Former U of Mass Minuteman Tyrone Weeks Joins Tiger Coaching Staff

Cal's staff will have new look
Former Minuteman Weeks joining Tigers
By Dan Wolken
Friday, August 31, 2007

The University of Memphis has hired Tyrone Weeks as its director of basketball operations and moved Andy Allison, who worked in that position last year, to a newly created job on the coaching staff.

Weeks, 33, played on John Calipari's Final Four team at UMass and was an assistant coach at St. Bonaventure and Rhode Island for six seasons. He is returning to basketball after working two years in private business.

"I missed the game," Weeks said. "I missed working with the players. I've been involved in basketball my whole life, and I wanted to get back involved.

"These guys did a good job in recruiting, bringing in great players, and these players have done a great job to establish themselves as one of the top teams in the nation, and I knew this was a great spot to come to."

Calipari said he nearly hired Weeks to his first staff at Memphis, but Weeks went to Rhode Island to coach under Jim Baron instead.

With Weeks taking over as director of basketball operations (the job formerly held by Milt Wagner), Allison will move to a new position coordinating Calipari's camps and clinics. He will also be responsible for Calipari's Web site, which Calipari said had been woefully neglected for the past couple years.

"It's where everybody goes now, and it's going to be one guy's responsibility, and it gives (Allison) a chance to work at it, make the clinics better and make the camps better," Calipari said.

Weeks' addition means Memphis now has 10 full-time members of its basketball staff.

Also on Thursday, Memphis released the dates of its Conference USA games in 2007-08. Game times and television arrangements are still pending. The Tigers' 16-game league schedule begins Jan. 9 with a home date against East Carolina and ends March 8 at FedExForum against UAB.

Memphis plays four of its first six conference games on the road, but then will play four straight at home in February.

"What I like is, the first game is at home and the last game is at home. But it doesn't matter," Calipari said. "The thing that happens with us, all the accolades (we're getting) are driving the other teams. If it doesn't drive us, we've got a problem. UAB is way better, Houston is way better, UTEP is way better. We're lucky to beat Southern Miss any time we play them. It's going to be a tough road."

-- Dan Wolken: 529-2365