but can't be expected to carry the load, especially since he averaged less than ten minutes per game last season. Freshman John Bohannon has size (6'10") but needs to add some bulk to his 195-pound frame.

Christian Polk and Jeremy Williams will be asked to pick up the scoring slack created by Caracter's early departure. The lack of the inside presence, at least on paper, means the Miners won't replicate their 15-1 finish from last season. However, they still have enough weapons to compete for top spot in the league.

Prediction: Third

UCF

This is sort of like throwing a dart. The Knights are coming off of a 6-10 season but return all five starters, including all-rookie selections Keith Clanton and Marcus Jordan. Clanton and P.J. Gaynor give UCF some size and bulk down low.

Top returning scorer Isaac Sosa is really the only outside threat that is established. The Knights need to shoot better from long or mid-range to create the space that Clanton can use to his advantage. New coach Donnie Jones has balanced scoring and even a decent outside attack will push the Knights into the top five of the conference. Transfers Tristan Spurlock (Virginia) and Tom Herzog (Michigan State) are not eligible until next season.

Prediction: Fourth

Tulsa

2009-2010 wasn't a bad season for Tulsa (10-6) but they couldn't beat the top three teams (Memphis, UTEP, and UAB), going a combined 0-5 against them. 

This year's team will not feature Jerome Jordan or Ben Uzoh, which could create some scoring issues for coach Doug Wojcik. Justin Hurtt (14.5 ppg) and Joe Richard are the two starters that return, and are joined by C-USA Sixth Man of the Year Steven Idlet and medical redshirt returnee Glenn Andrews.

The Golden Hurricane will need contributions immediately from transfers Scottie Haralson (UConn) and D.J. Magley (Western Kentucky). Haralson's experience with the Huskies was limited but Magley played in 70 games for the Hilltoppers and is a big body for the post, especially defensively.

Prediction: Fifth

UAB

No selling coach Mike Davis short anymore. Heavy losses will most certainly mean a reduction in the number of conference wins, but his team will compete.

Aaron Johnson and Jamarr Sanders are the two key returnees and will be joined by transfers, redshirts, and some returning role players. Beas Hamga, whose saga has taken him throughout most of the United States (Nevada, Valparaiso, Texas, etc.) appears ready to man the post for the Blazers. Redshirt freshmen Anthony Criswell and Robert Williams are joined by true freshmen Preston Purifoy and Quincy Taylor as players who could see minutes early.

Sophomore Ovie Soko looks to increase his time and gained valuable experience playing for England this summer. Still, Davis has lots to figure out—and he usually does.

Prediction: Sixth

East Carolina

Jeff Lebo takes over as coach for the Pirates who finished 4-12 last season, but return all five starters, including Brock Young, a third-team all-conference pick.

Darrius Morrow, Chad Wynn, and Jamar Adams provide enough bulk up front to win battles on the glass. Wynn and Morrow both shot well over 50 percent from the field as well. But EC has to shoot the ball better from the perimeter. Young averaged 15.5 ppg but shot a paltry 28 percent from beyond the arc.

Lebo brings some SEC experience (I don't know, can you call Auburn that in basketball?) and with an older squad could guide the Pirates to a .500 or better record.

Prediction: Seventh

Marshall

The losses of Tyler Wilkerson (graduated) and Hassan Whiteside (drafted) will be very difficult to overcome. Tom Herrion (80-38) steps in to coach after a successful stint at College of Charleston.

Although they had good scoring balance last season, the Herd have lost most of their inside punch. Still, they return five players who averaged five or more points per game last season. Transfer Eladio Espinosa joins former Hargrave Military teammate and top returning scorer Damier Pitts in the backcourt, while newcomers Dante Holmes and DeAndre Kane provide more depth in the back.

This team will likely score but may have trouble defending and rebounding due to their lack of a strong interior presence.

Prediction: Eighth

SMU

A very competitive team in 2009-2010, the Mustangs return third-team all-conference pick Papa Dia, a legitimate double-double threat each game. They did, however, lose their other top two scorers in Derek Williams and Mouhammad Faye, as well as Paul McCoy (transfer).

Robert Nyukundi and Justin Haynes need to be viable second and third scoring options for SMU if they want to maintain some of the momentum they created last season. The Mustangs won't sneak up on anyone so they need a good start in conference play.

Prediction: Ninth

Houston

Tom Penders is out and James Dickey is in as coach for the Cougars, who reached the NCAA's last season with a great run in the C-USA tourney.

First team all-conference guard Aubrey Coleman and tourney MVP Kelvin Lewis are gone, leaving huge holes in the backcourt. Maurice McNeill, Kendrick Washington, and Zamal Nixon are the key contributors returning. Trumaine Johnson, who averaged 12.6 ppg for the San Diego Torrerros two seasons ago before transferring, is also eligible.

Like some of the other teams, the Cougars don't have an established inside presence. One could emerge as the season progresses, but if it doesn't, Houston will slide into the bottom third.

Prediction: Tenth

Rice 

The good news: Four starters return. The bad news: The team went 1-15 last season in conference play.

The Owls do have good scoring balance (five players averaged eight or more points per game) and will be led by all-freshman team pick Arsalan Kazemi and top returning scorer Tamir Jackson.

David Chadwick, who originally signed with Washington State but spent last season at Hargrave Military, may be able to help fill the significant void down low for Rice.

Shooting in general, and three-point shooting specifically, needs to improve. Lucas Kuipers can score down low but not if the perimeter game is absent. Ben Braun has won 570 games as a college coach and the Owls will improve. The question is whether or not they improve enough to move up substantially in the standings this season.

Prediction: Eleventh

Tulane

Three starters return for new head coach Ed Conroy, including top scorer Kris Richard and Kendall Timmons, who was the third leading scorer and second on the team in rebounding.

Gone is point guard Kevin Sims, one of only two regulars with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. The other was Jordan Callahan, who displayed some ability offensively at times last season with big games against East Carolina (10 assists) and Houston (21 points).

Talent- and depth-wise, the Green Wave doesn't stack up against the majority of teams in the conference and won't likely improve on their 3-13 conference record from last season.

Prediction: Twelfth

On the final episode of my radio show for the school year, we decided to invite the president of the NPHC organization on campus.

While we thought that, for the most part, the invite wouldn’t create any problems on or off the air, we realized that was not the case.

Anytime a president makes snide comments via Facebook or Twitter about other organizations under the same umbrella they’re over, it shows that there needs to be change in leadership.

The same thing could be said about the leadership of Britton Banowsky, who has been commissioner since 2004 in Conference USA.

Aside from the fact that eight teams (Marquette, TCU, DePaul, Louisville, Charlotte, St. Louis, Cincinnati, and South Florida) departed for greener pastures in 2005, Banowsky has done very little as far as wise decisions are concerned.

Basketball-wise decisions that is.

Since 2006, which was the first year of the new-look conference, the only NCAA Tournament wins from this conference came from the Tigers.

Including the five wins in 2007-08 that later got vacated by the NCAA.

In 2009-10, in what was a down year for the Tigers, both the Tigers and UAB got the only wins in the postseason for the conference.

In the NIT.

Sorry, the CIT and the CBI tourney don’t count.

The conference tournament this year turned out to be a national joke, when Houston faced UTEP on Championship Saturday, in a mostly empty BOK Center in Tulsa.

And to make matters worse, both Houston and UTEP, the former making a spirited run to an improbable tournament title, would both be bounced in the first round.

What did the flameout say nationally about Conference USA basketball?

The same old song and dance about the conference.

Memphis and the 11 Dwarves.

To put in perspective, Conference USA has had more bids in the NCAA baseball tournament since 2006 than men’s basketball, even placing a couple of teams in the CWS.

Sad, right?

With the tournament being in El Paso this upcoming season, I want to believe that it can work there, that people will be willing to spend money in the city’s downtown district, take in the scenic views, and enjoy good basketball.

But should it fail badly, the blame should squarely fall on the shoulders of Banowsky.

And not only that, a change at the top would have to follow right away.

Maybe George Bush should be in charge.

Just a thought.

The Memphis Tigers finished 24-10 overall this year. That may seem to some like a successful season, but the Tigers missed the NCAA tournament, went to the N.I.T, but got eliminated by Ole Miss. Now the focus for the Tigers is on next season. The Tigers are most likely to go into the next season with the #1 recruiting class, which comes as a surprise to some since John Calapari departed for Kentucky.

But young coach Josh Pastner has done an excellent job in recruiting and has gotten some young players that could turn Memphis into a NCAA powerhouse once again. But could Memphis win the National title? It's definitely not impossible, with the recruiting class that they are bringing in, they could easily be the most talented team in the country next season.

If the Tigers are to be a legitimate title contenders, Elliot Williams there leading scorer must come back. He will bring the experience that Memphis would need. Experience would certainly be a key in the tournament, just ask Kentucky. If the Kentucky Wildcats brought back Jodie Meeks they would be in the Final Four right now.

Elliot Williams would also benefit from coming back. The sophomore led the Tigers in scoring this season. Despite averaging 18 points per game he still needs to improve more on the offensive end of the ball. He did improve his 3 point shooting  from last season but I still was not impressed with the 36% shooting from downtown. He really needs to improve his free throw shooting  he shot 75% from the free throw line which in my opinion is not good at all for a guard, if you want to be a starting shooting guard in the NBA you must be a good free throw shooter.

Williams is a good, but not great lock down defender. In some games I saw he struggled a little defensively. But I think he can improve if he comes back for another year.

It would be hard not to pick the Tigers as favorites for national championship. But they are not a guarantee. You have to play the games first. You can have a bunch of talent on your squad but you have coach them up as well. They have to stay out of trouble, they have to get along. If those things don't happen you can forget about the tournament much less a national championship.

If you wanna see more of my articles on the NBA & College Hoops and more you can click on this link http://bleacherreport.com/users/217027-jonathan-maurer  that will send you straight to my profile or you can look me up at hoops4life.com/en

By ANDRE JOHNSON

Bleacher Report Contributor

Race relations in Memphis were downright disastrous at the time, primarily because of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Still, the young black hoops prodigy from Orange Mound chose to enroll at Memphis State during an era when African-American athletes wearing Tiger blue and gray weren't a popular trend.

In spite of his controversial decision to stay home, few could debate that Larry Finch elected to play for Memphis State and legendary coach Gene Bartow solely because of his unfathomable admiration for and loyalty to the town in which he grew up.

Sure, there was colossal buzz among Mid-Southerners when the University of Memphis produced one of the most remarkable runs in college basketball history with four consecutive 30-plus win seasons from 2005-2009, a stretch that included the Tigers coming within minutes of capturing that elusive NCAA title.

Granted, there was an array of pandemonium throughout the Bluff City when former coach John Calipari flirted with the University of Kentucky job and ultimately ended up bolting Memphis for Lexington in March 2008.

And, in spite of all the uncertainty that surrounded this year’s Tiger squad that failed to reach the NCAA tournament, few could argue that Memphis hoops could be discussed without mentioning Finch.

He is, after all, among those credited for helping cast the program into the national spotlight.

"He gave his life for the university," says former U of M point guard Elliot Perry, the Tigers' second all-time leading scorer who played for Finch from 1987-91. "It is a legacy that will always be remembered."

A legacy that basically started when Finch was a senior at Memphis State during the 1972-73 season.

One of only eight black players on that 20-man roster, he will forever be remembered for leading the Tigers to their first ever Final Four berth—a run that was eventually overshadowed by the heroics of former UCLA All-American Bill Walton, who went 21-of-22 from the field in leading the Bruins to a lopsided win in the championship game.

Nevertheless, Finch graduated as the school's all-time leading scorer.

He is currently the Tigers' fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,869 points, and is ranked in the top five in over 20 statistical categories.

Still obsessed with his hometown, Finch surprisingly turned down an offer to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, who drafted him months after his senior season.

He instead chose to sign with the Memphis Tams of the defunct American Basketball Association. His professional career, however, was short-lived. He played just two seasons for four different franchises.

Consequently, he turned to coaching and was hired as an assistant at his college alma mater under late coach Dana Kirk in the early 1980s. His stint included the Tigers advancing to the 1985 Final Four in Lexington, where they lost in the national semifinals to eventual national champion Villanova.

A year later, news spread quickly that Kirk had violated NCAA regulations and was the subject of a criminal investigation—transgressions that ultimately led to his forced resignation after the 1995-96 campaign.

Finch, as a result, was named Kirk's successor (the school's first black and 13th head coach), taking over a program that was characterized as a national embarrassment, one mired in controversy and slapped with a postseason ban—not to mention one that was seemingly on the brink of destruction.   

But Finch, much to the delight of Memphians and university officials, emerged as the savior of Tiger basketball once again, revitalizing a program that produced 10 winning seasons during an 11-year head coaching career that included the Tigers making six NCAA tournament and three NIT appearances. Additionally, Finch became the school's all-time winningest coach.

Though his coaching career was highlighted with an Elite Eight appearance in 1992, his inability to land several local blue chip recruits led to fan dissatisfaction for a program that was accustomed to achieving national prominence at the disposal of Memphis-area talent.

He was fired after the Tigers had limped to 16-15 mark following the 1996-97 season. Such news, indeed, materialized as a public relations fiasco for the university, in large part because Finch was informed of his firing in one of the Pyramid Arena concession areas after the Tigers' opening-round loss to Marquette in the Conference USA tournament.

Several of Finch's detractors, in fact, expressed their displeasure regarding the way school officials went about dismissing him. The Tigers' 66-62 loss at UNLV in the first round of the NIT was his last as a college coach.

Attempts to resurface as a college head coach were unsuccessful, particularly at mid-majors such as South Alabama, Georgia State, and Tennessee State. Subsequently, he ran for a Shelby County office and nearly won, despite having no government experience.

Years later, Finch began experiencing an array of health problems.

In August 2001, he suffered a minor stroke and underwent bladder surgery. A year later, he suffered a massive heart attack and had two strokes that ultimately disrupted his speech and left him partially paralyzed.

Given his health issues and financial hardship, friends close to Finch established the Friends of Larry Finch Foundation to help offset his medical expenses. In December 2006, the Foundation released a Larry Finch tribute CD called Eye of the Tiger.

That, of course, was fitting, considering Finch, who became infatuated with Memphis despite its much-publicized racial strain of the 1960s, is considered the face of Tiger basketball.

This article, written by sportswriter Andre Johnson, is featured in the September/October 2009 issue of Memphis Sport Magazine. To reach Johnson, call 901-690-6587 or send email to: memphisgraduate@yahoo.com.

"If John Calipari leaves the University of Memphis, it's not the end of the world. Trust me, it isn't."

Those were the words I said on WHBQ-TV the same day that John Calipari took his prized recruiting class, the secretaries, and even made a door a celebrity in the process.

For a span of a week and a half, I, along with almost every Tiger basketball fan, wondered who would be the next basketball coach.

The search became so big of a joke during that time span, I actually told friends at school that I was considering taking the position and bringing my own assistants.

"I know the University, my mom works there, and I know talent when I see it," I told my friend Brittney.

Certainly, R.C. Johnson wasn't about to take a chance on a 23 year-old running a college basketball program who once coached his neighborhood basketball team to 29 wins his first season and the Ayoka Cup (neighborhood basketball title) in Whitehaven back in 2002.

But after all the talk of a "wow" hire, going after Tim Floyd, Mike Anderson, and even Bruce Pearl for the coaching job, Johnson probably made one of the best moves this side of hiring John Calipari back in 2000.

A guy who was already focused on Lexington, packed everything up for a chance to learn from Calipari as an assistant, gets a call from Johnson to come to his house and then in a surprising move, is asked to take over a program who a year before went to the national championship game and coming off a Sweet 16 appearance.

That guy was Josh Pastner.

As I sat in my favorite hangout at Poplar Plaza on the day of his press conference, I texted my friends and asked them what their thoughts were on this guy.

"Memphis basketball is going to be fine," my friend Melvin said to me via text message.

Since that day, Pastner and his staff nabbed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, nearly beat the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks in St. Louis, which would have made some of my neighbors rather angry at me afterwards, and racked up another 20-win season in the process, finishing two games behind UTEP in the Conference USA standings.

"If you had told me in April that this team was going to record 20 wins, I would have been doing backflips on Beale Street," he said.

Of course, he wouldn't have been the only one.

After beating UAB in Birmingham and Tulsa at home Saturday, the Tigers have a first-round bye in the Conference USA Tournament and according to Joe Lunardi, are in the last four selected for the NCAA Tournament.

Should the Tigers make the Big Dance, I think I may take up that offer of doing backflips on Beale Street.

It's for the best, don't you think?

It was almost inevitable that the Memphis Tigers would have a sluggish game Wednesday night at home against the Central Florida Golden Knights.

After all, senior post man Pierre Henderson-Niles was dismissed from the team on Monday, leaving a fawning gap in the playing rotation.

"He's going in one direction, and we're going another," Memphis head coach Josh Pastner said in summarizing why he'd made the shocking decision. "It was nothing criminal or derogatory. For whatever reason, he saw things in a different way than I saw things."

It’s also logical that the team would be reeling somewhat from the loss to Gonzaga over the weekend—as well as the distractions and uncertainty that the entire Henderson-Niles situation must have caused.

But in the midst of all the column inches being written about Henderson-Niles’ dismissal from the Memphis basketball team, not a lot is being mentioned about how many different ways this will hurt the Tigers.

Emotionally and in style of play, this team is going to suffer. His teammates are going to miss the young man that they refer to fondly as “the Big Guy” or “the Big Man.”

“It’s kind of hard for me personally and for Doneal [Mack],” said Henderson-Niles’ fellow senior, guard Willie Kemp. “We came in with Pierre. He was a big part of this team. He just had some things going on...but he’s still our teammate, and we still love him like a brother.”

Henderson-Niles also had a significant impact on team members who haven’t been around him nearly as long as Kemp has.

“I didn’t get to see what was going on on the bench,” said junior college transfer Will Coleman, “but from what I hear, everybody tells me that Pierre was my biggest cheerleader when I was in the game. I miss the Big Guy.

“Even when it all got out that he was leaving and all that stuff, to me, it felt like somebody had died. It was all over the paper, the way people were talking about it and stuff like that.

“This was a big win [over Central Florida]; yes, yes, yes. It makes us appreciate it more because we had to work that much harder, knowing [our bench] was so short.”

“It’s different [without Henderson-Niles],” admitted second-year Tiger Roburt Sallie. “I’ve been knowing Pierre for two years. [Pierre and I] have a real tight bond. For the rest of my life, he’s somebody that will be in my life.

“I wish he was here.”

Even first-year Tiger star Elliot Williams feels the impact of PHN’s departure.

“It’s weird,” he said point-blank. “I’ve been on this team for a year now, and he’s been a great teammate. But we’ve got to move on. He was a great teammate, but we’re all we have now. I’m gonna miss him.”

So even though first-year Head Coach Josh Pastner prefers not to dwell on the loss of Henderson-Niles, and although he minimizes the emotional impact on his team, it is naïve for fans to think that the young men left behind to complete the season do not miss him.

Even beyond the emotional component, though, the 76-70 victory over the UCF Golden Knights exposed the one area in which Memphis will feel the loss of Henderson-Niles the most: defense.

The constant component to Memphis’ success all season long has been the defensive pressure. The Tigers have consistently forced the opposition to shoot poorly and to cough up the basketball regularly.

However, we need to give credit where it’s due: Henderson-Niles was a key reason why this Memphis team could do that.

PHN is a unique specimen because he is able to do things on the basketball court that very few men his size can do. He has remarkable footwork; in practice, his spin moves and crossovers were better than even many of the Tiger guards.

His nimbleness and quick hands allowed him to switch off on pick-and-rolls and mark the opposing point guards. This allowed the Tigers precious extra seconds to shift on defense and find favorable matchups instead of being left in mismatches and exposed to easy shot attempts.

It also cut off driving lanes and helped keep opposing guards out of the paint.

Additionally, Henderson-Niles has played basketball in the post all his life, as opposed to the few years of competitive ball that Coleman has logged.

This is important because what many people breathlessly call “good instincts” in a basketball player—anticipating movement, jumping passing lanes, and making smart gambles that do not leave teammates unnecessarily exposed—is actually a result of experience.

You play enough basketball, and you can “see” in your mind what a player is trying to set up—and you can combat it, if you have the guts, the speed, and the skill.

Henderson-Niles has all three qualities in spades.

Looking back over the season's statistics, you will find that Memphis has allowed the opposition to shoot more than 45 percent from the floor just eight times in 24 games, and 50 percent or better a mere four times (exactly .500 twice, at that).

What is the common denominator in those defensive performances?

Besides the Kansas game (and let’s face it, they’re the Jayhawks, yet they still only shot 46.5 percent from the field) and the Texas-El Paso loss (when PHN had a dislocated finger), Henderson-Niles played no more than 16 minutes in the eight games when Tiger foes shot more than 45 percent—and was in foul trouble in most of them.

Of course, against UCF, who converted field goals at a 53.1 percent pace (behind only Syracuse at 54.5, against whom PHN played 16 minutes before fouling out), Henderson-Niles didn’t play at all.

Even more telling, however, is the fact that Memphis has committed more turnovers than they have forced only two times all season long: against Gonzaga, when the Tigers coughed up a season-high 15 turnovers and forced 12 (in a game where PHN played indifferently) and against UCF, when the Tigers created just 10 miscues.

In other words, when Henderson-Niles played significant minutes and came with his game face, the Tiger defense was stingier and more capable of forcing turnovers.

It is too early to say whether or not this trend can be continued without “the Big Man.”

There are now plenty of minutes for Angel Garcia, who is still not able to play above the rim on his surgically repaired right knee, and D.J. Stephens, a guard in high school who plays down low simply because of his scintillating vertical and ever-revving motor.

Coleman and Wesley Witherspoon, who played significant minutes in the post over the last few weeks as Henderson-Niles' attitude and production waned, will need to step forward and do battle with the Derek Caracters, Jerome Jordans, Arnett Moultries, and Hassan Whitesides of Conference USA.

Perhaps Coleman said it best of Henderson-Niles' absence:

“His presence is missed.”

The Tigers will not allow this to become an excuse for losing, to their credit. As Roburt Sallie said:

“You know, we’ll have to move on. We don’t want to wallow on that too much. We have to move forward.”

Leroy Watson, Jr. is a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist as well as a credentialed writer for Rivals, assigned to cover the Memphis Tigers for both entities.

"He's going in one direction, and we're going another."

This was the synopsis of Pierre Henderson-Niles’s unexpected departure that Memphis Tigers coach Josh Pastner provided the media on Tuesday at the Finch Center.

This was the brief and simple summary of the otherwise long and complex college career of Pierre Henderson-Niles.

Four years.

Seven and one-third semesters.

A lifetime of memories.

And now, it’s over.

For the former Ridgeway High School prospect, who was formally released from the team Monday night, the roller coaster ride that best describes his college basketball career has finally come to a screeching halt.

Absurd Facebook posts and an increasingly bad attitude—toward fans, teammates, and coaches—all played a part in Henderson-Niles’s ultimate ousting.

"He and I have had many talks throughout the season. He knew,” Pastner explained. “Again, it's just one of those things where, for whatever reason, he saw things in a different way than I saw things—and I'm the head coach—and what I saw, I feel is best for this team, university, and program."

So, how did Henderson-Niles see things?

For most, Henderson-Niles’s perspective is difficult to decipher.

As incomprehensible as it may seem, Henderson-Niles may not understand himself where he stands today.

His organized basketball-playing days are over. During the only collegiate season in which he received significant playing time, he was dismissed.

But things didn’t have to be this way. Henderson-Niles could’ve been the vocal senior leader of this year’s Tigers. Henderson-Niles had every opportunity to turn his entire career—and life—around and leave the University of Memphis on a high note.

But he didn’t. He became an emotional cog, not only in practice or in games, but also in the locker room.

Early in the season, Henderson-Niles was as chatty as anybody after a game. Recently, however, Henderson-Niles said nothing after games, win or lose.

Which, unfortunately, fans have come to expect from the troubled senior.

“Nun to tell,” Henderson-Niles told Fox-13 through a text message when asked about possibly doing a story.

Nothing to tell? At all?

So, after a formal dismissal from the team of a university that offered him a full scholarship, Henderson-Niles has no comment?

That, in a nutshell, is Pierre Henderson-Niles.

That is the direction that Pierre Henderson-Niles is headed in.

Through Facebook, Twitter, and other public domains, Henderson-Niles has shown a significant lack of humility and maturity by posting both questionable and derogatory statements.

This is the legacy that Pierre Henderson-Niles will leave behind.

Fans won’t remember Pierre Henderson-Niles for his comeback. Fans won’t remember Henderson-Niles for the 80-pound weight loss.

Instead, fans will remember Henderson-Niles for his stupefying behavior.

Fans will remember Henderson-Niles for his lack of participation in the timeout huddle during the Gonzaga game just because Will Coleman, his counterpart, was having a better day on the court.

Which is a shame. Overshadowed by these discrepancies is Henderson-Niles’s unmatched work ethic. Henderson-Niles, who had gotten up to 350 pounds in past years, weighed in at 278 pounds at the beginning of the season. And it’s not like coaches, teammates, and fans didn’t want to see him succeed, either.

Willie Kemp, Henderson-Niles’s teammate of four years, still fully supports him.

“He was a big part of this team. He just had some things going on, but he knows we’re a phone call away,” Kemp said after the UCF win, his first without Henderson-Niles as a teammate. “We know he’s a phone call away. He’s still our teammate and we still love him like a brother.”

However, as big a part Henderson-Niles may have played, the posts on Facebook coupled with a steadily declining attitude proved too much for first-year coach Josh Pastner.

“It was just, we’re going one direction, and he (Henderson-Niles) is going another,” Pastner said.

What could’ve been a success story for Josh Pastner and The University of Memphis has turned into a sad one, plagued by confusion and missed chances.

Four years ago, of course, this sequence was unforeseeable.

“I grew up watching Memphis, and have always wanted to play there,” Henderson-Niles said as he committed to The University of Memphis in August of 2005.

“This is a dream,” he said.

But that dream, for various reasons, never came to fruition.

Now, Memphis fans, teammates, and coaches alike are anxiously waiting to see if he’ll ever wake up from it.

John Martin is a TSR Staff Writer and can be reached by e-mail at

jdmrtin2@memphis.edu .

jdmrtin2@memphis.edu .

jdmrtin2@memphis.edu .

Photo © 2010, Leroy Watson, Jr.

Memphis Tiger basketball fans, spoiled by only 10 losses in three glorious years, are starting to get antsy, as the current edition of the Tigers checks in with a 15-6 record.

Of course, there is also this matter of the conference winning streak that was snapped at 64 games. Though it tied the longest run in NCAA Division I history, some are focusing only on the fact that Memphis did not break the record.

After seven Conference USA tilts this season, Josh Pastner and his Tigers are “only” 5-2.

For a little perspective, though, try on this Pastner quote for size:

“Here’s the bottom line: we’ve got a lot of basketball to be played,” he said emphatically. “We took it right on the chin on Saturday. I know a lot of people in the community are saying, ‘This is just awful.’

“Stop. STOP! You think back in April that we’d be 15-6 at this point, and one game out of first place, and people would be jumping up and down on Beale Street. I mean, those are the facts.”

Care to try to argue with that logic?

With just 10 scholarship players on the roster (including the injured Angel Garcia) and only six players with D-I experience (including Elliot Williams, pictured, whose experience was at Duke, not Memphis), what else, really, would have been a fair expectation for this team?

If anything, the Tigers might be overachievers.

As if Pastner hasn’t been compared to his predecessor enough, it is helpful to consider John Calipari’s maiden campaign at the helm of the basketball program.

The future Hall of Famer struggled to a 10-6 mark in C-USA, and the team only finished 22-15 overall.

Consider, though, that after being dispatched from the C-USA Tournament, 89-79 by old nemesis Cincinnati, Memphis was a mere 17-14 for the year. A run to the NIT Final Four and a win in the final consolation game catapulted the Tigers to their final mark.

Calipari had to make do with one blossoming star (junior power forward Kelly Wise, who often had to play out-of-position at the five spot), some youngsters who struggled more than they shone (Earl Barron, Shyrone Chatman, John Grice, and Scooter McFadgon, chief among them), and a bunch of role players.

Calipari brought in a slew of newcomers for the 2001-’02 campaign. Leading the way was All-Everything guard DaJuan Wagner, who promptly led Memphis to the NIT title.

But don’t think he did it alone. Barron, McFadgon, and Wise were still there, and when mated with the burly low post brute, Chris Massie, the frontcourt shone like new money.

The speedy, erratic Antonio Burks was on board for the NIT champions, too, although he was not a dominant figure on the team at that point. Freshman Anthony Rice brought his three-point range to the table and had a modest impact on the team, as well.

In short, a dramatic infusion of talent also led to a significant upgrade in number of wins (27) and the prestige of being one of only two Division I teams to end their season on a winning note, along with 2001 NCAA Champion, Duke.

That leaves great hope for 2010-’11, but what about the remainder of this season?

With UAB’s weekend loss to UTEP, no one in Conference USA remains undefeated in league play. As Pastner pointed out, the Tigers are just one game out of first place, alone in fourth place behind 6-1 UAB, Tulsa, and UTEP.

Memphis still plays both UAB and Tulsa twice, while the Miners still have to travel to Tulsa, Southern Mississippi, and Marshall, while also taking on UAB twice.

In other words, folks, the conference race is wide open. Memphis is far from dead yet.

“I’m going to try to stay really upbeat and positive,” Pastner emphasized. “We’re as good as anyone in this league. We can beat anyone on any given night, just like anyone can beat us on any given night. That’s the way the league is.”

The coach also projected what record the Tigers—or anyone else, for that matter—would have to achieve in order to win the C-USA regular season title.

“I think 13-3 will probably win the conference,” he said, “Or, at least share a tie of it. Maybe even down to 12-4. But I think 13-3 will at least share a tie for the conference (title).”

Tiger players are trying to bounce back from the loss, knowing that they can ill-afford many more slip-ups in conference play.

“They (SMU) were just a better team (Saturday),” said senior point guard Willie Kemp. “We’ve just gotta find our identity. We’ve lost some games that we should’ve won, so we’ve got to just come together and try to get better.

“We’ve just gotta try to keep everybody positive. (I need to be a) coach off the floor when we’re (not) around the coaches. I’m doing everything I can to keep everybody together, and I try to keep everyone together when (the coaches) are not around.”

Star junior guard Elliot Williams, shackled by SMU and harassed into only six points in the second half of the Mustangs' 70-60 victory, realizes that his team has to keep its collective chin up despite the upset loss.

“The team is let down after a loss like that,” Williams began somberly. “But we’ve got a lot of basketball left. Our goals are still not out of reach. We’ve got to still keep playing ball.”

Some offensive balance would help.

Williams (19), junior guard Roburt Sallie (17), and senior guard Doneal Mack (16) combined for 52 of the Tigers’ 60 points.

That’s right; the other five members of the Memphis rotation combined for eight points.

Even more distressing, though, is the team’s inability to close out opponents in the second half of conference games.

Through seven C-USA matchups, Memphis has outscored the opposition by 50 points (252-202) in the first half. In fact, the Tigers have yet to trail at halftime of a league game this season, the closest being a 39-39 halftime tie with Houston on January 23rd.

The closing period has been a dramatically different story, however. Though Memphis actually increases scoring output to 258 points, the opposition swells forward to 271, leaving Memphis a -13 cumulative score.

Is fatigue a factor?

“Someone asked me the other day, with us not playing a lot of guys, is that catching up to us?” Pastner mused out loud. “And I wonder, because you look at it in conference (play), we are +50 in the first half, and -13 in the second half.

“But I tell our guys, 'I don’t want to hear that as an excuse, because you have the mental and physical abilities that have been given to you to do unbelievable things. It is a privilege. You’ve got to be able to fight through that and suck it up.'”

The next chance to gut out a conference win is Wednesday night at the FedEx Forum against their always-tough rival, the Alabama-Birmingham Blazers. The winner will remain squarely in the forefront of the league race. The loser will be facing the mounting pressure to keep pace in a suddenly competitive Conference USA.

Leroy Watson, Jr. is a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist as well as a credentialed writer for Rivals, assigned to cover the Memphis Tigers for both entities

As if it’s not enough that the Tigers have only 10 scholarship players to begin with, the team is now having to deal with an ever-growing assortment of bumps, illnesses, and injuries.

Against Texas-El Paso, Memphis only played seven, as freshman D.J. Stephens was held out of the game because of illness.

With the high-scoring Houston Cougars calling for a visit this Saturday at the FedEx Forum, Memphis Head Coach Josh Pastner realizes that he will likely have to dig deeper into his bench to give his team its best chance at success.

“If we’ve got to go eight or nine (players), we’ll do what we’ve got to do, whatever it takes to win,” Pastner said at a Friday press conference. “D.J. (Stephens) did not feel well last game. He did not practice for two days, had to have an IV. He was not allowed to play (Wednesday) morning. At game time, he got cleared.

“So he could have played, but I didn’t feel comfortable putting him in. I’ll be honest with you; he hadn’t done anything for about 72 hours. So out of safety for his health, I decided that game was not the game for him.”

Additionally, burly senior post starter Pierre Henderson-Niles played the entire game against UTEP with a dislocated—PHN calls it “broke”—middle finger on his right (shooting) hand.

Henderson-Niles gutted his way to seven points and nine rebounds with the injured digit.

“He’ll be OK; he did practice (Thursday),” Pastner said. “We’ll see how he does (Friday), and we expect him to go (Saturday against Houston). That’s what I’ve been told. But he is banged up.”

Henderson-Niles said he was hurt in a freakish off-court accident.

“I did it before the game Wednesday,” he said. “One of my teammates (Henderson-Niles later fingered fellow senior Willie Kemp) had pushed a door back on it. Right now, it’s broke, but I’ll be OK with it. I’m just gonna wrap it up and try to stick with it.”

Speaking of Kemp, he is playing with a balky left wrist that is iced after every game. He got dinged up in practice about three weeks ago but is playing through it.

Sophomore sensation Elliot Williams tapes his left wrist before games because of a hard fall against Southern Mississippi, and he still wears a brace on his right knee despite proclaiming that the joint is “95 percent.”

Sophomore Wesley Witherspoon, who has scored at a 12.2-points-per-game clip  duringthe last 10 games, including a career-high 22 points on Jan. 13 against East Carolina, suffered a scary spill two games ago against Rice—and he left unable to put weight on his left knee. He did return to the contest, and he showed no signs of complications in the subsequent matchup versus UTEP.

The biggest issue, though, is not so much game performance as it is lack of ability to simulate other teams and be competitive during practice.

“It’s hard; we’ve got seven guys, maybe nine at the most,” PHN said. “Those seven are gonna play a lot of minutes. And it’s hard in practice. We really can’t do too much; we can’t stay on our feet too long.

“So we’ve just gotta do what we can in practice and try to save our legs for the game. But then again, we still gotta stay ready for the team coming up the next game.”

Henderson-Niles does not believe fatigue is an excuse for poor performances.

“This is like the 16th, 17th game of the year (actually No. 19) right here, so there (aren’t) too many things you can say about fatigue or being tired or all that,” he assessed. “We’re just gonna have to stick it out. We do enough running in practice, so we’re gonna be good.”

Williams also doesn’t buy fatigue as a possible reason the team has a difficult time closing out opponents at the end of games.

“It was more (poor) execution,” Williams admitted. “We didn’t execute the game plan right towards the end (versus UTEP). We’ll get better at it.

“A lot of it is being more poised on the offensive end, and also experience, being in that situation. We’ve been in that situation a couple of times now, and you get better with experience.”

The team is coming off a heartbreaking 72-67 loss at home, having clawed its way to within three (70-67) on a clutch long ball from Roburt Sallie with 48.3 seconds left. The coaches are doing all they can to keep the team’s morale high.

“I think Coach Pastner and the rest of the coaching staff have done a good job of explaining that was a tough loss, but at the same time, we’ve got another game (on Saturday),” said Williams. “We’ve got a team that beat UTEP, and it’s gonna be a tough game for us.

“We still can win the conference; we’ve been stressing that. We’ve got a tough run coming up.”

“We can’t have any lingering effects from this carrying over,” Pastner confided. “There’s so much basketball to be played. The conference race is wide open.

“Game by game, we need a positive mental attitude, a positive outlook. Keep it exciting, keep energized, keep passionate about what our goals are. That’s what we’re focused on.”

Henderson-Niles believes some of his teammates are still dwelling on their latest loss.

“I think some guys still (have) a hangover from the loss, but then again, we’ve just got to get used to it. We’ve got to bounce back. We can’t stick on that (loss), we can’t dwell on it. We’ve got to move on.”

Moving on will mean containing Aubrey Coleman, Kelvin Lewis and the explosive Houston Cougars Saturday night. It will be a unique challenge.

Coleman leads the nation in a rather unusual combination of categories: scoring (25.3) and steals (3.3) per game. He is as strong as a bull and rebounds well (7.4 per game), and he has numerous ways to take over a game.

“He’s a pro, there’s no doubt about that,” Pastner says glowingly. “He can just score at any time. He’s able to make threes, he’s able to get into the paint, he makes free throws. He’s a big-time scorer, and that’s why he’s the leading scorer in the country.”

He and Lewis (17 ppg, 4.2 rpg) spearhead a lethal Cougar attack that leads Conference USA in scoring (82.7 ppg) while committing the fewest turnovers (9.3 per outing).

In fact, the Cougars have lowered their turnovers given up in each of the last five seasons. The team is on pace to lead C-USA in scoring and fewest turnovers committed for the second year in a row.

If the Tigers want to make the NCAA Tournament this season, stifling Houston would be a huge—and vital—step in the right direction.

Leroy Watson, Jr. is a Bleacher Report Featured Columnist as well as a credentialed writer for Rivals, assigned to cover the Memphis Tigers for both entities

This article can also be read at memphis.rivals.com