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| Photo Credits to ESPN.com |
The Memphis Tigers stood face-to-face with failure. There
former-Head Coach John Calipari elected to leave the program for Kentucky
following their NCAA Championship loss to the Kansas Jayhawks back in '08.
When that arose, nothing about Memphis' program spelled
success. The Tigers lost their recruits that initially committed to putting on
a Memphis jersey. When Calipari exited most of the recruits trailed him to
Kentucky while one wandered off to the Jayhawks.
That took Memphis out of the nations spotlight and the
story was shaping up to be a sad one about a successful program hitting rock
bottom.
Little did we know, Josh Pastner was there to revive the
program and feasibly make it better than it was foregoing
Coach Pastner was looked on to be a rebuilding coach. He
was hired to a team that had lost three key starters from the year preceding;
not to mention, most of the top recruits decommitted from the program. This
indicated Pastner had to rely on the current players, Miami Dade Junior College
player Will Coleman as well as Duke transfer Elliot Williams.
Just like everyone else, the Tigers proved me wrong. The
Tigers lost the Conference USA streak, didn't make the tournament and didn't
win the conference championship but Memphis fans did see potential in their
newly acquired Head Coach.
As the 09-10' season progressed you could witness how
much Coach Pastner enlightened Williams game. He was a pure combo guard and
Coach Pastner played Williams at each guard position to utilize his
versatility.
Williams was a very key element to the surprise Memphis
brought the NCAA. It wasn't mind-boggling to assume Williams would forgo
another season of College Basketball to turn pro. Coach Pastner had recruited
one of the top players in the class that played the same position and Williams
progressed so much during the season, it wasn't a doubt in Memphis that
Williams wasn't league-bound.
Usually when teams lose a star-player they cringe until
they pinpoint another caliber athlete. However, Memphis already understood who
would step in and fill the void for Williams--Will Barton.
Coach Pastner brought in vaguely the best class this
year. The Tigers have four highly-touted recruits that'll spark the backcourt,
but you can't forget about the other recruits as well because the frontcourt
looks bright with young star Tarik Black.
With most of the summer gone, Memphis looked set with
their nucleus of star-power. However, Memphis basketball took an unexpected
turn.
Freshman guard Will Barton was declared academically
ineligible and that was anything but good news for the Tigers.
With Barton ineligible, the Tigers will have to rely on
Jelan Kendrick to fill Williams void. It's not a bad thing by any means but
Kendrick isn't as explosive or doesn't display the aggressive mentality similar
to Barton.
You'd think the Tigers were over the hurdle but it seems
like they tripped. However, they say "What doesn't kill you only makes you
stronger."
I think that should be Memphis' inspiration this upcoming
season. The Tigers program has been through a lot in the past few years. The
program lost their coach and NCAA infractions were amongst Memphis.
Beforehand, Pastner seemed to have all the solutions to
the problems at Memphis. I assume that he will also overcome the current
situation, despite the loss of talent.
Memphis acquired Joe Jackson, Kendrick, Chris Crawford
and Antonio Barton to play in the backcourt beside Barton (Will).
With the four other guards not named Will Barton
collectively, Witherspoon on the wing, Coleman, Black and Hippolyte Tsafack as
soon as he is eligible, the Tigers will compete at a high-level.
The Tigers are definitely missing a big piece of their
roster without Barton. Barton was endeavored to be the leader, scorer and would
have been looked on in late-game situations.
Playing basketball in 10-11' is not out of the picture.
He has submitted an appeal that might go in favor. Although Barton was the most
talented player in the recruiting class, the depth and talent instilled on
their roster will still be tremendous.
Without Barton they're good but with him, they're really
good! Memphis will have to rely on their recruiting class and experienced
players to fill the role if Barton's appeal doesn't go as planned.
They'll have to step up, show heart, composure and will
to succeed to hurdle Barton's eligibility problems. I assume they will do just
that. They did a decent job with it last season, why not the upcoming season
with more talent on their roster?
