Dan Wolken's Post Game Blog Entry

Postgame blog: Memphis 63, Oklahoma 53

Posted by Dan Wolken Chris Douglas-Roberts, who had been mauled all night long, might have said it best: “That was a Big 12 team, and they played Big 12 basketball.” I agree, except for one thing. Oklahoma wasn’t playing Big 12 basketball Thursday. The Sooners were playing Big 12 football.

That was as physical a game as Memphis has played in a long time — even more physical, in many ways, than the Sweet 16 game against Texas A&M. Oklahoma did a great job mucking it up with a zone, and grabbing the Tigers whenever they could. Memphis didn’t exactly do a great job standing up to it — they committed 20 turnovers and shot just 38.6 percent from the field — but won the game with defense and made just enough plays offensively. As John Calipari said afterwards, the Tigers have double-teamed an opposing player “five times the last two years,” but they did a great job tonight with freshman Blake Griffin. Griffin, who had been dominant inside the first three games, went just 3 for 9 from the field, had eight rebounds and committed five turnovers.

Other observations:

– Joey Dorsey was the man tonight, with nine points, 12 rebounds and five blocks. The Tigers would have lost without him.
– Where is Robert Dozier? After an embarrassing performance against Christian Brothers, he was a no-show yet again. No points, four rebounds and got pushed around any time he went inside. Robert is better than that, and the Tigers will be vulnerable in these kinds of games if he doesn’t show it.
– Antonio Anderson stepped up and made a couple big 3-pointers, but he still seems out of synch. He’s committed a year’s worth of careless turnovers (by his standards) in the last two games.
– Andre Allen is a scrapper on defense, but he is not helping the team offensively when he tries to do too much.
– Willie Kemp should have played more, in my opinion. Though he went 2-for-7 from the 3-point line, which isn’t good for him, he did have four rebounds, two assists and looked more composed out there to me than some of the other guards. I was shocked when I saw the box score and he only had 10 minutes.

#3 Tigers 81, UConn 70 - CDR Leads Way as Tigers Defeat Huskies

Douglas-Roberts leads way as Tigers defeat Huskies
No. 3 Tigers 81, Connecticut 70
By Dan Wolken
Saturday, November 17, 2007

NEW YORK -- With 44.5 seconds left on the scoreboard at Madison Square Garden, the severely outnumbered throng of University of Memphis fans overwhelmed their silenced counterparts with chants of "C-D-R, C-D-R!"

From a distance, it almost sounded like "C-D-Star."

Four games into the most anticipated Memphis basketball season in decades, the No. 3-ranked Tigers are still not the complete, dynamic team they promise to be in March.

But none of that mattered Friday as Douglas-Roberts penned the signature game of his career, scoring 33 points as the Tigers defeated Connecticut, 81-70, to win the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic title.

In a game filled with wild swings of emotion and momentum, Douglas-Roberts transcended everything, making 14-of-24 field goals, grabbing seven rebounds and leading a group that showed its maturity and experience when it was all on the verge of slipping away.

"We're just seasoned," said Douglas-Roberts, who earned the tournament Most Valuable Player trophy. "We're a more experienced team. We knew we couldn't lose this game and have any excuses."

After dominating early, then getting themselves into severe foul trouble, the Tigers would have, in years past, gone home from a game like this cursing their luck, blaming the officials and grumbling about a significant win they let from their grasp.

That's what happened nearly one year ago exactly, when Memphis (4-0) used a similar recipe to blow a 16-point lead to Georgia Tech in Maui.

But this time, the Tigers held things together in the second half, then broke a 60-60 tie with a 14-3 run over a crucial 4:24 span that held up over the final, stress-free minutes.

"I think guys had that maturity," junior forward Robert Dozier said. "You knew they were going to make a run. We had to weather it and bounce back. So when they made that run, we came right back and punched them in the mouth."

Though Douglas-Roberts scored seven points in the decisive rally, it was a run that featured some of the team's best attributes.

Senior forward Joey Dorsey, after picking up two fouls in the first 10 minutes, grabbed two crucial offensive rebounds and took control of the defensive glass, finishing with a game-high 12 rebounds.

Dozier, after a scoreless performance the night before, came back from major foul difficulties -- he picked up his fourth on the first possession of the second half -- to become a factor at the end. He put back an offensive board for a 69-63 lead with 6:11 to go, then grabbed another about one minute later, which led to a Douglas-Roberts' 3-point play that gave Memphis the 11-point lead.

And freshman point guard Derrick Rose played aggressively but under control, scoring on consecutive possessions with a difficult lay-up that he had to cradle at his hip, then draining a 16-foot jumper with 7:14 to go that pushed it to 67-62. Rose finished with 24 points on 8-of-17 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line.

"I'm so happy for Robert Dozier, who hasn't been playing very well and played so well today," coach John Calipari said. "I know Chris Douglas got the MVP, but Joey Dorsey deserved it. He anchored the defense, and the defense won our games. Connecticut is a fine team and they're going to win a lot of games. We're a little more veteran."

Memphis needed all the veteran composure it could muster after a strange first half. The Tigers dominated from the opening tip, taking a 20-5 lead and slicing up UConn's man-to-man defense with their crisp dribble drives.

Memphis made 13 of its first 18 shots from the field while UConn started 1-for-11. Douglas-Roberts had 14 points before the Huskies could blink, and it seemed like the kind of night in which Memphis would finally show the nation that its preseason billing was legitimate.

Then, the Tigers' lead evaporated. Dorsey was called for his second foul 10:20 into the game, sparking a wildfire of whistles against Memphis -- 16 by the end of the half against only five for UConn.

By the time the Tigers got into the locker room, Dozier had picked up three fouls. Their third big man, Shawn Taggart, also had three, including a technical. And Calipari was lit up for a technical for arguing all of it.

The Tigers finished the first half missing 19 of their final 24 shots and UConn crawled back in front 41-40 by making 18-of-23 from the free-throw line (Memphis went 1-for-3).

But Memphis stayed calm, taking the lead back for good with 18:11 left.

"The kids at halftime, they knew that we were OK," Calipari said. "They never panicked, and they played to win."

Reach Dan Wolken at 529-2365; read his blogs on the Tigers at thememphisedge.com.

Geoff Calkins - One difficult time down, Tigers leave with lessons

One difficult time down, Tigers leave with lessons
By Geoff Calkins (Contact)
Saturday, November 17, 2007

NEW YORK -- The Memphis Tigers did not come into this season dreaming of winning the 2k Sports College Hoops Classic.

Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose do not go to sleep at night dreaming of winning an early-season tournament in New York.

They want to win that other tournament, the one that will finish in San Antonio in early April. They want to have the big parade.

But if they do all that, they will draw on what they accomplished this week at Madison Square Garden. They will remember trailing at halftime, having blown a big lead, in front of a boisterous crowd, with the officials giving the other guys every call.

And they will remember what happened next, when they gathered themselves to beat Connecticut, 81-70.

No, the Memphis Tigers did not come into this season dreaming of winning the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic. But they will take it, just the same.

"This is why we schedule these games," said Memphis coach John Calipari. "You're playing a team that has always been well-coached, that has terrific players, that will fight you, that has been through wars. They come at you and they make three or four runs and you still beat it down and win."

Calipari said he took no particular joy in defeating UConn coach Jim Calhoun. Well, what was he going to say?

The two shook hands before the game. Five minutes later, the Tigers were up 18-3.

It was ridiculous, really, ridiculous and sublime. Calhoun wouldn't play zone. Calipari's Tigers made him pay and pay and pay. Midway in the first half, two reporters who cover UConn regularly were trying to figure out the last time they saw the Huskies so completely overmatched.

They settled on a game against Kansas in 1997. And then, well, the officials intervened. This is not complaining, either. It's simply a fact. Memphis shot three free throws in the first half. UConn shot one hundred million of them.

Or maybe it was 23. Whichever.

So back came the Huskies, uncontested point by uncontested point.

Memphis got frustrusted. Calipari got mad and said a bad word.

Tweet. Technical foul.

"I wasn't going to sit there and let them manhandle our team," Calipari said.

Shawn Taggart must have had the same idea. He got a technical, too. And now the crowd was really into it, and Memphis started missing shots, and it didn't help that Joey Dorsey was on the bench with two fouls.

With 12.9 seconds left in the half, UConn finally caught up. Jeff Adrien gave the Huskies the lead on -- what else? -- two foul shots.

Half over. UConn 41, Memphis 40. And that was the first moment of many that will test the Tigers this season, especially if the season goes as planned.

Teams just don't go to the Final Four without difficult moments. They learn to meet the moments and move on.

In the locker room, Calipari looked around to gauge the mood of his team.

"The kids at halftime, they knew that we were OK," he said. "They never panicked, they played to win."

It helps, of course, to have players who have been in these spots before. To have Douglas-Roberts and Antonio Anderson and a core of players who have been to two straight Elite Eights. But every year is a new challenge, every team is a new mix.

"I just want to learn about my team," said Calipari. "You can only learn in games like this."

Friday's lessons:

1) Robert Dozier can play tough when it counts.

2) Rose can do it on the big stage.

3) If in doubt, throw it to Douglas-Roberts, the calm and quirky leader of the team.

Calipari wasn't happy with the way Douglas-Roberts played against Oklahoma, going so far as to single him out before the game.

"I told the team that we had some players that did not perform to the level they need to," Calipari said. "I didn't mention names, but I think I mentioned No. 14."

So No. 14 responded with a career-high 33, hitting every big shot down the stretch.

No. 3 (Dorsey) helped, too, clogging things up and grabbing rebounds. No. 23 (Rose) had 24 nervy points. And No. 2 (Dozier) was the revelation, submitting his best work since last year's win over Texas A&M. He had eight points, eight rebounds and a big put-back down the stretch.

All of which combined to give Memphis the win, and the T-shirts, and the big golden basketball that goes to the winner of this tournament. It was a little nutty, watching the celebration. Because it was so clearly beside the point.

But there were the players, lifting the trophy in the air, as "We Are The Champions" boomed from the sound system.

They smiled and laughed and held up their index fingers.

One down, bigger ones to go.

To reach Geoff Calkins, call him at 529-2364 or e-mail calkins@commercialappeal.com

SI.com Luke Winn - The Early Word On ... Memphis

11/16/2007 01:31:00 AM
The Early Word On ... Memphis

Three things we learned about No. 3 Memphis after its 63-53 win over unranked Oklahoma in the semifinals of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic on Thursday at Madison Square Garden ...

1. The Tigers' most valuable player isn't Derrick Rose. It's Joey Dorsey.

The on-court aura of the 6-foot-9, 265-pound Dorsey, according to Rose, a soft-spoken freshman, is "scary." Memphis has a surplus stock of speedy point guards (Rose, Willie Kemp and Andre Allen) and slick wings (Chris Douglas-Roberts, Antonio Anderson and Doneal Mack); but what it does not have is multiple big men who put fear in the hearts of opposing posts. This is solely Dorsey's department. He's chiseled, relentless on the glass and has a crazy streak that leaves him liable to commit a technical foul at any moment (he had one against Oklahoma, for a shoving altercation with freshman Blake Griffin). Dorsey is also capable of regularly putting up bullish stat lines like he had on Thursday: Nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, 12 rebounds and five blocks in 33 minutes.

The fact the Sooners were intent on playing a grind-it-out, bruising style -- keeping Memphis under 80 points for the first time this year -- made Dorsey the most important Tiger on the floor. Afterwards, with an ice pack strapped to the sprained right shoulder that kept him out of the first two regular-season games, Dorsey said, "I love the physical play. This is what I want. That's what type of player I am -- physical."

Dorsey also played the role of Memphis' sparkplug on Thursday, igniting a rally that turned a 20-18 game with 7:34 left in the first half into a 35-25 contest at halftime. It all started with his tip-in of a missed layup by Rose with 6:32 left to put the Tigers up 22-18; he'd later add an alley-oop dunk from Rose to extend the lead to 30-23. Dorsey also erased two shots on the other end; on the possession after his tip-in, he swatted away a close-range attempt by 5-10 Sooner Omar Leary. Less than a minute later, Dorsey flew across the lane to stuff a much larger foe -- 6-11 Longar Longar -- and caused an older, female Memphis fan sitting courtside to say to her husband, in a thick Southern drawl, "You see Joey block that? Wheeeeeeeeew."

2. Rose has some absurd moves in his arsenal ... but he's still a freshman, not a superhuman.

Immediately after the buzzer sounded, Dorsey sidled up to Rose and said directly into his ear, "[There's] no pressure. This is what you want right here." Dorsey was referring to the stage -- Madison Square Garden, on national TV -- and the sometimes-shaky, sometimes-brilliant performance delivered by his five-star freshman point guard. Rose finished with a game-high 17 points, but five came on free-throws in the final eight minutes. He also had only three assists against four turnovers, often driving too wildly to the rim without a quality outlet option.

This was the least impressive game of the three he's played, and yet it still contained numerous highlight-reel moments. The most stunning of those was the first, which came just 1:39 after the tip: Standing one step inside the free-throw line, Rose rebounded Oklahoma's second shot attempt of the game -- and within four dribbles (and seemingly only a couple of seconds), he had reached the other end of the floor and laid the ball off the glass for two points. It was no run-of-the-mill layup, either: Rose had to lean into 6-9, 240-pound Blake Griffin to create space in the air before putting up the shot. The one-man fastbreak, said Rose, is something coach John Calipari strongly encourages: "If I don't do it, he'll stop me in practice and yell at me, and make me do the play over again."

Oklahoma kept itself in the game -- or at least within six points in the final two minutes -- by limiting Rose's fastbreak opportunities. Multiple Sooners would run back ahead of the speedy floor general and clog the middle of the floor before dropping into what, for the most part, was a 2-3 zone defense. "One person can't keep Derrick Rose in check," OU coach Jeff Capel said of the strategy. "The only person who can do that is Cal [John Calipari], and he ain't gonna do it."

3. The Tigers are loaded with talent, but need to prove they're not vulnerable to zones.

If Oklahoma, an average team that doesn't have a strong backcourt or regularly play zone D, could hold Memphis to 63 points and 38.6 percent shooting from the field, what will more formidable perimeter defensive squads be able to accomplish? The blueprint for slowing down the athletes in Calipari's AASAA (Attack Attack Skip Attack Attack) offense is no secret: Settle into a zone and force them to beat you by hitting jumpers rather than layups. Rose, Kemp and Mack are all passable perimeter shooters, but none is an elite gunner; on Thursday they were a combined 4-of-14 from long distance.

"We thought coming in, if they have any Achilles' heel, it's shooting," Capel said of the Tigers. "And one of the things we talked about was we wanted to make them contested jump shooters. We did a good job. We just had to score more."

Jump-shooting -- and whether or not Memphis is proficient enough at it to win a national title -- is no new topic in Tigerland. It was discussed ad nauseam last season, but it's not going to go away in '07-08. The Tigers' speedy, slashing attach is nearly impossible for lesser foes to defend with anything other than a zone. Following the game, Calipari said, in what seemed like a lament, "I hope, at some point, someone plays us man-to-man." Good luck with that.

In Case Anyone Wonders - CUSA Is Still Bad

Saturday's Scores

Georgia Southern 59, UAB 57
Liberty 55, East Carolina 53
Centenry 93, SMU 76
Duquesne 86, Rice 59

My Commentary on Memphis v. Oklahoma

My Commentary on Memphis v. Oklahoma

Let's just say, thank goodness for the defense.

Is it possible to be happy and annoyed at the same time? Did Robert Dozier miss the charter flight to New York? Is Antonio Anderson having a Sophomore slump a year late? Is it just me or is CDR the most quiet player in the country? What happened to a deep bench and spreading the minutes around?

This was a strange game, but the Tigers were in control through out and their defense was at a higher level. The great thing is that a defense like that can bail out a sub-par day shooting the ball and turning the ball over 20 times (yikes!).

The Tigers defense really messes up the game in a lot of ways. It makes for a disjointed, no rhythm type of game. As a fan, you love the intensity and you are even kind of amazed when the other team actually does score. But, on the other side, it is hard to watch because the defense even seems to disrupt the Tigers on the offensive end. That has to be a cause for concern.

Joey Dorsey looked really good and some how was 4 for 5 from the floor, though it seemed like he missed about 5 or 6 shots. I see he didn't solve the free-throw mystery in the off-season. Perhaps he should go find Mark Price over at the Grizzlies office for a lesson.

Will the real Antonio Anderson come on down? While I really enjoy all of the things Antonio does for this team, he seems out of control right now - sort of like Andre Allen was a lot of times last year.

What about Andre? You had to love his tackle of ESPN's Andy Katz at half court going for the steal. I'll say this about Andre - his energy is second to none. He gives his all when he gets his moments on the court.

While Derrick Rose missed (or was fouled) on most of his drives to the basket, you can definitely tell he can do a lot of things others just dream about.

Also, I think Rose will be the dedicated free throw shooter on this team and he should get lots of attempts at the line during the season after being fouled on dribble drives and end of game situations.

Well, I hope Cal can fix a few things before tonight. And I hope Joey's shoulder is not reinjured. While Shawn Taggart is playing pretty good, I am fearful that Dozier won't find the Garden for a second night.

We need a better percentage from Kemp and D-Mack if they are going to have a green light all of the time. 30% from 3 point isn't going to cut it. Memphis needs to figure out how to make teams pay for playing a zone. 30% won't do it - 40% to 43% will make teams rethink their strategy.

Go Tigers.

Official Box Score - Memphis 63, Oklahoma 53

Official Basketball Box Score

Official Basketball Box Score
Memphis vs Oklahoma
11/15/07 9:30 pm at New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VISITORS: Memphis 3-0
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
02 Dozier, Robert...... f 0-3 0-0 0-0 2 2 4 2 0 1 1 1 0 22
03 Dorsey, Joey........ f 4-5 0-0 1-5 4 8 12 3 9 1 2 5 1 33
05 Anderson, Antonio... g 3-8 2-5 1-4 0 3 3 1 9 0 5 0 3 29
14 DOUGLAS-ROBERTS, C.. g 5-10 2-3 0-0 1 3 4 2 12 1 4 1 0 25
23 Rose, Derrick....... g 4-12 1-3 8-12 1 4 5 3 17 3 4 0 2 34
00 Taggart, Shawn...... 3-4 0-0 1-2 2 2 4 4 7 0 3 0 1 26
01 Kemp, Willie........ 2-7 2-7 0-0 1 3 4 1 6 2 0 0 0 10
15 Allen, Andre........ 0-4 0-3 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 13
20 Mack, Doneal........ 1-4 1-4 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 1 8
TEAM................ 3 1 4
Totals.............. 22-57 8-25 11-23 14 27 41 17 63 10 20 7 9 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 22-57 38.6% Game: 38.6% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 8-25 32.0% Game: 32.0% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 11-23 47.8% Game: 47.8% 5


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOME TEAM: Oklahoma 3-1
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
00 CLARK, Keith........ f 1-4 1-3 1-2 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 1 0 15
23 GRIFFIN, Blake...... f 3-9 0-0 2-2 2 6 8 3 8 2 5 0 3 32
32 GRIFFIN, Taylor..... f 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 3 3 2 3 0 2 0 0 19
05 CROCKER, Tony....... g 2-6 0-2 1-2 2 2 4 4 5 1 4 0 0 24
11 LEARY, Omar......... g 1-5 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 3 3 2 2 0 2 24
15 GODBOLD, David...... 4-12 0-4 0-0 0 6 6 3 8 3 1 0 1 28
20 JOHNSON, Austin..... 4-6 1-2 0-2 0 3 3 4 9 1 2 0 3 28
30 LONGAR, Longar...... 5-10 0-0 3-4 3 3 6 1 13 3 3 0 0 30
TEAM................ 1 4 5 1
Totals.............. 21-55 4-15 7-12 8 28 36 22 53 12 19 1 9 200

TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 21-55 38.2% Game: 38.2% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 4-15 26.7% Game: 26.7% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 0-0 0.0% 2nd Half: 7-12 58.3% Game: 58.3% 4


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Officials: Jeff Clark, Bryan Kersey, Sean Hull
Technical fouls: Memphis-None. Oklahoma-TEAM.
Attendance: 7308
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Memphis....................... 35 28 - 63
Oklahoma...................... 25 28 - 53

Memphis 63, Oklahoma 53

Dorsey Leads No. 3 Memphis to 63-53 Victory Over Oklahoma
Memphis advances in the semifinals of the 2K Sports College Hoop Classic
Nov. 15, 2007

NEW YORK (AP) -- Joey Dorsey, who missed the first two games of the season with a shoulder injury, came back in a big way for No. 3 Memphis, finishing with nine points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in the Tigers' 63-53 victory over Oklahoma on Thursday night in the semifinals of the 2K Sports College Hoop Classic.

Memphis (3-0) will face Connecticut, which beat Gardner-Webb 78-66, on Friday night at Madison Square Garden in the championship game of the tournament that benefits Coaches vs. Cancer.

Freshman guard Derrick Rose led Memphis with 17 points, and Chris Douglas-Roberts added 12.

Longar Longar led the Sooners (3-1) with 13 points.

After trailing 35-25 at halftime, the Sooners got within 45-40 on a fastbreak dunk by Austin Johnson with 12 minutes to play.

Memphis then went on a 10-3 run of which Rose had the final seven points, the last two on free throws after a technical foul was called against Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel. It was Memphis' first 12-point lead of the game and the Tigers would match it two more times.

Dorsey sprained his right shoulder during practice and didn't play in the Tigers' season-opening wins over Tennessee-Martin and Richmond. The 6-foot-9 senior was a force in the middle throughout, especially on the defensive end.

The Tigers are coming off consecutive regional final appearances in the NCAA tournament and with all five starters back from last season, Rose has been one of the impact freshmen in the country.

He was the MVP of the Memphis regional for this tournament and despite an off-night shooting, he was still a big factor getting the Tigers out in the open court.

Oklahoma freshman Blake Griffin, who averaged 16.3 points in the Sooners' first three games, finished with eight as Memphis' forwards took turns guarding him.

Memphis is 6-0 all-time against Oklahoma with the previous victory in the opening round of last year's EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Article on Hashim Bailey from North Jersey Herald News

Incredible shrinking 'Big City'
Thursday, November 15, 2007
By ADAM ZAGORIA
HERALD NEWS

EAST RUTHERFORD -- When Memphis coach John Calipari called Hashim Bailey into his office last spring, it wasn't to give him a pat on the back.

No, Calipari was sending Bailey home to Paterson with marching orders to come back in the best shape of his life.

The 6-foot-10 sophomore known as "Big City" had gotten too big for Cal's liking. He was up to about 300 pounds.

"I didn't feel too good" when Calipari sent him home, Bailey said Wednesday during a Memphis practice at the Nets practice facility. "I wanted to stay down there (in Memphis) and make some money or something, work the camps with Cal."

Instead, Bailey went to work with Passaic Tech coach Mike Boorman to prepare for the upcoming season, which continues for the No. 3 Tigers (2-0) tonight when they take on Oklahoma in the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer at Madison Square Garden.

Boorman, who ascended to head coach at Tech when Ron Williams retired, began putting Bailey through a series of brutal workouts three or four days a week at L.A. Fitness in Wayne.

"He wanted to (start) at (noon), I wanted him to come at 6 (a.m.), so we split the different and he came at 7," Boorman said with a laugh during the Memphis practice.

Bailey began a typical day by lifting weights for 30 minutes before running on the treadmill. After a morning session, he and Boorman would repair to the Tech gym for wind sprints and pickup basketball games with others. After that, still more running.

In the evening, Bailey worked on his game in the famed Rucker League in Harlem.

"Sometimes he would do three-a-day (workouts) on his own and he wouldn't even tell me," Boorman said. "He did a little more than I even was aware of."

Bailey also radically changed his diet, cutting out red meat and soda in favor of grilled chicken and water.

The result?

Bailey is down to 273 pounds and some of his teammates jokingly call him "Little City."

"I saw him when he was in high school, so I knew he was thin, but he gained a lot of weight his freshman year," said Memphis freshman Jeff Robinson, who helped St. Patrick of Elizabeth win back-to-back Tournament of Champions titles. "So I was kind of happy when he went home and got ready every morning to lose that weight so he could come back and play."

Bailey has become more of a factor in practices and games, too.

A year ago, Boorman said, Bailey was hardly involved in practices and often watched from the periphery. During Wednesday's workout, Bailey guarded standout forwards Joey Dorsey, Shawn Taggart and Robert Dozier and looked energetic, if not speedy, running up and down the court. Robinson said the new version of Big City "makes the practices more competitive."

"I feel a lot better," Bailey said. "I feel I can keep up with the team now. I get tired quickly, but I still keep up."

Calipari said Bailey can still only last a couple of minutes at a stretch, but it's a huge improvement over last year.

"The biggest thing was he was able to run with us," Calipari said. "If you can't get up and down the floor, forget about that next level (the NBA) because if you can't run, you can't play. Well, he's learning to run."

There is no place for slowpokes in Calipari's new Dribble Drive Motion offense, which emphasizes attacking the basket on dribble drives. Running and cutting are at a premium.

"It's a European-style spread offense," Calipari said. "It's kind of like Princeton on steroids because it's faster, but it's the same deal. We're spread. We run backdoors. Some teams want five passes before they shoot. We want five drives before we shoot. And everybody that drives knows where everybody's supposed to be on the court."

"It's a lot of tip-back dunks and stuff like that (for big men) with our offense," Bailey said.

Bailey is playing behind some high-profile players in Dorsey, Taggart and Dozier, but against a team like Oklahoma, Calipari hinted that Big City might get a chance to show something.

"These guys have big bruisers," Calipari said. "All of a sudden you stick (Bailey) in. How long can you stay in there? Can you make a difference in the game?"

Bailey hopes he gets a chance to show something tonight and tomorrow in front of his family in his first game at Madison Square Garden.

" 'Big City' in the Big Apple," Bailey joked. "Hopefully I can get out there and show you all some things."

Twenty-eight NBA teams have come through Memphis to watch star freshman guard Derrick Rose, who is likely one-and-done.

One day, Bailey dreams of potentially joining him in the pros.

"Of course," he said. "That's everybody's dream."

Blog: northjersey.com/zagsblog/

Tigers deflect pressure to win from outset

Tigers deflect pressure to win from outset
Calipari concerned with team intensity
By Dan Wolken
Thursday, November 15, 2007

NEW YORK -- When the University of Memphis traveled to Hawaii a year ago to play Oklahoma, the price of paradise was pressure. Knowing their schedule afforded the Tigers little opportunity to make a major national impression, coach John Calipari forthrightly proclaimed that anything less than a 2-1 record in the EA Sports Maui Invitational would severely hurt their NCAA Tournament seed.

But as the Tigers arrive at Madison Square Garden tonight for the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic semifinal -- where the opponent will, coincidentally, be Oklahoma again -- the mind-set seems drastically different.

This time, Calipari brings a Memphis team ranked No. 3 in the country, a Memphis team that will have several home games against Top 25 opponents and a Memphis team that appears content to ease into the season.

"It's too early in the year to feel pressure," junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts said.

But maybe that's not such a good thing, at least with regard to the outcome this week. A year ago, after beating Oklahoma and blowing a sizable lead to Georgia Tech, the Tigers got their two Maui wins with a clutch performance against Kentucky in the consolation game.

Now, Calipari isn't so sure the Tigers need to be in must-win mode, especially with games against Georgetown, Arizona, Tennessee and Gonzaga coming up.

"When we went to Maui, we knew we had road games (after that), and that was it," Calipari said. "We're like, shoot, we better win two here, or we may drop all those three road games because they're all top-15 teams.

"This is a little different. What I'm hoping is we play well. If we play well, the other stuff will usually take care of itself, but it may not."

Complicating matters is that Memphis is a prohibitive favorite to romp over this four-team field, which includes two traditional powers who are unranked after non-NCAA Tournament years (Oklahoma and Connecticut) and the biggest early-season surprise in college basketball (Gardner-Webb). Anything less than two wins here will be cast nationally as a major upset, and the Tigers will be hard-pressed to contend for a No. 1 ranking until at least late December or mid-January.

But are the Tigers ready to deliver a championship in this event, given that their victories over Tennessee-Martin and Richmond last week were in less than impressive?

"Mentally we're probably not, but physically we're ready," sophomore guard Doneal Mack said. "Coach is going to have us prepared; he'll have us ready to play. We know it's not going to be a walk-through. It's going to be a tough battle, but we're eager to show everybody we can play with the best of the best."

Calipari admitted Tuesday he was concerned about the Tigers' mentality, whether they can play with enough focus and passion to combat a team like Oklahoma, which can't match Memphis' talent but will likely play with desperation.

Memphis hasn't shown much desperation in recent practices or games, though the Tigers appeared to make progress in the second half of Monday's 90-35 exhibition victory over Christian Brothers.

"We looked at tape from last year, and we weren't up to it," senior forward Joey Dorsey said. "Our defensive intensity wasn't there."

Has Calipari gotten the Tigers' attention yet? Though he did a lot of yelling and screaming after an 80-63 win over Richmond, in which Memphis broke down repeatedly on defense and couldn't solve a 1-3-1 zone until late in the game, it might not have been enough.

Calipari told the story of his 1996 team at UMass, which opened its season with an exhibition game loss to the Converse All-Stars, a collection of former Atlantic 10 players who had spent their careers getting beaten up by UMass. Only after that experience was Calipari able to shape a Final Four team.

"I'm worried that this team doesn't get it yet," Calipari said. "I hate to lose, but sometimes it's the only way they get it. I'm hoping we win games, but Oklahoma could pound us, and so could Connecticut. They have the talent, the coaching, the pedigree to do it. This team? I don't know yet. I'm trying to figure them out."

Reach Dan Wolken at 529-2365; read his blogs on the Tigers at thememphisedge.com

Geoff Caulkins - Historic arena will showcase Tiger phenom

Historic arena will showcase Tiger phenom
By Geoff Calkins
Thursday, November 15, 2007

NEW YORK -- Good news, Memphis! They haven't renamed the place "The Rose Garden" or anything. It's still Madison Square Garden, The World's Most Famous Arena.

It's not The Rose Garden.

Of course, Derrick Rose hasn't played a college game here yet.

That comes tonight, when Rose and the Memphis Tigers take on the Oklahoma Sooners sometime after 8 p.m. in the 2k Sports College Hoops Classic.

And, yes, I just typed "Rose and the Memphis Tigers." John Calipari's recent protests notwithstanding, that's how this is going to be billed.

The best freshman in the world on the biggest stage in the world.

"It's going to be a regular game," said Rose, who couldn't be more wrong about that.

When the Barnum and Bailey circuses merged in 1919, where did their combined show debut?

At Madison Square Garden, of course.

When the Reverend Sun Myung Moon blessed 2,075 couples simultaneously, where did he do it?

At Madison Square Garden, naturally.

The Garden is where Frazier knocked down Ali, where Wrestlemania first jumped into the ropes, where Marilyn Monroe sang "Happy Birthday, Mr. President."

"Madison Square Garden is a heckuva place to play basketball," Calipari said.

Yeah, that, too.

So this would seem to be the perfect time and place for Rose to introduce himself to the world, to show everyone else what people in Memphis already know.

Last year, a skinny 6-10 forward from Texas came to New York to play in the 2k tournament. Two games, 50 points and 19 rebounds later, everyone knew him as Kevin Durant.

"I watched those games," said Rose.

Naturally, he did. And now he'll playing in them.

"Hopefully, the spotlight will be on the whole team," said Calipari.

Hahahahahaha.

This is not how spotlights work, of course. Spotlights settle on the biggest stars.

Rose is the biggest star on the Memphis team, all the brighter because he's brand new.

The kid played his first two college games in Memphis, against cruddy teams, on a television network that is seen in approximately 27 households across the land.

He still was still huge news. He was all over the place. On "SportsCenter," in Sports Illustrated, on the cover of ESPN The Magazine.

Worried about the impact on the broader team, Calipari started telling everyone the media was to blame. As if the media was responsible for putting pictures of roses on billboards all over town. As if the media allowed Rose to pose for all those cover stories.

No, that was Calipari himself, who understands exactly what he has in Rose.

"He may not be the best (freshman in the country)," Calipari said, "but you're going to have to show me the other two."

And here's the other thing about Rose: He's not the kind of player who is going to be undone by all the attention tonight.

Remember when Calipari brought Rose out for one dunk at Memphis Madness?

Rose hammered it.

Because he's a star.

So now he comes to New York, fully aware of what a date at Madison Square Garden is all about.

"It's where Michael Jordan played," he said. "It's where serious basketball fans come to watch players play."

Willis Reed limped to a title at the Garden. Jordan hung 55 on the Knicks.

"I can't get so hyped up I'm not playing my game," Rose said.

That's true, too. People have made some famous blunders in this building. In 1924, Pat Harrison, a senator from Mississippi, traveled to the Democratic National Convention to give the keynote address.

What Harrison meant to say: "What we need is another Paul Revere."

What the delegates heard Harrison say: "What we need is a real beer."

This was during Prohibition, remember. It produced wild applause.

So Calipari is figuring it will all work out, mistakes or no mistakes, as Memphis continues to adapt to its new reality. The Tigers are a fine team. A fine team with a megastar in the media capital of the world.

"It's going to be ugly," said Calipari.

By that, he meant beautiful.

To reach Geoff Calkins, call him at 529-2364 or e-mail calkins@commercialappeal.com

Mike DeCourcy - Spotlight: Memphis' Derrick Rose

Spotlight: Memphis' Derrick Rose
Mike DeCourcy
Posted: November 14, 2007

The basketball always has belonged to Derrick Rose. At the high school level, a point guard with his degree of talent gets handed the ball and the license to do most anything he wants. "It's totally different now," he says.

Memphis plays a free-flowing offensive style that allows Rose, who is 6-4, to use his athleticism and skill to manufacture scoring opportunities. But the flow is as important as the freedom.

Rose has averaged 19 points in his first two games with Memphis.

"If you play around with the ball," Rose says, "you're coming out of the game."

Rose constantly is reminded by Tigers coach John Calipari to "attack, attack, attack." Memphis' system is based on driving into the defense, forcing a reaction and then taking advantage of that reaction to make a play. It produced consecutive Elite Eight teams with a combined 66-8 record, and that was before it was operated by a point guard who involves teammates without entirely sacrificing his scoring.

In a city that once embraced only those Tigers born, raised and trained at home, Rose has been an instant star.

CSTV - Beale Street Baskets: Coaches v. Cancer

Beale Street Baskets: Coaches v. Cancer
By David Scott - November 13, 2007

If things go according to plan on Thursday evening, then you can expect the NCAA's new bench decorum rules to have their very first, true test on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Coaches vs. Cancer basketball classic hits New York City this week and with UConn facing Gardnerella-Webb in the early tilt (7 p.m.) on Thursday and Memphis getting Oklahoma in the nightcap (9 p.m.), it very much looks like a Cal on Cal final Friday at 8:30 on the hardwood of MSG. A John Calipari vs. Jim Calhoun match-up would have New York City's back page tabloid writers licking their chops and could save face for tournament organizers who lost the big draw of Kentucky with G-W's upset special (a slogan made into t-shirts being worn all over the GDub campus in Boiling Springs, NC).

Calipari faced Calhoun twice while at border rival UMass and both meetings were in Calipari's worst (and first) years as a head coach (January 30 in both 1989 and 1990). The first meeting, Calipari's 19th game at UMass out of 264 eventual contests, was a 104-75 loss at UConn followed by the Huskies' 94-75 win in Amherst. It was the last time the two schools met on the hardwood until the 100 year-rivalry was renewed the season after Calipari left UMass for the New Jersey Nets.

It's widely held that Calhoun wouldn't schedule the Minutemen while Calipari was there, especially when the Minutemen started to dominate New England College basketball and steal some of the thunder form its former Yankee Conference rival. Once Calipari left, the series re-started and UConn ruled with nine of 10 wins from 1996-2005. (Although the series was agreed upon when Calipari was still at UMass, the first game pitted Calhoun against Calipari's successor, Bruiser Flint.)

"If John and I get together it would be the first time in quite some time," said Calhoun. "I'm sure it would be interesting if we did match up."

To say the least. Calipari had a way of getting under the skin of his coaching peers of a certain age (older than the young gun Calipari who was 29 when he started at UMass). The famous John Chaney incident may be the most public example, but coaches like Gale Catlett at West Virginia also found the young Calipari a bit too brash (and probably too damn good) for their liking.

When the "U-Game" series ended in 2005, Calhoun told the the Daily Hampshire Gazette's Matt Vautour that the hiatus during the Calipari years was deliberate and, according to Vautour, because of "his distaste for former Minuteman coach John Calipari.

"I ended the series because of John Calipari. I said I wouldn't play them while John was there," Calhoun said at the time. "We agreed to play it and unfortunately he left. Actually, that wasn't so unfortunate. He left, Ray (Allen) left and Marcus (Camby) left and the series has been a rout ever since then. Back in the Calipari era you can make a case that we should have played them. I had my own personal reasons. I'm sure John had his reasons too. Then it was a game that had to be played. John and I stepped forward and he left. I can't be blamed for him leaving."

Both coaches were diplomatic and respectful of each other on a Tuesday teleconference to hype the Coaches vs. Cancer event.

"I don't mind matching up with either (Oklahoma's) Jeff (Capel) or John," said Calhoun. "I would love to have one of the opportunities to play either of them in the championship game."

"I'm not really worried about who we play," said Calipari on the same teleconference. "Jim Calhoun is a Hall of Famer and one of the best coaches in the country and has done a fabulous job in taking that program from where it was. I have respect for their program and they recruit nationally to Storrs, Connecticut - from all over the country."

So publicly at least, the two men - Calhoun, 65 and Calipari, 48 - may have matured a bit. But we tend to think if the match-up comes to fruition, MSG will once again get the type of match-up befitting the world's most famous arena.

And bench decorum could be damned.

. . . Calipari remembers the two Calhoun meetings pretty clearly. "My memory of UConn is in Storrs, Connecticut in 1989. It was one of first games I was coaching. We were down 11-0 and I call a timeout and tell the guys that our goal for us, is to try and get the ball over halfcourt. Then the next year in our building, they had Nadav Henefeld. I can still remember him making shots all over the place. "

. . . As has become a regular staple of the Tigers' visits to New York City, Calipari's team will practice at the New Jersey Nets practice facility on Wednesday. Calipari helped to get the modern facility built when he was with the Nets. Only seems fair that he'd still be able to use it! Wonder if he still has keys to the building.

. . . Calipari, who has now competed in four Coaches vs. Cancer events as well as several Jimmy V Classics, said he was touched by cancer through his grandmothers, both of whom died of blood-related cancers. "And the head of our booster group (was diagnosed) with colon cancer three days ago. He's 50 years old."

. . . Calipari said Monday night's exhibition game at home was encouraging on a few levels. "I am more comfortable, but I'm still worried we don't understand the desperation the other team is going to play with every night. I'm worried this team doesn't get it yet."

Chicago Sun Times - Derrick Rose ready for Garden party

Derrick Rose ready for Garden party

November 14, 2007
By Lacy J. Banks

Considering the buzz he’s generating after just two games at Memphis, it seems fitting Derrick Rose’s post-Simeon coming-out party will be at Madison Square Garden tonight before a national television audience.

For now, he’s leading the No. 3 Tigers (2-0), who play Oklahoma (3-0) tonight in the College Hoops Classic (7 p.m. ESPN2).

‘‘I’ve been watching him since high school and I believe he’s the best freshman in the country,’’ ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said. ‘‘He’s a pass-first point guard who understands how to run a team and how to win.

‘‘Plus, he’s supremely talented. There’s no freshman out there who is more talented. He adds size, athleticism and great open-court abilities. He’s essentially a more athletic Jason Kidd.’’

That’s high praise, even without the Kidd comparison, because this looks to be one of the best freshman classes in years with 6-8 forward Michael Beasley (averaging 31 points, 19 rebounds) at Kansas State , 6-5 guard O.J. Mayo (32 ppg, 7.0 ppg) at USC and 6-4 guard Eric Gordon (33 points in one game) at Indiana.

Rose, who won two Class AA titles and was the Sun-Times Player of the Year last season, is averaging 19 points, 3.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 58 percent from the field.

‘‘Rose is an incredible talent with a great upside because of his phenomenal feel for the game,’’ ESPN’s Dick Vitale said. ‘‘He attacks the rim very, very viciously, can explode himself into traffic and he has an awesome assortment of layups he can utilize so that once he gets into traffic he can score in so many ways.

‘‘Obviously, you will hear that he’s got to work a little more on his perimeter shot and he knows that. I heard the same thing about Magic Johnson. But there’s not a coach in America who wouldn’t want Rose because he is such a special player who is a winner, who has great vision and was made to play this game.’’

Can Rose lead Memphis to the NCAA championship as a freshman?

‘‘Absolutely,’’ Vitale said. ‘‘They’ve already advanced to the Elite Eight two years in a row without him. He’s just the final piece to the puzzle for John Calipari to take his team to the title. Calipari already has the right surrounding parts. So the talent is so deep on this team that Rose can have a bad night and this team can still win.’’

Meantime, the numbers by the other freshmen aren’t being ignored by Vitale and Bilas.

‘‘All those eye-popping numbers simply show that this is one of the best freshman classes that I have seen in years,’’ Vitale said.

Memphis coach John Calipari is beginning to sound wary of the media avalanche, which included an ESPN magazine cover story.

‘‘We have five guys who won 66 games the last two years,’’ Calipari said Wednesday on ESPN. ‘‘I called a meeting at my house, and I shortened practice because I thought it was so important to talk about how this is going down.

‘‘We’re on our way to New York and the whole thing is going to be Derrick Rose, Derrick Rose, and it’s not him. He doesn’t even want the attention. Part of it is how the player who’s getting all the attention handles it. Does he defer to his team? He’s handled it.’’

And don’t expect it to subside any time soon.

Memphis v. Oklahoma Game Preview

GAME PREVIEW
Oklahoma (3-0) plays its first game away from home this season when it faces No. 3/3 Memphis (2-0) on Thursday at 8 p.m. CST in a 2K Sports College Hoops Classic semifinal inside New York's Madison Square Garden. The event, which benefits Coaches vs. Cancer, will feature another semifinal contest (Thursday at 6 p.m.) between Connecticut and Gardner-Webb. Thursday's winners will meet Friday at 7:30 p.m. CST while the consolation game will begin at 5:30 p.m. All four championship round games will be televised by ESPN2 with Dan Shulman, Dick Vitale and Doris Burke announcing.

OU's games in New York will air on the Sooner Radio Network with Bob Carpenter and Mike Houck announcing. Thursday's contest against Memphis will be heard on KRXO-FM 107.7 in Oklahoma City and KMOD-FM 97.5 in Tulsa. Friday's OU game will air on KOKC-AM 1520 in Oklahoma City and KTBZ-AM 1430 in Tulsa.

"NOTE" WORTHY
• OU's top five scorers are all shooting at least .565 from the field. It's sixth-leading scorer (Keith Clark) is shooting an even .500.
• OU has issued double-digit scoring runs in each of its first three games (15-0 against San Francisco, 16-0 versus Denver and 11-0 against Alcorn State).
• Oklahoma held opponents to 59.6 points a game last year, the lowest figure since the 1977-78 season (a span of 29 years). Through three games this year, OU is surrending 54.7 points a contest.
• The Sooners are 19-for-38 (.500) from 3-point range over the last two games. Omar Leary (6-for-9) and Tony Crocker (5-for-8) are a combined 11-for-17 (.647) on the year.
• The last time OU beat a team ranked as high as Memphis (the Tigers are ranked No. 3 this week's AP poll) was Jan. 7, 2003, when the ninth-ranked Sooners beat third-ranked Connecticut 73-63 in Norman.
• OU has recorded 26 consecutive winning seasons, more than any other Big 12 program. Kansas ranks second (24) and Oklahoma State ranks third (19).

OKLAHOMA UPDATE
Jeff Capel's Oklahoma team enters Thursday's game against Memphis with a 3-0 record after notching home victories over San Francisco (71-55), Denver (80-50) and Alcorn State (99-59). The Sooners have shot the ball extremely well thus far, as evidenced by their season marks of .535 from the field, .418 from 3-point range and .714 from the free throw line (last year they shot .435, .326 and .720, respectively).

Four Sooners average double figures in scoring, three of them members of the frontcourt. Freshman forward Blake Griffin, the sixth McDonald's All-America signee in school history, is averaging team highs of 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting .655 from the field. He posted double-doubles in OU's first and third games (he had 12 points and 10 rebounds by halftime of the opener against San Francisco). Griffin, who is playing 24.5 minutes a game, leads the squad in free throws made (11) and attempted (16). His older brother, junior forward Taylor Griffin, averages 11.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists an outing while shooting .565 from the floor. The elder Griffin has been steady, with scoring efforts of 13, 12 and nine. Senior center Longar Longar scored an OU-season-high 20 points in 20 minutes off the bench Monday against Alcorn State and is averaging 11.0 points and 6.7 rebounds in 18.3 minutes a game. Longar is the team's leading returning scorer and rebounder from last season (10.4 ppg and 7.1 rpg) and owns a career .586 field goal mark.

Leading the way in the backcourt have been sophomore wing Tony Crocker and junior point guard Omar Leary. The pair has been lethal from the field, going a combined 24-for-32 (.750) overall through three games and knocking down 11 of their 17 attempts (.647) from behind the 3-point arc. Crocker has scored in double figures each outing (10, 12 and 16 points) to rank second on the team with his 12.7 average. He is 5-for-8 from 3-point range and also averages 4.0 boards. Leary, a first-team All-American last year at Northeastern (Colo.) Junior College, is shooting a team-high .769 from the floor (10-for-13) and a team-best .667 from long distance (6-for-9). He is averaging 9.3 points in 17.3 minutes a contest and has reached double figures in each of the last two games (14 and 11).

Four more Sooners -- sophomore forward Keith Clark (7.0 ppg), freshman wing Cade Davis (5.7 ppg), junior combo guard Austin Johnson (5.3 ppg) and senior wing David Godbold (4.0 ppg) -- all average at least 15.0 minutes a contest.

PREVIEWING THE MEMPHIS TIGERS
Memphis heads to New York with a 2-0 record thanks to home wins last week over Tennessee-Martin (102-71) and Richmond (80-63). The Tigers, ranked No. 3 in both major polls, outrebounded their two foes by an average of 7.5 boards and forced an average of 20.0 turnovers. They are shooting .463 from the field, .333 from 3-point range (20-for-60) and .623 from the free throw line (38-for-61) while holding opponents to .343 field goal and .305 (18-for-59) 3-point shooting.

Junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts is averaging a team-high 23.5 points a contest to go along with 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals. He is also the team's leader in free throws made (16) and attempted (22). Douglas-Roberts recorded 28 points, eight boards and four steals against Tennessee-Martin. Freshman point guard Derrick Rose averaged 19.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in Memphis' first two games while going 14-for-24 from the field (.583). A consensus top-five national recruit who was regarded as the country's best high school point guard last year, Rose is also averaging 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocked shots. The Tigers' chief 3-point threats, sophomore guards Willie Kemp and Doneal Mack have come off the bench to average 10.5 points a game each. Kemp is shooting a team-high .545 from long range (6-for-11) while Mack owns a .333 mark from beyond the arc (6-for-18). Junior forward Robert Dozier averages 9.5 points and 9.0 boards an outing and sophomore forward Shawn Taggart, an Iowa State transfer, averages 5.5 points and a team-high 10.0 rebounds.

John Calipari is in his eighth season as Memphis' head coach and owns a 183-63 (.744) record at the school. He is in his 16th year as a collegiate head coach and sports a 376-134 (.737) career mark. The former Kansas assistant also compiled a 72-112 (.391) record in two-plus years as the head coach of the New Jersey Nets (1997-99).

OKLAHOMA-MEMPHIS HISTORY
Memphis leads the all-time series against Oklahoma, 5-0. The Tigers posted wins in 1983-84 (69-65 at Memphis), in the 1985 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight (63-61 in Dallas), in 1996-97 (61-47 in Memphis), in 1997-98 (80-78 in Norman) and last year in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational (77-65).

LAST YEAR VERSUS MEMPHIS
• In Oklahoma's third game of last season (Nov. 20), 12th-ranked Memphis beat the Sooners 77-65 in the opening round of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational.
• OU shot just .356 from the field and committed 21 turnovers (Memphis shot .490 and committed 18 turnovers itself).
• OU trailed 39-32 at halftime but got down by as many as 19 points in the second half (63-44) before a 9-0 run brought it to within 10 (63-53).
• Taylor Griffin registered his first career double-double with a career-high 16 points and 10 rebounds.
• Griffin was 6-for-6 from the free throw line and helped the Sooners to a season-best .950 performance (19-for-20).
• Every player from both teams who saw action in the game registered at least one turnover.

OKLAHOMA VERSUS CONNECTICUT AND GARDNER-WEBB
The Sooners, who have never faced Gardner-Webb, own a 3-1 series lead against Connecticut, with all four games taking place within the last six seasons. The series began when fifth-ranked OU posted a 69-67 win on Jan. 7, 2002, in Hartford. Exactly a year later, No. 9 Oklahoma beat No. 3 UConn by a 73-63 count in Norman. In Storrs the following season, the top-ranked Huskies handed the No. 6 Sooners an 86-59 defeat. And in 2004-05 in Norman, No. 25 OU fended off the 12th-ranked Huskies, 77-65.

LA Times - Memphis may be the team to beat

Memphis may be the team to beat
The Tigers return all their starters from a 33-4 team that reached the Elite Eight. And they have a freshman good enough to push one of those starters to the bench.
By Robyn Norwood, ON COLLEGE BASKETBALL
November 14, 2007

Don't get too caught up in debating whether North Carolina or UCLA should be No. 1.

For one thing, the top spot is likely to be handed off like a baton -- five different teams were No. 1 last season.

North Carolina lost Brandan Wright and Reyshawn Terry, and UCLA lost Arron Afflalo but added Kevin Love.

Memphis? Five starters are back from the 33-4 team that lost to Ohio State a step shy of the Final Four, and freshman point guard Derrick Rose already has nudged one of them aside.

Jeff Capel, whose Oklahoma team plays third-ranked Memphis in the semifinals of the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic for Coaches vs. Cancer on Thursday at Madison Square Garden, called the Tigers "arguably the most talented team in the country."

Amid all the talk about Rose -- one of the top freshmen in a class that is putting up stunning numbers -- some people have overlooked the start by junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who is averaging 23.5 points and 8.5 rebounds. And senior Joey Dorsey, the Tigers' powerful big man who missed the first two regular-season games because of a shoulder injury, is ready to go on Thursday.

John Calipari, who took Massachusetts to the Final Four in 1996 -- an achievement later vacated because Marcus Camby admitted taking money from an agent -- sounds as if he's treading carefully to see that his players' individual goals don't interfere with a chance at a national title.

With much of the early focus in the media on Rose, Calipari said he called the team to his house for a meeting.

"My whole point was, 'How do you feel about six of you winning 66 games the last two years and the story's about Derrick? I asked Willie Kemp, 'How do you feel not starting?' How about Jeff Robinson, a top 25 high school player, not being talked about?

"If we do this right, there's going to be enough light and press for everybody. . . . My team thought I was crazy. They said, 'What are you worried about? We're all fine.' I said, 'You're human beings, and I want it to be out front.' "

One of the obstacles for Memphis last season was seen as the lack of competition in Conference USA. Calipari has tried to counter that with a nonconference schedule that includes Oklahoma -- and potentially Connecticut -- in New York this week, as well as USC, Georgetown, Arizona and Gonzaga.

He doesn't have to convince Capel, whose Sooners lost to Memphis by 12 points early last season, that the Tigers are good.

"Look, Memphis is incredibly talented," Capel said. "Obviously they are very athletic, very versatile. They have depth, and they're very well coached. You can tell by how unselfish they are.

"A lot of people sometimes look at Memphis and look at the makeup of their team, and they'll unfairly assume they're a selfish group that doesn't play well together and guys are just trying to get their stats. If you watch them with unbiased eyes, you see how selfless they are. How they share the ball, how their spacing is so good. You see a team, and that's the reason they've been so successful."

Gardner-Webb goes to the Garden

The little school from Boiling Springs, N.C., that upset Kentucky in Rupp Arena last week heads to New York to face Connecticut on Thursday in Madison Square Garden in the other 2K Sports College Hoops Classic semifinal.

"I've never been to the Garden," Coach Rick Scruggs said. "I've been by it, but I've never been able to get into it. Maybe Thursday night, they'll let me in.

"I was trying to sneak in one time, just to get a look, and they wouldn't let me in."

Gardner-Webb will get two shots at Connecticut -- one on Thursday and the other on Tuesday in a previously scheduled game in Storrs, Conn.

Four days later, Gardner-Webb plays at Clemson.

Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun praised Gardner-Webb's performance against Kentucky as "exquisite" and "cerebral."

He also offered some theories about smaller programs being able to pull off upsets, focusing partly on early departures to the NBA at the power schools but also on the familiarity of players at small schools with big-name players from more glamorous programs because of summer travel teams and tournaments.

"I think the fear factor is gone," Calhoun said.

Mercer, the team that pulled the Atlantic Sun Conference's other big upset by beating USC on Saturday, had another chance to make waves on Tuesday when it played host to Alabama, but the Bears lost to the Crimson Tide, 90-83.

CUSA Having Problems With Non-Conf Foes

Oh my, SMU has two losses already (at home, mind you). Check out this power schedule

Nov. 10 Southern University 75, SMU 61
Nov. 11 Alabama State 64, SMU 54

Boy, now that helps the ole conference RPI

Only two teams have decent wins to date.........

On Sunday, UCF beat Nevada 63 to 60; and on Nov 9th, Tulane beat Auburn 77 to 62.

Other confence losses to date

Nov. 14 Texas A&M 81, UTEP 76
Nov. 14 California 67, Southern Miss 59
Nov. 13 TCU 76, RIce 49
Nov. 13 Richmond 67, ECU 65
Nov. 11 Hampton 72, Tulsa 55

Cleaning out the notebook…Posted by Dan Wolken

Cleaning out the notebook…
Posted by Dan Wolken

…as I pack for New York.

– The exhibition game with CBU went about as expected, though 90-35 was somewhat surprising since CBU has some experience and has played Memphis tougher than that in years past. Most everybody got what they needed to get out of that game. Joey Dorsey got a tuneup after missing the first two games and made a difference in the paint. Chris Douglas-Roberts got back to making plays and finishing layups. Antonio Anderson had more pep defensively. Shawn Taggart had a good night, getting some rebounds and scoring when they posted him up. Derrick Rose went five assists with no turnovers. Willie Kemp and Doneal Mack made 3-pointers. The only guy who didn’t show up was Robert Dozier, whose inconsistency continues to baffle. Sure, it was an exhibition. But Dozier should have had enough pride to do more than go through the motions. Dozier can look like a pro at times (we saw it in last year’s NCAA Tournament), but last night was discouraging.

– The four coaches involved in the 2k College Hoops Classic semifinals were available to the media Tuesday on a teleconference. Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel had some interesting comments on Memphis.

“A lot of people will sometimes look at Memphis and the makeup of their team and unfairly assume that they’re a selfish group that doesn’t play well together, that guys are trying to get stats,” he said. “But if you really sit down and watch them with unbiased eyes, you see how selfless they are, how they share the ball, their spacing is so good. You see a team.”

Also, John Calipari was asked about the possibility of playing old rival Jim Calhoun if Memphis and Connecticut both make it to the championship game. The only interesting thing he said was, “I have respect for their program and the things they do. They recruit nationally, can you imagine, to Storrs, Connecticut?” If you were so inclinced, knowing the history between Calhoun and Calipari, you could take that comment as a nice little slap at UConn. But maybe I’m crazy.

Sooners star Griffin gears up for Tigers, fellow talent Rose

Freshman phenom ready for test
Sooners star Griffin gears up for Tigers, fellow talent Rose
By Jim Masilak
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

He's one of the nation's premier freshmen, a player touted as a potential program-changing talent and one of the most important recruits in school history.

Because he has performed to rave reviews in his first few college games, New York City's basketball cognoscenti eagerly awaits his arrival for Thursday's 2K Sports College Hoops Classic semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

Much like Memphis guard Derrick Rose, Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin has grabbed the public's imagination. And in the process, Griffin can count the Tigers' dynamic freshman among a fast-growing list of admirers.

"Man, he's athletic," enthused Rose, who ran up against the 6-foot-10, 230-pounder from Oklahoma City on the summer circuit. "That's one of the most athletic big men I ever saw. He's my age, but he's really athletic."

A consensus top-25 national prospect while prepping at nearby Oklahoma Christian School, Griffin gave second-year Sooners coach Jeff Capel a huge boost when he decided to stay home and play alongside his brother. A 6-foot-7, 236-pound junior forward who can play a bit himself, Taylor Griffin and his more-heralded younger sibling are breathing new life into OU basketball.

Through three games for the Sooners (3-0), who face No. 3 Memphis (2-0) in Thursday's second semifinal, Blake Griffin is averaging a team-high 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.

In what is becoming The Year of the Freshman in college basketball, no list would be complete without a player said to be Oklahoma's most prized recruit since Wayman Tisdale came to Norman 25 years ago.

"He's talented. Now, he still has a long ways to go. He has a mix of athleticism, of strength, of size for an 18-year-old kid that's very rare," Capel said. "The thing I love about him is that he wants to be good. One of the things that's concerning to me is he hasn't played anyone who can match his mixture of size or his speed or his athleticism or his strength. That will come on Thursday. ... It will be interesting to see how he performs on that stage."

Griffin's older brother is no slouch either. Taylor Griffin scored 11.3 points per game in lopsided wins over San Francisco, Denver and Alcorn State. Oklahoma won those games by an average of 28.7 points, but he knows that playing the Tigers should prove slightly more challenging.

"This will be a good test for us because of the caliber of team Memphis is," said Taylor Griffin, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds in a 77-65 loss to Memphis during last year's Maui Invitational. "We had a chance (in that game), down seven at halftime, but I think we're a lot better right now this year than when we played them last year."

Oklahoma ended 16-15 in Capel's first season, thus ending the nation's longest postseason streak at 25 years. The addition of Blake Griffin should help the Sooners start a new streak.

"He's gonna be a heck of a player. We've got to help him develop as quickly as we can," Taylor Griffin said. "We have a chance to do some big things this year."

If the Tigers remember one thing about last year's meeting with Oklahoma, it's that the Sooners aren't the sort of team that's easily forgotten. Their physical style of play was the first thing most Memphis players cited when asked about them.

"They're a very physical team. We've just got to match that," senior forward Joey Dorsey said. "You've got to come out and play with intensity on every possession. If you don't, you'll get smacked."

Junior forward Robert Dozier turned in one of his better performances last year against the Sooners, scoring 13 points to go with seven rebounds. But he was still gassed the next night when the Tigers faced Georgia Tech, going scoreless in a loss to the Yellow Jackets.

"I know they play physical. They've got some big guys inside that can play," Dozier said. "The banging down low, that's what I remember most."

Sophomore guard Doneal Mack said the Tigers are ready for a tussle. Though ranked among the nation's elite, he said, they still have a chip on their shoulder.

"It's gonna be a tough game. Oklahoma's not somebody we can look past," Mack said. "But we aren't gonna let them take us out of our comfort zone. We're eager to go up there and play because a lot of people think it's just hype about us. We're eager to go up there and play and prove we're for real."

With Dorsey having proved his health thanks to a double-double in Monday's 90-35 exhibition romp over Christian Brothers University, the Tigers will head to New York City today at close to full strength.

"After the second half we played (against CBU) -- the first half was so-so -- in the second half guys played with intensity and determination," Dozier said. "That's what (coach John Calipari) wanted to see. If we play like that (in New York), we're on our way."

-- Jim Masilak: 529-2311

Next for Tigers

What: 2K Sports College Hoops Classic semifinal

Opponent: Oklahoma

When, where: About 8:30 p.m. CST Thursday, at New York's Madison Square Garden

TV, radio: ESPN2, WREC-AM (600)

Dorsey makes sizeable impact as U of M cakewalks over Bucs

Dorsey makes sizeable impact as U of M cakewalks over Bucs
By Dan Wolken
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Usually, the most noticeable thing about University of Memphis forward Joey Dorsey is his granite-carved physique. But when Dorsey stepped on the floor at FedExForum Monday for his season debut against Christian Brothers, he was wearing a white t-shirt under his jersey, covering up biceps that can affect opponents psychologically just as well as physically.

"You can't see the muscles and they ain't scared of me like that," Dorsey said.

The T-shirt was necessary to mask the brace Dorsey wore over his right shoulder, which he sprained on Oct. 27, forcing him to miss the Tigers' first two games this season. But even with the extra attire, the 6-foot-9 senior was as intimidating as ever, tuning up for this week's trip to New York by scoring 10 points with 10 rebounds as No. 3 Memphis dominated CBU 90-35 in an exhibition game played before an announced crowd of 16,544.

"The rest of us did our thing," coach John Calipari said. "But he was the difference-maker."

In a game that was surprisingly non-competitive, given that CBU returned all five starters from last season and is ranked in the top-10 of several Div. 2 preseason polls, Dorsey indeed provided the interior presence Memphis lacked in victories last week over Tennessee-Martin and Richmond.

Though Calipari said Dorsey didn't start off the game playing with the same intensity as his teammates, Dorsey went 3-for-3 from the field and had four rebounds in the first eight minutes, helping the Tigers to a 23-7 lead they extended to 41-17 by halftime.

Dorsey came back in the second half with the intent to dominate, altering seemingly every shot CBU tried to put up. Though Dorsey did not record any blocks, he had four steals, one of which he turned into a right-handed windmill dunk for a 61-19 lead, erasing any doubt about the health of his shoulder.

"If I think about the shoulder when I'm out there, I'm going to play bad, and that's what I was starting to do," Dorsey said. "Then I got loose and got back in the flow of the game."

Said Calipari, "It's one of the first times I've seen him change during a game where he said, I'm going to do it the right way. He clogged up the middle, he guarded his man, he helped his teammates, and all the sudden they couldn't score a basket."

Beyond Dorsey's return, the Tigers excelled in almost all the other areas, finishing with a 53-26 rebounding edge and holding the Bucs to 15-for-52 from the field. For Memphis, it was a defensive breakthrough after several days of listening to Calipari criticize their effort and attention to detail in the first two games.

"Coach was screaming and yelling all his choice words," junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, who scored 13 points in 14 minutes, said. "When he's doing all of that, you're like, let's do whatever to get him to close his mouth. We're back to playing Memphis basketball where we're diving on the floor, defense is first. The first two games we fell off of it but now we're back."

The Tigers, who experimented with several different lineups, were also sharp offensively. They made 50 percent of their field goals, committed just three turnovers and got back to driving the ball toward the rim instead of settling for 3-pointers.

Sophomore Shawn Taggart, a 6-foot-11 transfer from Iowa State, showcased his face-up skills in the post by scoring 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting, freshman point guard Derrick Rose had nine points and five assists, and sophomore Doneal Mack came off the bench to score a team-high 15 points.

Reach Dan Wolken at 529-2365; read his blogs on the Tigers at thememphisedge.com.