Podcast: Why must you keeping doing this to yourself Memphis? |
It's time for another special B.I.A.H. Podcast.
Troy Machir has some thoughts about what Memphis is doing right now.
In case you weren't aware, Memphis was going to cancel their non-conference rivalry game with Tennessee. Josh Pastner was pretty adamant about it to the media. But less than 48 hours, the Memphis AD was singing a different tune.
Ugh.
This is such a Memphis-thing for them to do.
#POSTERIZED: Tarik's Black Friday |
Haven't we seen this story before? Josh Pastner recruits the area's finest players, enters season with boatloads of hype, fails to win marquee non-conference games, struggles with expectations.
Same thing can be said for Memphis junior Tarik Black, who enters yet another season with elevated expectations.
Memphis has struggled down in the Bahamas at The Battle 4 Atlantis, losing to VCU 78-65 and to Minnesota 84-75.
No play better emphasized the Tigers recent struggles than this tremendous #POSTERIZED dunk that ended up getting called as a charge.
So much talent, so little executions.
(H/T Run The Floor)
But was it as good as these:
Ben McLemore - Kansas vs. Washington State - 11/20
Andre Roberson - Colorado vs. Murray State, 11/18
Doug Anderson - Detroit vs. Drake, 11/17
Archie Goodwin - Kentucky vs. Lafayette, 11/16
John Brown - High Point vs. Appalachian State, 11/13
Stefan Jankovic - Missouri vs. Alcorn State, 11/14
Cole Dickerson - San Francisco vs. Cal State-East Bay, 11/13
Clancy Rugg - Vermont vs. UConn, 11/13
Jamari Traylor - Kansas vs. Michigan State, 11/13
Doug Anderson - Detroit vs. St. John's, 11/13
Kris Brewer - Kent State vs. Temple, 11/13
Rakeem Christmas - Syracuse vs. San Diego State, 11/11
Deandre Daniels - UConn vs. Michigan State, 11/9
Ben McLemore - Kansas vs. Emporia State, 10/31
Keion Bell - Missouri vs. Northwest Missouri, 10/31
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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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Russ Smith introduces himself to the country |
No. 4 Louisville entered their matchup with Memphis on Saturday as one of the best defensive teams in the country.
Kenpom had them ranked second nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, allowing just 83.6 points per 100 possessions. Translated to raw numbers, only one team had managed to score more than 60 points against the Cardinals this season, and that was the 66 points and fast-breaking Long Beach State managed to post. Hell, Louisville managed to hold Arkansas State to a measly 27 points. Seriously. 27 points. In an entire game.
Its easy to put up defensive numbers like that when you are one of the best in the country at forcing turnovers and forcing opponents to miss shots.
Memphis and Louisville rekindle their rivalry |
There certainly is a lot going on in Louisville on Saturday as Memphis pays the No. 4 Cardinals a visit.
Charles Carmouche will rejoin the Tiger team after he was suspended for four games by the NCAA following a charge of $100 that he put on his hotel room in Maui. Seton Hall transfer Ferrakhon Hall will be eligible as well after sitting out the first six games of the season. Hall will provide some size inside that Memphis desperately needs. They are 281st in the country in OR%, a number that won't be helped by a potentially season-ending injury to DJ Stephens. Louisville will also have Kevin Ware available, even though the freshman was in a boot after rolling his ankle in his first practice.
But all of that?
That's nothing compared to the tradition that will renewed.
Its quite obvious who Louisville's biggest rival is -- yes, Kentucky -- but the same cannot be said for Memphis. Tennessee seems to be the biggest rival these days, but their head coach doesn't even want to play the game anymore. That doesn't exactly scream "rivalry", considering that Xavier and Cincinnati don't want to cancel their series even after a bench-clearing brawl.
Memphians undoubtedly hate Kentucky, but that has more to do with who the head coach is than with any game the two programs have ever played. UAB and Southern Miss may be their, ahem, "rivals" in Conference USA, but rivalries cannot be manufactured by league affiliation.
They can, however, be ruined.
That's what happened with Louisville and Memphis, whose rivalry -- which will be 86 games strong once the final buzzer sounds on Saturday -- has taken two hiatuses. After sharing membership in the Metro Conference and playing each other every season from 1967-68 through 1990-91, the two clubs took a three-year break before they both became members of C-USA. That set up an 11-year stretch -- 1994-95 through 2004-2005 -- where Louisville and Memphis were the cream of a very good crop, staging battles that piqued when Rick Pitino took over Louisville while John Calipari was coaching the Tigers.
Getting these two programs back on the court together is something that should have happened a long time ago.
This is a rivalry in every sense of the word, one that can only have gotten stronger in the past six years. Have you forgotten what happened the last time these two teams were on the court together?
I'll set the stage for you: a brazen freshman point guard named Darius Washington led the Tigers up against Louisville in the C-USA Tournament title game. At the time, Louisville was ranked No. 6 in the country, but Memphis hung with the Cardinals. With just 5.3 seconds left on the clock and down two points, Washington grabbed a missed free throw and went the length of the court, getting fouled while shooting a three. After he hit the first free throw, Washington said to his bench "I got this". He proceeded to miss the next two, crumpling to the ground in tears as the Tigers lost by a single point:
You don't think Memphis fans have wanted to run that back for the better part of the last decade?
They'll get the chance on Saturday.
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The Memphis loss says more than Creighton, Gonzaga or Harvard |
There were five teams ranked in last week's Coaches Poll that came from outside the Power Six conferences: Xavier, Creighton, Memphis, Gonzaga and Harvard. Four of those five -- with the exception of Xavier, depending on how you view the aftermath of their brawl with Cincinnati -- lost this past week.
Harvard's loss, which came on Thursday, is explainable and was expected. There aren't going to be many teams going into Storrs and beating UConn this season. And while the Crimson lost by 14 points, they did so valiantly, answering every UConn surge with a couple of big baskets of their own. As you might expect, Harvard fell out of the rankings this week; that's simply what happens when you lose a game, particularly if your program hails from the Ivy League. But that doesn't mean that there has been a shift in the majority opinion of this team: they are tough and disciplined and have enough talent to win a game or two in the tournament, but they will struggle if they get matched up with a team that has more size and athleticism.
The remaining three teams have some explaining to do:
Creighton: I'm not overly concerned about the Bluejay's 80-71 loss at St. Joseph's on Saturday afternoon. To be frank, this team was overrated at 17th in the country. They don't play enough defense, and it came back to bite them against St. Joe's. Up 35-30 at the half, St. Joe's hit 15-26 from the field in the second half as Tay Jones scored 20 of his 29 points to lead the Hawks to a nine point win.
That wasn't the only issue, either. Doug McDermott played great as usual, finishing with 26 points and 10 boards. But take away the 10-16 that McDermott shot, and the rest of Creighton's lineup was 17-45 from the floor. Creighton also got beat up on the glass, giving up 13 offensive rebounds getting just five. St. Joe's has struggled over the last couple of years, but a talented recruiting class that Phil Martelli brought in last season -- Langston Galloway, CJ Aiken, Ronald Roberts, Daryus Quarles -- is starting to pay dividends. This Hawk team is one of the most improved in the Atlantic 10 this season and a tough team to beat at home. Combine that with an off-night for Creighton, and, well, losses like this happen all the time.
Gonzaga: The Zags ran into a buzzsaw known as Draymond Green. Michigan State's versatile power forward had one of the best games of his career on Saturday night, going off for 34 points as the Spartans knocked off Gonzaga 74-67. Green was the only player on Michigan State to finish the game in double-figures. Michigan State is probably better than they are being given credit for -- they've now won eight in a row since losing to Duke -- but they didn't exactly play like it on Saturday.
That should be concerning for Gonzaga. Why? Because they have a versatile power forward of their own that got eaten alive by Green. Elias Harris finished with just six points and five boards on 2-11 shooting from the floor in 32 minutes. Harris is supposed to be the best player on the Gonzaga team, but he couldn't slow down Green enough for the Bulldgos to win at home on a night when everyone else on Michigan State was strugging? Yes, Robert Sacre and David Stockton played well. Yes, Gonzaga did an admirable job keeping Tom Izzo's club from getting to the offensive glass. That's all impressive.
But until Harris can consistently be a strength for Mark Few's team, the Zags are always going to have question marks.
Memphis: The Tigers, without a doubt, have the most to worry about from this group. While Murray State is a far cry from being a bad team, Memphis should never lose to the Racers at home. Not with that team and not on their home court. Its clear that Josh Pastner is in over his head trying to coach these guys.
They've already begun to take away from Joe Jackson's ball-handling responsibilities. One of the most talented point guards in the country, Jackson is now spending just as much time as an off-guard, allowing Chris Crawford to be the one. Wesley Witherspoon has reverted back into his old self. Tarik Black fouls too much. No one on the team knows how to box out and, despite having as much size and athleticism as anyone they are going to play this season, no one on the roster -- save for maybe Will Barton -- has any desire to go and get an offensive rebound.
Frankly, outside of Barton, it doesn't seem like anyone on the Tigers has any desire period. Josh Pastner is a terrific recruiter, but if he cannot get the kids he brings in to play for him, it will cost him his job eventually.
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Memphis has its issues, but Tennessee is better than we thought |
This post can also be found at Beyond the Arc.
Maybe now we know why Josh Pastner won't schedule Tennessee.
Memphis, who came into the Maui Invitational as one of the favorites, lost to Michigan in the first round as the Wolverines ran offense and defense that was simply too complex for them. In Tuesday's bounce back game against Tennessee, the Tigers opened up a 14 point first half lead, but were never able to put away the Vols. Jeronne Maymon, who finished with 32 points and 20 rebounds (the last three players to go for 30 and 20 were Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley) in what can probably be deemed a breakout game, tied the game at the end of regulation on a swooping drive to the rim, but the Tigers pulled away in the second overtime and held on to win.
Barely.
Before I get into the issues with Memphis, let me get this out there -- Tennessee is not as bad as you think they are. They might even be a top six team in the SEC. Trae Golden is a talent at the point, and while he didn't shoot well against Memphis, he still managed to dish out seven assists without turning the ball over. Jordan McRae and Cam Tatum are talented perimeter players that are both capable of providing a scoring pop. Tennessee has a big front line that can play physical.
And, of course, there is Maymon. The 6'7" combo-forward has gotten himself into shape, and when he's playing like he did today, he's a force. He's strong enough and aggressive enough to work on the glass, but he's has enough perimeter skills to knock down a jumper and put the ball on the floor and get to the rim. The basket that tied the game in regulation came as Cuonzo Martin ran Maymon off of a down screen. The kid will be a matchup nightmare as long as he is buying into the offense.
Most importantly, however, Martin has gotten this team to play hard and play tough. They embody the persona of their coach, and that's a good thing with their new head coach.
Memphis is going to have issues all season long. From a talent perspective, I'm not sure that there are five teams that are better than them.
The issue isn't talent, however. To be frank, I'm not sure that this team has much, if any, basketball smarts. They don't know how to play. The loss they suffered to Michigan is evidence of that. The Tigers were clueless against the offensive sets that the Wolverines ran and couldn't function against the junk zone that John Beilein runs.
Against Tennessee, Memphis took a big first half lead because the Vols let them thrive off of their talent. Memphis was forcing turnovers and getting out in transition. They turned it into a glorified AAU game, and that's where they are effective. But in the second half, as Tennessee gained control of the tempo and turned the game into a half court dog fight, the Vols were able to fight back.
The biggest issue is that I'm not sure the Tigers have the coaching staff to really teach these kids how to play or convince them play within a defined system. Josh Pastner is a terrific recruiter, but in terms of x's-and-o's, the youthful head coach still has a ways to go. His assistants aren't much better. He has two NBA players in Damon Stoudamire and Luke Walton and a third assistant in Jack Murphy that is also known as a recruiter.
Until Memphis learns things like what a good shot is and what a bad foul is -- or, most importantly, how to consistently give great effort for 40 minutes -- the Tigers are going to be a group of underachievers.
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2011-2012 Top 50 Countdown: No. 7 Memphis Tigers |
Over the coming weeks, we will be counting down our Top 50 teams in the country. Teams 26-50 will be posted in groups of five, while we will count backwards from No. 25 to the No. 1 team in the country. You can find a complete schedule of our 2011-2012 Season Preview coverage here. To browse through the rest of the Top 50, click here.
Last Season: 25-10, 10-6 (4th Conference USA), lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Arizona
Head Coach: Josh Pastner
Key Losses: Will Coleman, Angel Garcia
Newcomers: Adonis Thomas, Stan Simpson
Projected Lineup:
- G: Joe Jackson, So.
- G: Charles Carmouche, Sr.
- G: Will Barton, So.
- F: Wesley Witherspoon, Sr.
- C: Tarik Black, So.
- Bench: Adonis Thomas, Fr.; Stan Simpson, Jr.; Chris Crawford, So.; Antonio Barton, So.; DJ Stephens, Jr.; Ferrakhon Hall, Jr.
Outlook: The Tigers were one of the most enigmatic teams in the country last season. Boasting a roster that was made up of primarily freshmen, the Tigers suffered through the ups-and-downs that come with that much youth. They struggled against inferior competition throughout the non-conference portion of their schedule and lost games they had no business losing during league play. Some of that was the result of a lack of leadership from their upperclassmen. Some of it was due to midseason defections. Some of that disappointment was due to expectations that far outweighed what should be expected of a group of kids playing their first season of college basketball. And, spreading the blame to everyone in the program, some of it was the result of having a greenhorn running the program in the form of second-year head coach Josh Pastner.
It all came together for the Tigers in the conference tournament, however, and Memphis earned themselves a trip to the NCAA Tournament when Joe Jackson knocked off UTEP in a de facto road game by hitting two free throws late in the C-USA title game. It was the culmination of a long and trying season for Jackson, who came into school with the most pressure of the entire freshmen class. He was the most heralded recruit in a long time to make the decision to play at home, in front of his hoops-crazed city. People were expecting greatness from the second he stepped on the court, and it took Jackson a while to adapt to that pressure. He struggled to get consistent minutes during the middle of the year, he struggled to shoot the ball throughout the year and he end the season with more turnovers than assists. But Jackson really came on strong during the Conference USA Tournament. While he's an ultra-quick lead guard that can put up big scoring numbers, Jackson is going to be asked to be a facilitator as much as anything this year. I'm expect a big season out of him.
Joining Jackson in the back court is Will Barton. Barton is an intriguing player for Memphis. He has all the physical tools to be a star -- he's a 6'6" two-guard with long arms, quickness and explosiveness, a decent-looking jump shot and the ability to do a lot of different things on a basketball court. Barton's issue, however, stems from his decision-making. Will he ever learn the difference between a good shot and a bad shot? Will he stop settling for tough pull-up jumpers? Has he learned to protect the ball? Barton is a terrific rebounder for his position, his a playmaker on the defensive end of the floor and he's a talented slasher that can hit an open three. If he plays within himself and stop trying to be the next Kobe Bryant, and Barton will be one of the best wings in the country.
The rest of the perimeter attack will be rounded out by a very solid group of guards in senior Charles Carmouche and sophomores Chris Crawford and Antonio Barton. Carmouche will likely get the start -- he started 28 games last year -- but both Crawford and Barton will see significant minutes off the bench. Barton is the biggest surprise of the group. He came in with the reputation of being not much more than his brother's brother, but he proved to be the best scoring option at the off-guard spot. He's a lights-out three point shooter and made a number of big shots throughout the year. Carmouche hit a couple big shots of his own last season, and while he's not as dangerous as Barton beyond the arc, he's still a very good shooter and the best fit within a system. Crawford is the best defender and playmaker of the three, he's also a bit of a gunner (147 threes, 29.9% clip) and a turnover machine (he led the team in assists, but turned the ball over more than twice a game).
The front court is where this team gets interesting. We'll start with Tarik Black, a 6'8" sophomore that didn't come in with much hype as a freshman. But by the end of the season, he was in the starting lineup and was easily the most consistent front court presence Pastner had at his disposal. He plays hard, he goes after the glass as well as anyone in the conference and he blocks shots and defends with a toughness around the rim. Black needs to work on his feel for the game -- passing out of the post, staying out of foul trouble, a soft touch, his hands -- but the consensus around the Memphis program is that Black, not Jackson or Barton, is going to be the guy that breaks out this season. There is legitimate speculation from people that would know these things that Black will be the Player of the Year in the conference this season.
Adonis Thomas and Wesley Witherspoon will both be spending quite a bit of time alongside Black on the Memphis front line. Both are incredibly versatile players that should, in theory, be able to be on the court at the same time, giving Pastner the option of playing Thomas at the three and Will Barton at the two. That's a big lineup. Thomas is a 6'6" combo-forward that some believe is the best prospect in the Class of 2011. He's big and physical enough to overpower a smaller defender, but he's got three point range and the quickness and ball-handling to blow past a bigger defender on the perimeter. That should compliment Witherspoon's game well. Witherspoon struggled to deal with expectations last season. There was talk that he could end up being a lottery pick with a big year. But after knee issues wiped out the early part of the season, Witherspoon struggled with his maturity and failed to embrace the role of leader. He was suspended, lost his spot in the starting lineup, and fizzled out by the end of the season. As a senior this year, it appears he is buying into the program, that he wants to be nothing more than a cog in the Memphis machine. And given his skill-set and all-around ability, he will be quite effective.
There is plenty of depth in the front court as well. Stan Simpson was originally an Illinois-commit. He's on campus and will provide size off the bench. Seton Hall transfer Ferrakhon Hall will be eligible in December and will provide some length, athleticism and shot-blocking ability. Drew Barnham and DJ Stephens give Paster athleticism and versatility off the bench as well.
All the pieces are there for Memphis this season. They have as much talent, top-to-bottom, as any team outside of UNC, Kentucky, UConn and Ohio State. The question for the Tigers is figuring out a way to get all the pieces to fit together. Will Jackson handle the pressure of playing in his hometown? Will Thomas? Can Will Barton and Witherspoon find a way to be players within a system, instead of players that need a system to revolve around them? Is Black as good as advertised?
Perhaps the most important question -- is Pastner prepared for this task? Anything short of a Conference USA title and a trip past the NCAA Tournament's first weekend will be a major disappointment for this group.
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There's a reason that college basketball players are in such good condition |
Every team at every level of college basketball has some form of 'Hell Week'.
When I was in college, Hell Week was the first week of official practices in mid-October. That week always ended up being the same week as our Fall Break, meaning that our coaches had free reign at us without having to worry about class schedules. Obviously, that meant double sessions. The mornings consisted of conditioning -- sprints, two-mile runs, weights, plyos -- all before lunch. The afternoons were reserved for our actual practices, which were just as intense and physically demanding. Six days of this was brutal.
That, however, seems like a cakewalk compared to the 6 am Navy SEAL training Shaka Smart has his players going through. From CBSSports.com's Matt Norlander:
Frankly, any conditioning workouts you go through early in the season are going to be brutal, whether they are based on Navy SEAL training or not. That Navy SEAL factor only adds to the level of anxiousness the players have when they crawl into bed early in order to be able to wake up for pre-dawn bear crawls. (If you have never done a bear crawl, try doing a lengthy sprint crawling on your hands and feet, not your hands and knees. Not fun.) . But the cool part about VCU's workout are that everyone on the staff -- including head coach Shaka Smart all the way down to the Director of Basketball Operations -- is taking part. Its a team building exercise, learning to overcome adversity and legs made of gelatin as a team.
The workouts go from 6:30 to 8 a.m., though can feel three times as long. Burgess said at some points it was absolutely brutal, as you’d imagine. I spoke to him early Wednesday morning, and he sounded tired as hell.
“We carried each other, did a lot of push-ups,” Burgess said. There was also ab work, tug-of-war and sled-tugging. Wednesday morning was more individual workouts. “We had to run, do bear crawls, crab walking. It was a lot of long-distance running. ... He’s trying to get our mental aspects of the game right. He teaches us to battle fatigue just like our coaches have all along."
The hiring of Luke Walton is an example of why Josh Pastner will be successful |
Josh Pastner is a smart guy.
Like really, really smart.
You see, after he failed to lure Tim Grgurich -- an NBA assistant coach -- to join his Memphis program, he found himself in a bit of a predicament. It was half past August, and Pastner hadn't completed his coaching staff. He went far enough to say that he was strongly considering heading into the season with just two assistants on his staff.
Just about everyone with an opinion -- and a venue to voice that opinion -- urged Pastner to hire someone. Anyone. We said that he should sign some shlep to go around the country sitting in high school gyms with a Memphis shirt on to "scout" the kids the Tigers were targeting. Gary Parrish went a step further by saying that Pastner should hire the father of one of those recruits onto his staff. Package deals are still alive and well so long as the new coach ends up as an official assistant coach.
Pastner did us all one better. He hired Luke Walton. As in the son of Bill, current Laker forward Luke Walton.
That's genius.
And that's why its tough to picture a future where Pastner isn't running one of the best programs in the country.
Purely as a basketball coach, John Calipari isn't great. He's very, very good, but he's not Dean Smith. Or Bobby Knight. Or John Wooden. He's not the kind of hoops tactician that can revolutionize how the game is played. Think about it like this: if your team is playing for the national title and you can pick any coach in the country to be on the sideline during that game, where do you pick Coach Cal? Off the top of my head, he's behind at least Tom Izzo, Mike Krzyzewski and Brad Stevens. Maybe Jim Calhoun and Jim Boeheim as well. Is he taken before the Roy Williams' and the Billy Donovan's off the world? Would you consider him a better coach than a Jamie Dixon or a Bo Ryan, the kind of coach that can win despite being as a talent disadvantage?
What makes Coach Cal so successful is his ability to recruit. And that ability to recruit at unheard of levels is a perfect storm of Coach Cal's moxie and salesmanship on the recruiting trail, the zealots that make up Big Blue Nation and pack every home game, and his NBA Draft track record.
More importantly, however, is that Coach Cal has embraced things that other coaches haven't. He's outspoken about the fact that he wants his players on a fast track to the NBA. He came up with the idea of holding a pro-day for the guys from his program that were considering entering the NBA Draft this past April. The two Kentucky Legends games that he scheduled last week were so popular that Kansas has decided to piggy-back off of that idea.
In other words, Coach Cal understands what kids want, and he is creative and innovative enough in his recruiting to build a unique pitch to the players he targets.
The apple didn't fall far from the tree for the guy that replaced Coach Cal at Memphis.
Pastner has built a coaching staff that would rival any in the country in terms of their NBA experience. Luke Walton has played alongside Kobe Bryant, has been coached by Phil Jackson, and has two rings and played in the NBA Finals four times. Walton, who will be able to break his contract with Memphis as soon as the lockout is over, is probably trying to prepare himself of a coaching career after his playing career ends (which could be sooner rather than later, as he has been banged up the last two seasons). Walton was also a member of Arizona back when Pastner was still a spritely young assistant coach in 2003.
But Walton isn't the only guy on the staff with NBA experience. Damon Stoudamire, who played in the league for 13 years, and Jack Murphy, who was an advanced scout with the Nuggets, round out his staff. At 37 years old, Stoudamire is the oldest member of the staff.
The kids that Memphis targets are, generally speaking, going to have the potential to be NBA players. They are going to be competing with the best programs in the country for kids like Will Barton, Adonis Thomas, Jarnell Stokes and Archie Goodwin. By putting together a young staff -- a staff with significant NBA experience and extensive first-hand knowledge of the pro game -- Pastner has built an innovative and fairly unique recruiting pitch.
Blue-chip high school players want to be turned from talented youths to successful pros.
Who better to do that than a 13-year NBA veteran point guard, a current NBA forward that has spent years learning from Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson, and a guy that was paid to evaluate NBA talent for a living.
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Memphis, Josh Pastner avoid a violation |
Josh Pastner and the Memphis Tigers sidestepped a recruiting violation over the weekend.
You see, while a longshot, Memphis is still in the mix for the Class of 2012's No. 1 recruit Shabazz Muhammad. But according to an interview with the Duke website Devil's Illustrated from the summer of 2010, Memphis was "calling and calling and calling" Muhammad. Since it was before the start of Muhammad's senior season, Memphis should have only been allowed to call Muhammad or his family once a month. Kyle Veazey of the Commercial Appeal explains:
Muhammad's claim that the Tigers were "calling and calling and calling" prompted a question from the NCAA's Basketball Focus Group, an arm of the enforcement division formed in 2008 to gather information and explore potential violations in the sport.Once again, we are given a glimpse of the inanity of the contact rules in college basketball. Memphis is quite obviously -- or was, at the time -- pursuing Muhammad. But since his dad is a basketball coach in the high school ranks, the Tigers (as well as any other team smart enough to find that loophole) had a way around that one-call-per-month rule.
[...]
The U of M's most significant response to the BFG came in an Oct. 28, 2010, letter. In it, the school acknowledged its staff had made multiple calls to Muhammad's father, Ron Holmes. But since Holmes is a high school and AAU coach, the U of M says, the calls were permitted under a pair of two-decade-old interpretations of NCAA rules that allow calls to coaches who are parents if the calls are about evaluations and not soliciting the son to sign with the school.
The U of M said its staff wasn't talking to Holmes about Muhammad but about other prospects or topics.
Josh Pastner should fill his allotment of assistant's |
This post can also be found at Beyond The Arc.
Josh Pastner would be foolish not to hire a third full-time assistant to his staff.
College basketball coaches are robots. Between the time they spend recruiting, watching film, designing practice schedules -- you know, doing the things that coaches do -- and making sure to spend time with their families, most of these guys are already running on a handful of hours of sleep a night during the season.
Pastner has a reputation for being a workaholic with an aversion to rest. If he decides to be the "head coach and assistant", as he told Jason Smith of the Commercial Appeal, it will be like setting the deck so the guy with the big stack of chips flops a full house.
"I'm not going to hire someone just to hire someone," Pastner told Smith. "If we've got to go with a smaller staff, we'll deal with it. Everyone's got to pick up more responsibility and get the job done."
I'm sure that the Memphis staff can manage building game plans and running practices and winning games without an extra member on the staff. But what about recruiting? During the season the season, the Memphis coaching staff still has to get out on the road and watch the kids they are recruiting.
Why not use that third assistant's position to hire someone strictly for recruiting purposes? He doesn't have to speak in practice. He doesn't have to help break down film. All he really needs to do is take four or five Memphis shirts on the road with him and show up at some high school games during the season. Let the kids like Jarnell Stokes or Archie Goodwin -- you know, those really, really good high school seniors that are considering Memphis -- know just how interested you are.
Not having that third assistant on the road recruiting during July already put them at a disadvantage. Its like playing pick-up at the park -- if you show up with three of your friends, you aren't going to play 5-on-4. You'll pick up a fifth even if he does look like this.
Gary Parrish has a better idea. He says that Pastner should hire the father of one of the recruits they are chasing. As long as it is to one of the three official assistant positions, its legal to hire a father to sign his son.
Either way, Pastner would be silly not to take advantage of that third assistant's spot.
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Josh Pastner doesn't want to play Tennessee |
Josh Pastner made some waves on Monday during an interview he gave with Josh Ward and Will West on WNML-AM 990.
"I have no desire to play Tennessee," Pastner said. "I don't think it does us any good. I'm just being honest with you. For us, it’s a game that, I don't know why we play it, but we play it because the athletic director wants me to play it and he’s my boss and what he says goes."
After taking a three-year hiatus, the Vols and the Tigers have played every season since 2005-2006. They are currently scheduled to play this season and in 2012-2013, but beyond that the series is in doubt.
For Pastner, the issue comes down to recruiting. He wants to own Memphis, which is a hotbed of high school hoops. Proof? The YOMCA AAU program just won the 16U Peach Jam while the 17U team made it to the finals, where they lost to BABC and their seven high-major prospects. The current Tiger team has seven Memphis natives on the roster -- including star point guard Joe Jackson and starters Chris Crawford and Tarik Black -- while the jewel of their 2011 recruiting class, Adonis Thomas, is another hometown star.
Simply put, Pastner doesn't want to give Tennessee any kind of advantage recruiting the city.
And while that is understandable, in practice the Vols haven't had much success recruiting in the city. Only two players have signed with Tennessee from Memphis. One was Dane Bradshaw, a career-role player. The other was Chris Jones, who backed out of his LOI when Bruce Pearl was fired and is now headed to Florida to play at a JuCo.
Its silly to be arguing about this.
One game played every other year between Memphis and Tennessee in Memphis is going to have zero effect on recruiting. None. If a kid from Memphis -- which may be the tightest basketball community in the country -- really wants to play in front of Memphis fans, he will sign with Memphis. That's a fact.
But its also true that Tennessee and Memphis wasn't exactly a huge rivalry until Bruce Pearl and John Calipari came to town. Prior to that, the big game every season was against Louisville, when the two programs were bitter Conference USA rivals. That game has been renewed, which makes one wonder whether, with the loaded non-conference schedule that the Tigers always seem to play, the Tennessee game has become expendable.
It would be a shame to see a game as entertaining for the fans as Tennessee-Memphis is to be lost over recruiting issues.
But as long as the Memphis-Louisville rivalry continues, I'm sure that Tiger fans will be fine.
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POSTERIZED: Joe Jackson with a nasty dunk in a loss |
The USA U-19 team got lit up by Lithuania over the weekend, losing 101-72.
That's embarrassing. I don't care how good Lithuania's 19 year olds are. We are America. We shouldn't lose in basketball, period. A 29 point loss is like my beer league softball team beating the Yankees.
We got a measure of revenge, however*, as Joe Jackson threw down a nasty dunk in transition (go to the 2:05 mark):
*(Actually, we got no revenge. None. We lost by 29 in basketball to another country. That should never, ever, EVER happen.)
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Derrick Williams preserves Arizona's win with a controversial block |
Jim Burr was the official in charge during the disaster that was the ending of the St. John's-Rutgers game in the Big East Tournament.
Its only fitting that in his first game officiating in the NCAA Tournament he would be embroiled in controversy.
With 7.0 seconds left, Momo Jones hit two free throws to put Arizona up 77-74. Sean Miller's philosophy has always been to foul when up three points, and he didn't stray, putting Joe Jackson on the line for two shots with 4.6 seconds left. After hitting the first, Jackson missed the second. The rebound bounced around before ending up in Wesley Witherspoon's hands. But Derrick Williams came out of nowhere and tossed Witherspoon's game-winning layup attempt.
Game over. Arizona won 77-75.
The problem?
It looked like Witherspoon had gotten fouled, and more than once. On the rebound, Jamelle Horne pushed Witherspoon and knocked him off-balance. And when you take a look at the slow-motion replay, it looks as if Derrick Williams makes solid contact with Witherspoon's elbow before he blocks the shot.
"At one point, he was wide open," Williams said. "I knew he wasn't going to shot fake it because there wasn't enough time on the clock, so I just went up trying to make a hard play on the ball like coach always tells us to do.
"Good thing it wasn't a foul."
If you want to complain about the Horne push not being called, I'm fine with that. It knocked Witherspoon off-balance and he couldn't get any vertical explosiveness on the shot.
But don't complain about the foul on Williams' block. Its very, very close, even when using the replay. And when a slow-motion, HD replay is needed to determine that the foul is close, then its difficult to expect a referee to be able to make that call live.
If that foul is called, you're telling me there wouldn't be just as much outrage the other way? You're telling me that Arizona fans wouldn't be claiming that Burr assumed a foul or expected contact?
Either way, a close call that decides a game is going to upset someone. For my money, if you need to see the HD, slow-motion replay to determine that a foul "probably" should have been called, there really isn't a valid complaint about a no-call.
This isn't the first time that we have had a game-saving block shrouded in controversy. Yesterday, it was Kenneth Faried's block on a Mike Marra three point attempt as Morehead State hung on to upset Louisville. Back in February, Williams blocked a shot by Darnell Gant in a win over Washington that many believed was a goaltend.
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Dancing with the Stars: Memphis |
For our capsules for every auto-bid, click here.
Conference: Conference USA
Record: 25-9, 10-6
Rankings: 92 (KenPom), 72 (Sagarin), 81 (RPI)
Potential Seed: 10/11
Best Players: Will Barton (12.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.8 apg), Joe Jackson (9.6 ppg, 3.0apg), Tarik Black (9.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
Big Wins, Bad Losses: Memphis actually has 13 top 100 wins, but the only top 100 wins outside of their league have been Gonzaga and Miami FL. The Tigers also have a couple of ugly losses -- SMU, East Carolina, Rice -- which, combined with their close wins against mediocre competition, throws into question just how good this team really is.
Tendencies: Memphis is a team with a lot of young, athletic players, and they play like it. They are pretty good defensively, ranking 60th in the country in defensive efficiency, and a lot is a result of their ability to make plays on the defensive end of the floor. They block shots and they creates steals, but they also gamble and expose their defense. Offensively, this team has battled selfishness problems. As talented as these youngsters are, they don't really understand team play just yet. There is a lot of 1-on-1 on that end and not enough ball movement or three point shooting.
How They Got There: Memphis struggled during non-conference play, allowing teams like Northwestern State, Arkansas State, and Texas A&M-CC to hang around much longer than they should. They jumped out to a 5-1 started in C-USA play, but finished the year just 5-5, losing three of their last five games. As the four seed in the tournament, the Tigers beat Southern Miss in the first round. They beat East Carolina (who made their path infinitely easier by upsetting one seed UAB) before riding the coattails of Joe Jackson to the league's automatic bid.
Outlook: Honestly? I don't have an answer. Memphis has the talent on their roster to be able to make if out of the first weekend. Do I think they will? No. There is something missing with this team. They are too inconsistent from game to game and possession to possession.
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Joe Jackson leads his hometown's team to the NCAA Tournament |
You have to feel good for Memphis point guard Joe Jackson.
The consensus top 25 freshman and Memphis native was expected to be the guy that carried the Tigers return to glory this season, but things hadn't gone quite as planned. For a month down the stretch of the season, the freshman struggled, as freshman are wont to do.
And it weighed on him.
In a basketball town like Memphis, the natives tend to get restless. And when a native son is struggling, you know there are going to be people in your ear.
Which is why this win has to feel so good for Jackson, as well as the Tigers.
Memphis was down double digits for much of the second half, but Jackson and fellow freshman and Memphis native Chris Crawford sparked the comeback. It was Crawford's three that tied the game at 65. And after a UTEP free throw, it was Jackson drawing a foul with 7.8 seconds left and hitting both foul shots that sent the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament.
More impressive?
This was a road game. The Conference USA Tournament was played in El Paso. Memphis beat UTEP in the title game. For a team led by a group of freshmen, that is quite a feat.
The Tigers struggled down the stretch of the season, which is why they needed this win to ensure that they would be participating in the NCAA Tournament, but you shouldn't immediately write this team off. They will probably end up being placed somewhere in the 10-11 seed range. And they have the talent to win at least a game.
The Tigers won 13 games against top 100 teams this season. They also went 13-1 in games decided by five points or less. This team had a habit of playing to the level of their competition, but they did beat some quality opponents and they won some close games.
It also needs to be mentioned that, despite all of the issues that Memphis, Butler, and Gonzaga have had this season, all three programs will be headed back to the NCAA Tournament courtesy of their leagues auto-bids.
That should be a testament to the quality of the programs at those three schools.
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1/24 - College Hoops Week in Review: Buzzer Beaters galore |
Game of the Week: UConn 61, Villanova 59
This week was rife with buzzer beaters, but perhaps the most significant one came from UConn's all-everything point guard Kemba Walker. Villanova's Corey Fisher had tied the game at 59 with 22 seconds left on the clock, and after a UConn timeout, Walker sent the Wildcats back to Philly with a loss thanks to this shot:
Villanova looked like they were pulling away when an Antonio Pena jumper pushed the Wildcat lead to 45-48 at the nine minute mark, but UConn came back. It was a 14-3 run, sparked on the defensive end and capped by a Jeremy Lamb layup with just over three minutes left, that got the Huskies back in the lead. They were up 59-54 with 48 seconds left after two Walker free throws, but Corey Fisher scored five straight points to tie the game and set up the final possession.
Memphis and Indiana State's exciting weeks: Like I said, there were numerous significant buzzer beaters this week -- JaJuan Johnson and Brian Williams can attest to that -- but the games that Indiana State and Memphis played probably resulted in the most chewed finger nails per fan of any program in the country this week.
Indiana State: For the Sycamores, it started with a Tuesday night visit from conference-leading Missouri State. It was a back and forth contest for 40 minutes, but with 4.9 seconds left on the clock, Indiana State had the ball down 69-67. It was inbounded to Jake Kelly, who has battled injuries the past two seasons, and he drove and scored with 0.6 seconds left. Kelly also drew a foul and calmly knocked down the free throw for the 70-69 win:
And that might not have been their wildest game of the week. On Saturday, the Sycamores went into Charles Koch Arena to take on Wichita State, who was a game behind both Missouri State and Indiana State for first in the MVC standings. ISU over came a 10 point second half deficit to take a two point left, but JT Durley tied the game with seven seconds left to force OT. In the first OT, ISU was down eight points, but managed to force a second overtime on a Kelly layup with 24.5 seconds left. Toure' Murry forced the third overtime with a free throw with 8.8 seconds left. In the final OT, a Ben Smith three game WSU a 84-83 lead, and the Shockers would score the next nine points to win 93-83 in triple OT.
Memphis: The Tigers had their own wild week. Still playing without Wesley Witherspoon (one game he was suspended, the other he was injured), the Tigers went 2-0 this week with a couple of fantastic finishes. On Wednesday night, Memphis dug themselves an 18 point hole against Southern Miss. The Tigers fought their way back into the game, and even took a 71-66 lead at one point. The Golden Eagles responded with an 8-2 run, setting up this ending:
Against UAB on Saturday, the Tigers pulled out an exciting overtime game that had a wild last two minutes of regulation. UAB took a 64-62 lead with 1:55 left, but a Tarik Black three point play gave Memphis the lead back. Jamarr Sanders answered with a strong drive and finish, but Will Barton buried a three with 55 seconds left as the Tigers went ahead 68-66. After UAB tied the game up, Barton banked in an off-balance thirty-footer, but he was called for a travel before he got the shot off. In the OT, Memphis didn't allow UAB to score until there were 37 seconds left, but some horrific free throw shooting down the stretch allowed the Blazers two shots to tie on their final possession:
Four OT Madness -- Utah Valley outlasts North Dakota: This one was wild.
Players of the Week: Isaiah Thomas and Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Washington
The Huskies have long been considered the favorite to win the Pac-10, but this week they erased any doubt that their slip-up at Stanford created. U-Dub took care of Arizona and Arizona State at home this week, largely due to the play of these two young men. Thomas has been the best point guard in the country in the month of January. He's averaging 20.2 ppg, 9.2 apg, and 4.2 rpg while gathering 11 steals and posting an assist-to-turnovers ratio of 3:1. That time frame also happens to coincide with the loss of Abdul Gaddy to an acl injury. Thomas has always been a streaky player, but his talent has never really been questioned. Maybe the move to the point and more time with the ball in his hands is what he needed to jump start his season. For the week, he averaged 20.5 ppg, 9.0 apg, and 6.0 rpg.
MBA has developed into a monster in the paint, and showed why this week. Against Arizona and Derrick Williams, he had 18 points, seven boards, and three blocks, and while Williams outplayed him on the stat sheet -- 22 points, 11 boards -- the fact that MBA was able to get Arizona's all-american into foul trouble down the stretch was a big reason Washington pulled away late. On Saturday against Arizona State, MBA had a career-high 30 points and was, again, instrumental in the Huskie's late surge to hold on for the win.
Both MBA and Thomas are not only both playing as well as they have all season, but they seem to have developed a nice connection on the court. Thomas is looking for MBA when he drives, and MBA is getting open and finishing the passes he receives. The more I watch Washington, the more I believe this is a team capable of making a deep tournament run. With Thomas, MBA, and the bevy of wing players on this Washington roster, Lorenzo Romar has plenty of weapons on this team.
The All-they-were-good-too team:
Team of the Week: Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns firmly entrenched themselves in the debate for the best team in the Big XII, and as a Final Four favorite, with their two wins over top ten opponents this week. On Wednesday, the 'Horns hosted Texas A&M and blew them out of the water, opening up an early 20-5 lead and never seriously getting challenged after that. Then on Saturday, Texas went into Phog Allen Fieldhouse, a place that Kansas had not lost in 69 games, and came back from 15 down in the first half to beat the Jayhawks.
What makes Texas so good this season is their defense. Jordan Hamilton and J'Covan Brown are not exactly elite defenders just yet, but they are much improved over last season. Cory Joseph is long for a point guard and not afraid to get out and pressure on the perimeter, while Dogus Balbay is one of the best on the ball defenders in the country. Combine that with big guys like Tristan Thomspon and Alexis Wangmene to protect the rim and Gary Johnson to clean up the misses, and Rick Barnes crew has settled into a nice defensive rhythm. More important, however, is that this season, in stark contrast to last year, everyone on this Texas team has a clearly defined role. The fact that their best offensive lineup is able to lock up defensively is another big change from last season. Believe it. These 'Horns are for real.
Who had a good week:
Who struggled this week:
Matchups of the Week:
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Charles Carmouche lifts Memphis to a win at Southern Miss |
Memphis, playing without suspended forward Wesley Witherspoon for the second straight game, got a bit of veteran leadership from an unlikely source on Wednesday night.
Charles Carmouche, a junior guard that is only at Memphis because his previous school -- New Orleans -- is going to Division III, hit a three off of a terrific pass from Joe Jackson with 1.2 seconds left on the clock to give Memphis a 76-75 win over Southern Miss and move the Tigers to 3-1 in league play.
"I told them we are going to shoot a three regardless," Memphis head coach Josh Pastner said after the game. "We are going for the win. We will not shoot a two pointer. We drew up a play, we were going to do a hand off, pistol action we call it, with Joe [Jackson] and Will Barton. I said Charles, go to the other wing. I told Joe you're either going to hand off to Will for a three or skip it to Charles."
"And, by golly, Charles, what a big shot, what a great pass by Joe. I am so proud of our players."
"Joe found me," Carmouche said. "I was wide open, I had to take the shot and I just shot it with confidence."
Its a huge win for the Tigers. The Golden Eagles blitzed the Tigers early, jumping out to a 29-11 lead on the road. This Memphis team has come under a lot of fire early in the season for some poor performances, but they didn't show an ounce of quit tonight. They got the lead down to 11 at the half on a buzzer beating three by Jackson.
In the second half, Chris Crawford came alive, scoring all 12 of his points after the break, and a 16-4 run capped by a Will Barton three with 3:16 left to go up 69-66. Memphis would eventually go up five points, but Southern Miss responded with an 9-2 run of their own, taking the lead after back-to-back jumper from RL Horton in the final minute.
There was some confusion late. Memphis had to foul after a missed jumper from Carmouche with 6.7 seconds left and Gary Flowers tried to step to the free throw stripe. Horton was supposed to be shooting, and after the refs corrected it, Horton hit one of two to set up the exciting final play.
For Larry Eustachy, this loss had some added disappointment as he falls to 0-14 against Memphis in his seven year tenure in Hattiesburg.
This is a different Memphis team these past two games, as they previously beat Marshall by 16, the same team that knocked off West Virginia tonight.
With Witherspoon returning from his two game suspension tomorrow, the question that Memphis fans must now ask is whether or not he is a necessary piece.
Whatever the case, the Memphis team that has been on the court the past two games is the one we all expected to see this season.
(h/t to @mastermania1 for the video)
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The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings |
Every week, writers, publications, media outlets and bloggers issue their Top-25 rankings for the week. A majority of the time, everybody has virtually same opinion of all the teams.
If you want to find this week's top-25 rankings, you've come to the wrong place. Here you will find our rankings for the 10 worst team performances in the NCAA. This list isn't just home to the winless mid-major bottom-feeders. No, here you will find the biggest underachievers, slumpers and teams in a funk, the worst weekly performers, and the teams that just plain suck. Now there will be teams on this list that are better than teams not on this list. But come on people, we are trying to be creative, just work with us.
The B.I.A.H Not-Top-10 Rankings
1. Georgetown Hoyas
Record: 12-5 (1-4)
They've lost four out of five, and the one win was an underwhelming 11-point win at home against DePaul. The Hoyas aren't rebounding, aren't playing aggressive defense, and aren't making good decisions. They are forcing turnovers, missing foul shots, not executing on offense and seem to lack desire and leadership. They still have 13 more Big East games left, so they have time to correct the problems, or they could continue to implode. 
Our very-own Rob Dauster made an excellent point about the leadership on this team. When the current seniors were freshman, they won the Big East before getting bounced in the second round of the NCAA tournament. During their sophomore seasons, they started 10-1 before staging an epic implosion which included Chris Wright punching Jessie Sapp in the face in a locker room confrontation after a loss at Duke. Last season, their junior year, they rallied to make the Big East tournament finals before losing to the Ohio Bearcats in the first round. How are the seniors supposed to lead if they have never been exposed to leadership before?
2. Memphis Tigers
Record: 12-4 (1-1)
Losers of three out of their last six, the Tigers seem to be falling apart at the seams. They suffered their first "bad loss" to SMU on Wednesday, but they haven't had a "good win" since early December. Young Josh Pastner has his hands full trying to coach up a young team and keep his kids in line. He has already dismissed Jelan Kendrick, had Angel Garcia leave to pursue a pro career, and just recently suspended Welsey Witherspoon indefinitely.
3. Kansas State Wildcats
Record: 12-5 (0-2)
The preseason favorites to win the Big-12 are currently 0-2 in conference play. Has Frank Martin lost his team? It certainly looks that way. 
Jacob Pullen, the lovable scamp who took the country by storm last season with his inspired play and manly beard, has turned into a stubborn zealot. He's committed NCAA violations, called out fake K-State fans, and even said that if they make the N.I.T., he won't be playing. He may be having the most disappointing season of anybody in the country.
4. St. Louis
Record: 5-11 (0-3)
You really hate to see a team like St. Louis struggle this much, especially given the circumstances. Their head coach is out for three games with a leg infection due to a cut he sustained during a sideline collision last week. On top of that, the Billikens are on a six-game losing streak and haven't seen a W since before Christmas. From a statistics standpoint, they are just as bad. they rank 337th in rebounding and 317th in total points, plus their leading scorer averages less than 10-ppg.
5. The SEC West
I can't figure out the SEC at all. The East is anybodies to win, and nobody should be allowed to win the West. Think about it, Alabama and LSU are both tied for the lead in the West with 2-0 records. The same Alabama team that has lost to Providence, Seton Hall, Iowa and St. Peter's. LSU might even be worse. They have losses to Nicholls State, Coastal Carolina, Rice, Virginia, Memphis, and a 20-point blunder against North Texas. Yet somehow both these teams are 2-0. Arkansas and Mississippi State sit at 1-1, and we all are aware of MSU's problems. Ole Miss is 0-2, along with Auburn, arguably one of the worst BCS-conference teams in the country. It really is the Wild wild SEC West.
6. Indiana
Record: 9-8 (0-4)
They started off on a six-game winning streak. Then came a 3-2 stretch of play. But that was followed up by a current seven-game losing streak, including losses to a underwhelming Northern Iowa squad and Penn State. Indiana's last win against a remotely-credible opponent was way back in November, and that was against 8-8 Evansville. There's no doubt that Tom Crean can recruit, but he's certainly having some trouble coaching up his guys. Oh yeah, plus there was this little doozy:
7. Oregon
Record: 8-9 (1-4)
I am writing off their win against USC last night because it was the first game in their new arena, so the atmosphere was in their favor. but I mean, did you look at their new arena? It's ugly. It's hideous. it's down-right awful. It's so bad that even Oregon's uniforms for the National Championship were easier on the eyes than the new Matt Court. 
The six-point win over USC was their first victory in seven games, and their first win since before Christmas. Oregon is bad, and so are their new digs. I mean, do you see a midcourt line? Neither do I.
8. Providence
Record: 11-7 (0-5)
There was so much promise for this Friars team heading into Big East play. They were 11-2, determined who their key players and role players were, and even looked not-that-bad in their two suspect losses. They even played well in their first conference game against Syracuse (a 81-74 road loss). But since then, they've lost four more, including a 13-nlowout at the hands of Rutgers and a 30-point drubbing by West Virginia. The Friars know how to score the basketball, but their defense is down-right awful. They are giving up an average of roughly 71-ppg.
9. Seton Hall
Record: 8-9 (2-3)
They've lost five of their last seven, and despite getting Jeremy Hazell back and beating DePaul by 11, Seton Hall is not the team some predicted to earn an at-large bid to the Big Dance. Get this, against Syracuse the Pirates shot 11% from behind the arc. Jordan Theodore and Fuquan Edwin combined for 1-15 from long distance. That's an ugly stat.
10. Centenary
Record: 0-17 (0-5)
Poor Centenary. With Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Alcorn State and UNC-Greensboro all tallying their first W's of the season this week, the Gentlemen remain the only winless team in D-I hoops. The team is transitioning back to D-III so any scholarship players they had probably transferred. It is entirely possible that Centenary doesn't win a single game this season, becoming the first team to do so since New Jersey Tech did it in 2008.
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