2 Memphis Comm Appeal articles from 11/16/05

[uofmbrad]

Panther fans, here are a couple of articles from the Memphis paper on last night's games.

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Youthful Tigers have easy time with Milwaukee
No. 12 Memphis 79, UW-Milwaukee 52

By Gary Parrish
Contact
November 16, 2005

Antonio Anderson wasn't here last year, or four years ago, meaning he didn't witness the high expectations and low results first-hand.

But he's heard about them, time and again.

Everybody's heard about them, time and again.

So coming in, the University of Memphis freshman understood the stakes, and what might happen if the Tigers dropped their opener to Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Tuesday night. That's why he was determined to avoid any letdown, and in the process put people on notice that talk of a Sweet 16 appearance isn't farfetched for this talented roster.

Call it a message sent, if you like.

"We went out there and showed everybody, the whole city of Memphis, that we're not trying to play around this year," Anderson said following the Tigers' 79-52 victory. "That's what we wanted to show the fans, and it seemed like they loved us."

Yes, it did, from start to finish.

They seemed to love Darius Washington and Rodney Carney, the two veterans and potential All-Americans who combined for 33 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and six steals. They seemed to love the newcomers, led by Shawne Williams (17 points, four assists and four rebounds) and Kareem Cooper (14 points and five rebounds).

But mostly, the announced crowd of 10,165 inside FedExForum seemed to just love the energy, the intensity, the feeling that everything was going right for a program that has endured so much of the opposite in recent seasons. The Tigers (1-0) led by double-digits not even nine minutes in, by 12 points at the half and ultimately won by a 27-point margin, more than 16 points better than the experts in Las Vegas predicted, it's worth noting.

The byproduct?

Maybe the other experts -- the ones who have ranked Memphis 12th in the nation -- are right this time. Maybe this team really is this good.

"I saw a lot of good things," said Memphis coach John Calipari. "We have so far to go before we are the type of team we want and the type of team to represent this city, but it is exciting."

The "it" Calipari referenced referred to the style of the play, the much talked-about new approach the Tigers are using that's designed to use pressure defense to take advantage of depth and length and thus create offensive opportunities. On this night, it did just that.

Despite a sloppy start to the second half, the Tigers still scored seven more points than they averaged last season, and against an opponent trying to slow the game. They created 19 turnovers, and held Milwaukee (0-1) to just 12 field goals and a shooting percentage of 22.2.

"When Memphis rotates guys in, their biggest advantage is that you see 6-8 and 6-9 players and you think they are post players," said Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter. "But they are really wing players. You don't see that very often from teams."

Now, No. 15 Alabama will get a chance to see it, on Thursday night at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m., and the game -- which will be aired on ESPN2 -- will be the first meeting of the season in all of college basketball between two nationally ranked teams. The winner will advance to the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off, scheduled for next week in New York.

"This was a good start, but we need to know when someone just bumps us and we have to comeback and playback and they're really good and they grind better than we do, how do we respond?" Calipari said. "So going down there may be exactly what we need."

[uofmbrad]

And the other....

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Tigers replay
November 16, 2005

AS THE GAME TURNED

Wisconsin-Milwaukee opened the second half steadily, and cut a 12-point margin to 42-34 with 14:32 remaining. But in a span of just more than four minutes, Memphis countered with a 16-4 run that was highlighted by a pair of Rodney Carney 3-pointers from the left corner. By the time the senior was finished, the Tigers led 58-38, and Milwaukee never got closer than 19 points the rest of the way.

AS THE ROTATION TURNED

As expected, John Calipari opted to bring Carney off the bench, and start three freshmen and two sophomores. So the Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year was officially in a reserve role, though he got starter minutes and starter shots.

Carney entered the game just 123 seconds in. He played a team-high 29 minutes, and also took the most shots (14) and made the most shots (6).

RIM GEMS

The best dunk of the night came from the usual suspect, and with a technical foul. So it was a bittersweet moment, though the impressive sweet outweighed the insignificant bitter.

In transition, Carney caught a pass from Antonio Anderson, took a dribble and dunked with authority, so much authority, in fact, that he had to hang onto the rim and pull himself up to avoid, as he put it, "swinging into the crowd."

Problem is, that's a technical foul. The good news for the Tigers is that the dunk pushed their lead to 58-38 with 8:56 remaining.

HIDE YOUR EYES

There is no such statistic kept by officials. But by Calipari's estimation, Memphis missed "eight or nine" layups.

SCORER'S TABLE

Evidence of the Tigers' dominant defense comes from the box score, under Milwaukee's field goals attempted and made.

The Panthers attempted 54. They made just 12. That's 22.2 percent, and bad enough to ensure a rout.

"Memphis is very long and very athletic," said Milwaukee coach Rob Jeter. "They are relentless with their help, and their length will cause a lot of problems for teams."

COACH TALK

"He did everything right. Without scoring, he played great." -- Calipari, talking about the performance of Anderson, the freshman from Laurinburg Institute Prep.

LOCKERROOM CHATTER

"This is the first time we've pressed like this in a long time, and it really frustrates teams." -- Carney, talking about the Tigers' press that created 19 turnovers.

ODDS AND ENDS

Calipari set his sights on a lot of prospects, from one coast to the other, and at all five positions. But early on, in private conversations, the University of Memphis coach made it clear which recruit was most important.

It might be surprising.

"Everybody says I needed to get ...," Calipari started, and then trailed off. "No. The kid I needed to get was Willie Kemp."

Now, they officially have him, along with three other prospects. Because all the signed national letters of intent have now arrived, and the UofM went from having committed prospects to having signed prospects in Kemp, Pierre Niles, Hashim Bailey and Tre'Von Willis.

Calipari's thoughts on each are as follows:

Kemp (6-2 point guard): "He's a leader. He's just a different kid, and all he cares about is winning."

Niles (6-8 power forward): "He's going to be one of those guys who people watch him play and then say, 'I never realized he could do all those things.' People are going to say, 'I never realized he could play that hard, and play his role.'"

Bailey (6-10 center): "He's worked and worked and all of a sudden this kid has gotten really good."

Willis (6-3 shooting guard): "He's a great shooter. He can really score the ball."

[PANTHERfan]

thanks for the articles and congrats on the win. you guys should have a fun year ahead.

[TBone]

And keep winning so our RPI is helped!

Good luck.

T