What's plaguing Memphis, and why they needed a two hours team meeting after losing to Georgetown

The final buzzer sounded at just past 9 pm ET as No. 15 Georgetown put the finishing touches on a 70-59 victory over Memphis at the Verizon center, wrapping up what was a crisp, two-hour basketball game.

It wasn't until 10:45 pm, however, that Memphis head coach Josh Pastner finally emerged from his team's locker room in the bowels of the Verizon Center. For the second time in the span of 10 days, the Tigers had a team meeting in an effort to cure what ails them, this one lasting just 15 minutes less than the game itself.

"We just had a team meeting and needed to air a few things out," Memphis head coach Josh Pastner said after the game. "It was the right thing before we got to Christmas break. It was a good open discussion. I love those guys, no one in there is happy to be 6-5. Have we played a tough schedule? Darn right. But we're too good to be sitting at 6-5."
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NCAA backtracks, grants Will Barton eligibility

Two weeks ago, Will Barton was ruled academically ineligible by the NCAA.

Obviously, the kid was devastated. Instead of spending a year playing in front of packed houses at the FedEx Center, Barton had three choices: spend a year playing in the D-League and riding buses from South Dakota to Idaho; skip across the pond and spend the year playing in Europe; or go to class for a year, work out on his own, and get his grades to the point he would be eligible to play in 2011-2012.

None of those are particularly attractive.

Will Barton is eligible!
(photo credit: MemphisRoar)

Barton appealed the ruling, and he caught a break. The NCAA reversed its ruling. Now how often do you see that?

One of the top 20 recruits in the country, Barton's transcripts were called into question after attending multiple high schools. The general consensus seemed to be that Barton's decision to graduate in August of his senior year instead of June is what drew the most scrutiny. According to Dan Wolken, the NCAA found something they missed the first time they reviewed some 2,000 pages of documents.

So congratulations to Will Barton on officially becoming a Memphis Tiger. And congratulations to Josh Pastner, who will have arguably his most talented recruit in uniform this season.

Its nice when a story like this has a happy ending.
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Will Barton speaks to the Memphis Commercial-Appeal

Will Barton is one of the top ten recruits in the country, but due to academic issues he had while in high school, the talented 6'6" wing was declared ineligible by the NCAA.

While Barton did bounce from high school to high school, the biggest issue right now seems to be that he took more than eight semesters to graduate from high school. Barton spent a season at Brewster Academy after graduating high school, so he pushed back his graduation date from June of 2009 to August of 2009, which is a violation of NCAA rules.

To his credit, Barton is taking all the responsibility.

"I got it together my 11th and 12th year, my prep year, but not taking care of business early in life, you can’t blame anyone but yourself," Barton told Dan Wolken of the Commercial=Appeal. "If you have dreams of going to college and playing basketball, you need to think about it early. And that's my fault. I was the one going to school. I should have been doing my work."

Even if Barton loses his scheduled appeal, it does not guarantee that he will never play for Memphis. There is a rule that states if a player is on track academically after his freshman season, he will be eligible for his sophomore year. If Barton decides that he does want to go to college, that is still an option.

His other two choices are heading to Europe and entering the NBDL. Europe may not be the best option, as Jeremy Tyler can attest. Even Brandon Jennings, who has turned into one of the best young point guards in the league, struggled in his one season abroad. If he goes to the NBDL, it will be a strictly basketball decision, as the money made here is significantly less that what can be made in Europe.

Barton has not yet made his mind up.

"All that is going into account with me and my decision," Barton told the C-A. "I could get hurt just walking out the door. I'm hearing there might be a NBA lockout. Who knows what's really going to happen. I really just don’t know. I just need time to think about it, weigh my options and come up with the best solution for me."

You hope that Barton could become a cautionary tale for the kids currently working their way to scholarships in the class of 2012, 2013, and beyond. Go to class, get your grades in order, and graduate high school as a real student, not just an athlete. Its not difficult, its high school. The only excuse is a lack of effort.

I don't want to sound like I'm rooting for Barton to fail. Its the exact opposite, as a matter of fact. I hate seeing kids miss out on their dreams. But if Barton never plays a game for Memphis, and never makes an NBA roster, he becomes the poster boy for why these top recruits need to put in effort in the class room.

Eventually, these kids will realize that they need more than just basketball talent to make it as a college hooper.

Hopefully, Will Barton's story will help other realize that before its too late.

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Will Barton ruled academically ineligible

Josh Pastner's attempt to return the Memphis Tigers basketball team to national prominence has hit a bit of a speed bump.

Will Barton, a consensus top 10 recruit and the jewel of what is arguably the second best recruiting class in the country behind Kentucky, has been ruled academically ineligible by the NCAA. He will be appealing the decision, but according to a source for Gary Parrish -- a Memphis-based writer who wrote for the Commercial-Appeal for years -- winning that appeal is "a longshot".

Based on what we have seen, it is tough to pin down exactly what the issue is. Dan Wolken, a Tigers beat writer, says the core of the problem is that Barton waiting until last August to graduate from high school instead of last June (more than eight semesters), partly in an effort to be eligible for the McDonald's all-american game. Parrish said that, among other things, Barton's transcript is a "total mess". That will happen when you attend four high schools in four years.

And if that doesn't convince you, take a look at what Barton tweeted last night:

(photo credit: RTC)

So what happens to Barton?

There are a number of people out there that believe Barton had a chance to be a one-and-done prospect. If that is the case, then Barton can head to follow Latavious Williams, another former Memphis commit, to the NBDL. He can probably make a bit more money if he headed overseas, but 19 year olds living on their own halfway around the world as professional athletes is not necessarily an easy transition to make. After one season, either in Europe or in the NBDL, Barton would be eligible for the 2011 NBA Draft. His third option is to go the Renardo Sidney route, trying to get eligible for the 2011-2012 season.

Memphis should still be the best team in Conference USA even if Barton never suits up for them. Wesley Witherspoon and Will Coleman are the only returning starters, but with Joe Jackson, Jelan Kendrick, Chris Crawford, and three other talented recruits joining the fold, the Tigers still look like an NCAA Tournament team.

If nothing else, we hope that Barton becomes a cautionary tale. High school is not difficult. Go to class, get your grades, and get eligible. You think Barton is going to regret some of his decisions when he's taking buses from Idaho to Sioux Falls while watching Memphis play in front of 18,000 at the FedEx Forum?

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Maybe Memphis won't miss John Calipari as much as we thought

Josh Pastner came into Memphis with the reputation of being a great recruiter, but this is starting to get absurd.

It started with Will Barton back in June, as Pastner went into Baltimore and snagged the talented 6'6" wing and his brother Antonio.

Next came point guard Joe Jackson, a Memphis native who was all but guaranteed to be a Tiger since the first time he picked up a basketball, who committed early in November.

Both Will Barton and Jackson are top 15 recruits nationally. Put them on the court with Elliot Williams, Will Coleman, and a healthy Angel Garcia, and you got yourself a top 25 team.

But Pastner was far from done.

No doubt Pastner is smiling after this past week.
(photo credit: The Hoops Report)

In October, another Memphis native, 6'4" swing man Chris Crawford who was an AAU teammate of Jackson, committed to the Tigers as well.

But the real fireworks started on signing day last Wednesday. The day kicked off with Pastner landing a commitment from 6'8" forward Hippolyte Tsafack before inking both Barton's and Jackson to their LOI's.

Then on Saturday, another top ten recruit, 6'6" wing Jelan Kendrick from Atlanta, called an impromptu press conference to announce that he had signed a letter of intent with Memphis. This was a big surprise to the recruiting world, as Kendrick had been emphatic that he was bypassing the fall signing period. But Kendrick played with Jackson and Crawford for the Memphis Magic AAU team that won the Adidas Super 64 tournament in Las Vegas, and was convinced by the success they had over the summer that he would have a shot at a national title.

Pastner still wasn't done. Just this afternoon, Tarik Black, a 6'7", 230 lb power forward out of Memphis that also happened to be a member of the Memphis Magic, announced his intentions to play for the Tigers.

All told, Pastner's recruiting class consists of three five-star, two four-star, and two three-star recruits. Assuming everyone returns to school, take a look at this line-up:

• PG - Joe Jackson
• SG - Elliot Williams
• SF - Will Barton
• PF - Tarik Black
• C - Will Coleman
• Bench - Angel Garcia, Hippolyte Tsafack, Jelan Kendrick, Antonio Barton, Roburt Sallie, Wesley Witherspoon, Chris Crawford
  

Pretty talented, huh?

Could the Memphis Magic Elite be the second coming of Michigan State's Flintstones?

With a roster depleted by defections and injuries, next season may not come soon enough for some Memphis fans.
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Will Barton commits to Memphis, Gary Williams loses another local stud

Since taking over the Memphis program in April, Josh Pastner has not had the easiest go of it.

First, John Calipari gutted the Tigers 2009 incoming class. Then, top 20 recruit Latavious Williams, who Pastner got to commit to Memphis, said he may be reconsidering his decision. To top it off, Shawn Taggart, who would have been the Tigers top returning scorer and a focal point of this season's offensive attack, decided not to return to Memphis for his senior season.

And need I mention this little SAT scandal?

Well, things may be turning around for Pastner as he got a commitment from consensus top 10 recruit Will Barton, a 6'6" wing from Baltimore and the top ranked shooting guard in the class of 2010.

Lake Clifton's Will Barton has committed to Memphis.
(photo credit: Baltimore Sun)

Pastner also got a commitment from Will's brother Antonio, another guard in the class of 2010.

While many assumed that it was a foregone conclusion that Will would sign with John Calipari at Kentucky, it seems that Pastner's interest in both Barton's was a deciding factor in their decision (Antonio is a three-star recruit). Barton, who commited during a visit to Memphis for the Tigers Elite camp, was scheduled to visit Kentucky next weekend, but the Wildcats staff had yet to offer a scholarship to Antonio.

There is more to this story, however, as Gary Williams lost another top-tier recruit from his own backyard. College Park, Maryland, is all of 20 minutes from Baltimore, where the Barton's hail from.

One of the more rampant internet rumors last season was that Gary Williams was on the hot seat at Maryland. He has had a string of seasons where the Terps performed below expectations for a team that reached two Final Fours and won a national title this decade. That, and a public tiff he had with his athletics department, seemed to signify that the end was near for Williams.

Williams cooled that talk momentarily as the Terps finished the year strong, making a push at the end of the season (which included a win over UNC) and eventually reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But with Greivis Vazquez possibly staying in the NBA Draft and the odds of Williams landing Lance Stephenson (Maryland is on the short list of schools he is still looking at) looking slim, losing a recruit like Will Barton (who, like Stephenson, had Maryland on his list of possible destinations) is just another strike against the fiery coach.

The DC Metro area is a hot bed of college basketball talent. Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Ty Lawson, and Sam Young (and many, many others) all are originally from the area.

But Williams has been unable to land any of the top tier players from the region of late. While guys like Adrian Bowie (Greenbelt), Dino Gregory (Baltimore), and Sean Mosley (Baltimore) are all talented players capable of competing in the ACC, they are a far cry from being a national player of the year favorite (as Melo, Durant, and Beasley all were).

There is no question that Williams is a fantastic coach; you don't win a national title if you aren't. But great coaching only gets you so far in this day and age. The teams with the most talent, and thus the best recruiting, are the ones that put banners in the rafters.

Simply put, great coaching will win you a game (like Maryland knocking off UNC or Michigan State this past season). Solid coaching with an uber-talented roster will win titles.

Whatever the reason (some have speculated that it is the loss of assistant coaches like Billy Hahn), Gary Williams had been unable to land the star prospects in southern Maryland, and it could end up being his downfall.

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