From the San Antonio airport…
Posted by Dan Wolken
All day yesterday, I fully expected to be covering the 9 a.m. press conference for the national champions. At about 10:25 last night, I would have bet the farm on it. Instead, I’m ready to get home and begin a very long offseason in which we’ll probably be re-living and writing about what happened Monday night countless times. How can we not?
It was a historic collapse, something that won’t ever be forgotten. Any time a team is up 7 or 8 points in a national championship game with the clock winding down, Memphis’ 2008 loss will be talked about.
Was it free throws? Sure, Memphis could have won it once and for all at the line. If Derrick Rose makes 2-of-2 intead of 1-of-2, the Tigers win. If CDR doesn’t tense up with 16.8 left — and he was tense — the Tigers likely cut down the nets. But the play of the game was the inbounds pass Sherron Collins stole from Antonio Anderson. If Anderson gets the ball safely to Rose, he goes to the line with about 1:45 to go up by seven points. Maybe he makes both; maybe he just makes one. Either way, the Tigers probably would have put enough distance between themselves and Kansas right there to clinch it. Instead, a 9-point lead turns to 4 in a matter of 10 seconds. That changed the entire strategy in the final 1:40. Suddenly, every dribble and free throw was huge. If Rose goes to the line with a 7 point lead, he probably makes both simply because the pressure isn’t as great.
Joey Dorsey’s fifth foul with 1:23 to go was also another major mental error. It’s bad on three levels. 1) It stops the clock. 2) It fouls Dorsey out. 3) It allows Kansas to cut it from six to four on free throws.
The third gaffe belongs to John Calipari, and he will forever have to own it. He says he was trying to foul before Mario Chalmers got off the tying shot. But he should have called timeout after Rose made the second free throw. You have to call timeout there. Make sure everybody knows what is going on. Calling timeout is a no-lose situation. You let your defense get set up. You make Kansas inbound the ball. If you want to, you can even foul on the inbounds. If the Tigers foul, they win. Simple as that. Amazing.
Not fun to write about it, but it was a great season. Lots of things will be percolating in the coming weeks. We’ll do our best to have them for you first. Enjoy the offseason, as best you can.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
'We will be back,' Calipari tells crowd
'We will be back,' Calipari tells crowd
'One more year,' adoring fans ask of Rose after loss
By Jason Smith
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The chant began as Derrick Rose approached a podium set up before a sea of blue-and-white clad University of Memphis basketball fans gathered Tuesday at Memphis International Airport to welcome their Tigers home.
"ONE MORE YEAR! ONE MORE YEAR! ONE MORE YEAR!"
Rose, the Tigers' freshman point guard, elected not to directly address the crowd's pleas that he return to Memphis for his sophomore season rather than declare himself eligible for June's NBA Draft.
"I want to thank y'all for y'all's support because we were just really trying to win the game for the city because we knew it would mean so much to y'all," said Rose, still visibly spent from the Tigers' 75-68 NCAA championship-game overtime loss to Kansas less than 15 hours earlier in San Antonio.
"Coming from Chicago, coming here, I'm proud that I made that decision to come here. I just want to say that I'm sorry that we lost the game, and there's always some more years."
Rose, senior Joey Dorsey and juniors Chris Douglas-Roberts, Robert Dozier and Antonio Anderson each took turns addressing a crowd that screamed its appreciation back at them and waved homemade signs reading, "Thanks for the memories," and "You are #1 in our heart."
"I just wanna say these last four years, y'all have really had an impact on my life, the way y'all have embraced me and everything," Dorsey said.
Like Rose, Douglas-Roberts elected Tuesday not to talk about whether he plans to return to Memphis for his senior season or enter the NBA draft.
"I'm speaking for me and my teammates when we say how appreciative we are for y'all," Douglas-Roberts told the crowd.
"More than anything, we wanted to win this for the city, and I'm not even from here. A lot of us aren't, but we respect the city, and we love the way y'all embraced us with open arms."
Memphis coach John Calipari said he wouldn't deter Rose and Douglas-Roberts from entering the draft if each projects as a first-round pick.
NBADraft.net currently projects Rose as the No. 1 pick in the draft and Douglas-Roberts as the No. 18 pick in the first round.
"You all know me well enough," Calipari said. "If they both have an opportunity to be drafted in that first round, what do you think I'm going to recommend? I'm going to say, 'You gotta go for it.'
"I'm proud of Joey. I think Joey now has put himself in a position to be a professional basketball player. This was a dream team, and you want those kids to reach their personal dreams, too."
Calipari declined to assess blame on his players for their missed free throws down the stretch Monday night or for blowing a 60-51 lead with 2:12 left in regulation.
"It would have been nice, but I told them it was all of us," he said. "I mean, I could have called a timeout here, a timeout there. They could have made a couple free throws. Maybe we don't turn it over. Maybe we grab a rebound. Maybe we make a stop.
"So you can't ... we're not going to beat ourselves up. We're just not. We all make decisions as coaches. They're thought-out decisions and they're based on your team. When they work, you're a genius. When they don't work, you're second-guessed.
"That's how it is, and I can accept it. I'd rather it be on me than these kids anyway."
Before leaving the podium, Calipari said he had "one last thing" to tell the crowd.
"We will be back."
-- Jason Smith: 529-5804
TV ratings huge
The University of Memphis' NCAA Championship game loss to Kansas Monday night attracted a mammoth audience on WREG-TV (3).
According to CBS, the Jayhawks' 75-68 overtime win drew a 50.4 rating in the Memphis market, meaning just over half the area's television households were watching. Memphis-Kansas also drew a 64 share, meaning roughly 64 percent of the households with TVs in use were tuned to the game.
Saturday's semifinal win over UCLA drew a 35.8 rating and 53 share on WREG.
Nationally, the Memphis-Kansas game drew a 12.1 rating and a 20 share, down 8 percent from 2007.
'One more year,' adoring fans ask of Rose after loss
By Jason Smith
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The chant began as Derrick Rose approached a podium set up before a sea of blue-and-white clad University of Memphis basketball fans gathered Tuesday at Memphis International Airport to welcome their Tigers home.
"ONE MORE YEAR! ONE MORE YEAR! ONE MORE YEAR!"
Rose, the Tigers' freshman point guard, elected not to directly address the crowd's pleas that he return to Memphis for his sophomore season rather than declare himself eligible for June's NBA Draft.
"I want to thank y'all for y'all's support because we were just really trying to win the game for the city because we knew it would mean so much to y'all," said Rose, still visibly spent from the Tigers' 75-68 NCAA championship-game overtime loss to Kansas less than 15 hours earlier in San Antonio.
"Coming from Chicago, coming here, I'm proud that I made that decision to come here. I just want to say that I'm sorry that we lost the game, and there's always some more years."
Rose, senior Joey Dorsey and juniors Chris Douglas-Roberts, Robert Dozier and Antonio Anderson each took turns addressing a crowd that screamed its appreciation back at them and waved homemade signs reading, "Thanks for the memories," and "You are #1 in our heart."
"I just wanna say these last four years, y'all have really had an impact on my life, the way y'all have embraced me and everything," Dorsey said.
Like Rose, Douglas-Roberts elected Tuesday not to talk about whether he plans to return to Memphis for his senior season or enter the NBA draft.
"I'm speaking for me and my teammates when we say how appreciative we are for y'all," Douglas-Roberts told the crowd.
"More than anything, we wanted to win this for the city, and I'm not even from here. A lot of us aren't, but we respect the city, and we love the way y'all embraced us with open arms."
Memphis coach John Calipari said he wouldn't deter Rose and Douglas-Roberts from entering the draft if each projects as a first-round pick.
NBADraft.net currently projects Rose as the No. 1 pick in the draft and Douglas-Roberts as the No. 18 pick in the first round.
"You all know me well enough," Calipari said. "If they both have an opportunity to be drafted in that first round, what do you think I'm going to recommend? I'm going to say, 'You gotta go for it.'
"I'm proud of Joey. I think Joey now has put himself in a position to be a professional basketball player. This was a dream team, and you want those kids to reach their personal dreams, too."
Calipari declined to assess blame on his players for their missed free throws down the stretch Monday night or for blowing a 60-51 lead with 2:12 left in regulation.
"It would have been nice, but I told them it was all of us," he said. "I mean, I could have called a timeout here, a timeout there. They could have made a couple free throws. Maybe we don't turn it over. Maybe we grab a rebound. Maybe we make a stop.
"So you can't ... we're not going to beat ourselves up. We're just not. We all make decisions as coaches. They're thought-out decisions and they're based on your team. When they work, you're a genius. When they don't work, you're second-guessed.
"That's how it is, and I can accept it. I'd rather it be on me than these kids anyway."
Before leaving the podium, Calipari said he had "one last thing" to tell the crowd.
"We will be back."
-- Jason Smith: 529-5804
TV ratings huge
The University of Memphis' NCAA Championship game loss to Kansas Monday night attracted a mammoth audience on WREG-TV (3).
According to CBS, the Jayhawks' 75-68 overtime win drew a 50.4 rating in the Memphis market, meaning just over half the area's television households were watching. Memphis-Kansas also drew a 64 share, meaning roughly 64 percent of the households with TVs in use were tuned to the game.
Saturday's semifinal win over UCLA drew a 35.8 rating and 53 share on WREG.
Nationally, the Memphis-Kansas game drew a 12.1 rating and a 20 share, down 8 percent from 2007.
New York Post - Did Calipari blow timeout?
Did Calipari blow timeout?
Posted: Tuesday April 08, 2008 06:28AM ET
He kept the timeout in his pocket. For the rest of his career, he'll have to answer for that. For the rest of his life, he'll have to ponder it. All year long, a source close to the Memphis program said last night, John Calipari has practiced exactly what to do in those situation - up three, time running out. All season long, the Tigers practiced fouling in those situations. Maybe Calipari figured they would remember. He must have. He didn't call a timeout to remind them. They didn't foul. Mario Chalmers hit a game-tying 3. Overtime was a formality; Kansas won the game, 75-68.
Posted: Tuesday April 08, 2008 06:28AM ET
He kept the timeout in his pocket. For the rest of his career, he'll have to answer for that. For the rest of his life, he'll have to ponder it. All year long, a source close to the Memphis program said last night, John Calipari has practiced exactly what to do in those situation - up three, time running out. All season long, the Tigers practiced fouling in those situations. Maybe Calipari figured they would remember. He must have. He didn't call a timeout to remind them. They didn't foul. Mario Chalmers hit a game-tying 3. Overtime was a formality; Kansas won the game, 75-68.
SI's Luke Winn - Musing On A Miracle ... And A Top 10 for 2008-09
Musing On A Miracle ... And A Top 10 for 2008-09
SAN ANTONIO -- The hoops world is not ready to move on from Mario's Miracle just yet. It's unlikely that anyone packing up and leaving Alamo-land this morning -- from the media to the Kansas and Memphis contingents -- can get Monday night's drama out of their heads.
I'm just a greenhorn at this Final Four business (2008 was my fourth at SI), but I think this was a title-game finish for the ages, this decade's closest answer to the Keith Smart shot that stunned Syracuse when I was just 6 years old. There are certain things from Monday's finish that I'll forever remember: my vantage point on Mario Chalmers' three, from two rows back and to the left of Packer & Nantz; standing next to Chalmers and his mother, Almarie, as they embraced courtside; listening to Ronnie Chalmers in the Kansas locker room as he recounted sitting with Mario in the Alamodome at the 2004 Final Four, and how his son said that he would be playing for a championship some day. After watching two straight Final Fours full of blowouts, this was the payoff, the long-awaited shining moment.
The image in my head of Chalmers' shot is vivid enough to still give me goosebumps at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. And perhaps that's why I'm stuck on it; because any picture I try to form of next season is incredibly unclear. There's a chance that the Jayhawks could lose their entire starting five: Darnell Jackson and Russell Robinson are graduating, Brandon Rush is going pro, Darrell Arthur is leaning that way, and even the miracle man -- who wasn't thought to be potential early draft entrant as of last week -- is considering making the jump to the NBA.
If Chalmers were to return for his senior season, though, he could lead the Revenge of the Upperclassmen. The second straight tidal wave of one-and-done freshmen -- from Memphis' Derrick Rose, to UCLA's Kevin Love, to Kansas State's Michael Beasley -- are uniformly expected to enter June's draft. For the past two seasons one could scan a list of top recruits and envision how the college hoops landscape would soon be altered. Last April one could see that Love would boost the Bruins and Rose would take Memphis over the top, and I ran a top 10 in the magazine that nailed the '08 Final Four. As much as I'd like to pat myself on the back, those were not difficult predictions.
Examine the incoming recruits for '08, though, and you'll see that there is no truly transcendent rookie on the horizon. There are a few good ones -- such as McDonald's All-American game MVP Tyreke Evans, who might soon be bound for Memphis or Villanova, and Jrue Holiday, who should fill UCLA's expected backcourt vacancy -- but there is no Greg Oden or Derrick Rose. Teams will rely on upperclassmen to save them. Perhaps Super Mario can come to the rescue once again? And if not him, what about North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, Texas' D.J. Augustin, UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, UCLA's Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook, and West Virginia's Joe Alexander? Their pro decisions will matter more than anyone else's.
In writing a top 10 for next season so early (a practice we can mutually acknowledge the absurdity of, but at the same time admit that we're reasonably interested in) it's necessary to make a few educated guesses. And so on top of the players who have already declared, I'm assuming there will be a few more. Among them: Memphis' Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts, Kansas State's Michael Beasley and Bill Walker, UCLA's Love and Collison, Kansas' Arthur, USC's O.J. Mayo and Texas' Augustin.
Everything will fall into place over the next three weeks. Until then, this is my best assessment:
1. NORTH CAROLINA - Will leaving San Antonio empty-handed inspire key Tar Heels to stay for another season? Hansbrough could become the first back-to-back Naismith Award winner since Ralph Sampson’s three-peat (1981–83) -- and along with Lawson, make another run at the title. If Ty takes off for the NBA, leaving UNC to make do with senior-to-be Bobby Frasor and incoming recruit Larry Drew at point guard, that championship will be more difficult to attain.
2. UCONN - The 87-inch question in Storrs is: Will Big East defensive player of the year Hasheem Thabeet (147 blocks) return and make the Huskies a title contender? Point guard A.J. Price (torn left ACL) is expected back for the ’08 opener.
3. UCLA - The next wave of Bruins backcourt stars -- led by polished combo guard Jrue Holiday -- arrives as part of Rivals.com's No. 2–ranked recruiting class. The pairing of Holiday with Russell Westbrook should keep UCLA atop the Pac-10.
4. PURDUE - Big Ten hegemony could begin here for coach Matt Painter, whose precocious band of underclassmen -- led by freshman guards (and former AAU teammates) E'Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel -- came within one win of a conference title in ’08.
5. KANSAS - Senior All-Americas are a dying breed, but KU should have one in point guard Mario Chalmers -- plus a breakout star in Sherron Collins, who finished an injury-riddled season with a superb performance off the bench in the title game.
6. TEXAS - The Horns have nearly every piece of the championship puzzle: a three-point marksman (A.J. Abrams), a glue guy (Justin Mason), two versatile forwards (Damion James and Connor Atchley) ... but no tested point guard if Augustin bolts.
7. WEST VIRGINIA - If late-season sensation Alexander, a 6-foot-8 forward, sticks around for his senior year and teams up with top recruit Kevin Jones, a 6-7 forward, the Mountaineers will have a potent one-two punch in the frontcourt.
8. GEORGETOWN - Greg Monroe is no Greg Oden, but the 6-10 forward from Harvey, La., is the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2008 and will help fill the void left by center Roy Hibbert's graduation. Look for unsung point guard Jessie Sapp to emerge as the Hoyas' MVP.
9. DUKE - The Blue Devils lose DeMarcus Nelson (graduation) and Taylor King (transfer) -- and Mike Krzyzewski could tire after coaching the U.S. team in Beijing -- but the nucleus for a Final Four team, including versatile forwards Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson, remains.
10. TENNESSEE - Junior-to-be forward Tyler Smith has All-America potential, but landing a five-star recruit -- shooting guard Scotty Hopson -- on April 1 was huge for the Vols, who need scoring power after losing seniors Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith.
The rest of the top 30: Notre Dame, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, USC, Ohio State, Syracuse, Memphis, Florida, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Davidson, Marquette, Villanova, Baylor, Gonzaga, BYU, Wisconsin, Xavier, Louisville, Clemson.
SAN ANTONIO -- The hoops world is not ready to move on from Mario's Miracle just yet. It's unlikely that anyone packing up and leaving Alamo-land this morning -- from the media to the Kansas and Memphis contingents -- can get Monday night's drama out of their heads.
I'm just a greenhorn at this Final Four business (2008 was my fourth at SI), but I think this was a title-game finish for the ages, this decade's closest answer to the Keith Smart shot that stunned Syracuse when I was just 6 years old. There are certain things from Monday's finish that I'll forever remember: my vantage point on Mario Chalmers' three, from two rows back and to the left of Packer & Nantz; standing next to Chalmers and his mother, Almarie, as they embraced courtside; listening to Ronnie Chalmers in the Kansas locker room as he recounted sitting with Mario in the Alamodome at the 2004 Final Four, and how his son said that he would be playing for a championship some day. After watching two straight Final Fours full of blowouts, this was the payoff, the long-awaited shining moment.
The image in my head of Chalmers' shot is vivid enough to still give me goosebumps at 11 a.m. on Tuesday. And perhaps that's why I'm stuck on it; because any picture I try to form of next season is incredibly unclear. There's a chance that the Jayhawks could lose their entire starting five: Darnell Jackson and Russell Robinson are graduating, Brandon Rush is going pro, Darrell Arthur is leaning that way, and even the miracle man -- who wasn't thought to be potential early draft entrant as of last week -- is considering making the jump to the NBA.
If Chalmers were to return for his senior season, though, he could lead the Revenge of the Upperclassmen. The second straight tidal wave of one-and-done freshmen -- from Memphis' Derrick Rose, to UCLA's Kevin Love, to Kansas State's Michael Beasley -- are uniformly expected to enter June's draft. For the past two seasons one could scan a list of top recruits and envision how the college hoops landscape would soon be altered. Last April one could see that Love would boost the Bruins and Rose would take Memphis over the top, and I ran a top 10 in the magazine that nailed the '08 Final Four. As much as I'd like to pat myself on the back, those were not difficult predictions.
Examine the incoming recruits for '08, though, and you'll see that there is no truly transcendent rookie on the horizon. There are a few good ones -- such as McDonald's All-American game MVP Tyreke Evans, who might soon be bound for Memphis or Villanova, and Jrue Holiday, who should fill UCLA's expected backcourt vacancy -- but there is no Greg Oden or Derrick Rose. Teams will rely on upperclassmen to save them. Perhaps Super Mario can come to the rescue once again? And if not him, what about North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, Texas' D.J. Augustin, UConn's Hasheem Thabeet, UCLA's Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook, and West Virginia's Joe Alexander? Their pro decisions will matter more than anyone else's.
In writing a top 10 for next season so early (a practice we can mutually acknowledge the absurdity of, but at the same time admit that we're reasonably interested in) it's necessary to make a few educated guesses. And so on top of the players who have already declared, I'm assuming there will be a few more. Among them: Memphis' Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts, Kansas State's Michael Beasley and Bill Walker, UCLA's Love and Collison, Kansas' Arthur, USC's O.J. Mayo and Texas' Augustin.
Everything will fall into place over the next three weeks. Until then, this is my best assessment:
1. NORTH CAROLINA - Will leaving San Antonio empty-handed inspire key Tar Heels to stay for another season? Hansbrough could become the first back-to-back Naismith Award winner since Ralph Sampson’s three-peat (1981–83) -- and along with Lawson, make another run at the title. If Ty takes off for the NBA, leaving UNC to make do with senior-to-be Bobby Frasor and incoming recruit Larry Drew at point guard, that championship will be more difficult to attain.
2. UCONN - The 87-inch question in Storrs is: Will Big East defensive player of the year Hasheem Thabeet (147 blocks) return and make the Huskies a title contender? Point guard A.J. Price (torn left ACL) is expected back for the ’08 opener.
3. UCLA - The next wave of Bruins backcourt stars -- led by polished combo guard Jrue Holiday -- arrives as part of Rivals.com's No. 2–ranked recruiting class. The pairing of Holiday with Russell Westbrook should keep UCLA atop the Pac-10.
4. PURDUE - Big Ten hegemony could begin here for coach Matt Painter, whose precocious band of underclassmen -- led by freshman guards (and former AAU teammates) E'Twaun Moore and Robbie Hummel -- came within one win of a conference title in ’08.
5. KANSAS - Senior All-Americas are a dying breed, but KU should have one in point guard Mario Chalmers -- plus a breakout star in Sherron Collins, who finished an injury-riddled season with a superb performance off the bench in the title game.
6. TEXAS - The Horns have nearly every piece of the championship puzzle: a three-point marksman (A.J. Abrams), a glue guy (Justin Mason), two versatile forwards (Damion James and Connor Atchley) ... but no tested point guard if Augustin bolts.
7. WEST VIRGINIA - If late-season sensation Alexander, a 6-foot-8 forward, sticks around for his senior year and teams up with top recruit Kevin Jones, a 6-7 forward, the Mountaineers will have a potent one-two punch in the frontcourt.
8. GEORGETOWN - Greg Monroe is no Greg Oden, but the 6-10 forward from Harvey, La., is the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2008 and will help fill the void left by center Roy Hibbert's graduation. Look for unsung point guard Jessie Sapp to emerge as the Hoyas' MVP.
9. DUKE - The Blue Devils lose DeMarcus Nelson (graduation) and Taylor King (transfer) -- and Mike Krzyzewski could tire after coaching the U.S. team in Beijing -- but the nucleus for a Final Four team, including versatile forwards Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson, remains.
10. TENNESSEE - Junior-to-be forward Tyler Smith has All-America potential, but landing a five-star recruit -- shooting guard Scotty Hopson -- on April 1 was huge for the Vols, who need scoring power after losing seniors Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith.
The rest of the top 30: Notre Dame, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, USC, Ohio State, Syracuse, Memphis, Florida, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Davidson, Marquette, Villanova, Baylor, Gonzaga, BYU, Wisconsin, Xavier, Louisville, Clemson.
USA Today - Daunting task lies ahead for Calipari, Memphis
Daunting task lies ahead for Calipari, Memphis
USA Today
SAN ANTONIO — Memphis made it to the Final Four this year for the first time since 1985.
But are the Tigers, like their fabulous freshman point guard Derrick Rose, one and done?
The rebuilding job facing coach John Calipari is formidable, as he will likely lose Rose, along with 6-7 junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, to the NBA.
Rose, the 6-3, 205-pounder who has been compared to NBA All-Star Jason Kidd, is expected to go as high as the second overall pick in the draft. Douglas-Roberts is projected to go in the middle of the first round. And Memphis' best inside player, Joey Dorsey, is a senior.
Without Rose and Douglas-Roberts, who combined for 53 of the Tigers' 78 points in a semifinal win vs. UCLA, Memphis will have to find a lot of offense from somebody.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: North Carolina | Pennsylvania | Connecticut | Indiana | Tigers | Memphis | Final Four | Syracuse | McDonald | Carmelo Anthony | John Calipari | Rivals.com | Derrick Rose | Chris Douglas-Roberts | Joey Dorsey | Robert Dozier | Antonio Anderson | Willie Kemp | Doneal Mack | Oakdale | Devin Ebanks
Without the 6-9, 265-pound Dorsey, who hauled in 15 rebounds and put the clamps on UCLA All-American Kevin Love, the Tigers will lack inside muscle.
So, Memphis will pretty much start over in the 2008-09 season.
That's the risk of taking a recruit as talented as Rose. He might take you to the promised land, as Carmelo Anthony did with Syracuse in his freshman year in 2003. And then, like Anthony, he's gone to the NBA.
Calipari can live with that.
"If they leave early, I'm ecstatic for them," he says. "The guys at Memphis know. I'm not going to hold a kid back. I made the statement, 'If you want to do what's right for you and your family, you should consider leaving. If you want to do what's right for me and my family, you probably should stay.' You try to look out for them.
"If you're a first-round pick, I'm not sure it's very intelligent (to stay in school). It seems to me the history says the longer you stay, they're finding more kinks in your armor. It doesn't mean I don't want kids to graduate. I do. But if a kid is a first-round pick, my recommendation will be, 'You need to go for it. I ask that you come back and finish up. We'll help you with courses in the summer. We'll do our thing. But you probably should do this.' "
The Tigers' hopes of continuing to thrive in Calipari's dribble-drive offense might rest on what happens with two significant recruiting decisions still to be made.
Memphis is in the running for one of the top incoming freshmen in the country, 6-5 point guard Tyreke Evans of Aston, Pa., the MVP of the recent McDonald's All-American high school game.
Evans was one of just two undecided players in the McDonald's game. He finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Evans would move right into Rose's spot and be a good fit for the Memphis offense.
So would 6-8 forward Devin Ebanks, a highly rated recruit from Oakdale, Conn., who is still considering playing for Memphis.
Getting both of them into the Memphis fold would be an impressive coup and would build excitement for another powerhouse team. Without them, a strong tournament team next year is a little harder to envision.
Likely returning are two starters, junior forward Robert Dozier and junior guard Antonio Anderson, who were key contributors to the Tigers' tournament run. Dozier averaged 9.1 points and 6.7 rebounds this season and is capable of a lot more, Calipari says. Anderson was the Tigers' top perimeter defender and also averaged 8.5 points.
Also returning are two experienced sophomore guards in Doneal Mack (7.1 ppg) and Willie Kemp (5.2 ppg).
Two recruits have committed to joining the program: 6-10 forward Angel Garcia of East Chicago, Ind., and 6-8 forward Matt Simpkins of Patterson, N.C.
Neither is rated as highly as Evans or Ebanks, but they are both among the top 50 prospects nationally, according to Rivals.com.
USA Today
SAN ANTONIO — Memphis made it to the Final Four this year for the first time since 1985.
But are the Tigers, like their fabulous freshman point guard Derrick Rose, one and done?
The rebuilding job facing coach John Calipari is formidable, as he will likely lose Rose, along with 6-7 junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts, to the NBA.
Rose, the 6-3, 205-pounder who has been compared to NBA All-Star Jason Kidd, is expected to go as high as the second overall pick in the draft. Douglas-Roberts is projected to go in the middle of the first round. And Memphis' best inside player, Joey Dorsey, is a senior.
Without Rose and Douglas-Roberts, who combined for 53 of the Tigers' 78 points in a semifinal win vs. UCLA, Memphis will have to find a lot of offense from somebody.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: North Carolina | Pennsylvania | Connecticut | Indiana | Tigers | Memphis | Final Four | Syracuse | McDonald | Carmelo Anthony | John Calipari | Rivals.com | Derrick Rose | Chris Douglas-Roberts | Joey Dorsey | Robert Dozier | Antonio Anderson | Willie Kemp | Doneal Mack | Oakdale | Devin Ebanks
Without the 6-9, 265-pound Dorsey, who hauled in 15 rebounds and put the clamps on UCLA All-American Kevin Love, the Tigers will lack inside muscle.
So, Memphis will pretty much start over in the 2008-09 season.
That's the risk of taking a recruit as talented as Rose. He might take you to the promised land, as Carmelo Anthony did with Syracuse in his freshman year in 2003. And then, like Anthony, he's gone to the NBA.
Calipari can live with that.
"If they leave early, I'm ecstatic for them," he says. "The guys at Memphis know. I'm not going to hold a kid back. I made the statement, 'If you want to do what's right for you and your family, you should consider leaving. If you want to do what's right for me and my family, you probably should stay.' You try to look out for them.
"If you're a first-round pick, I'm not sure it's very intelligent (to stay in school). It seems to me the history says the longer you stay, they're finding more kinks in your armor. It doesn't mean I don't want kids to graduate. I do. But if a kid is a first-round pick, my recommendation will be, 'You need to go for it. I ask that you come back and finish up. We'll help you with courses in the summer. We'll do our thing. But you probably should do this.' "
The Tigers' hopes of continuing to thrive in Calipari's dribble-drive offense might rest on what happens with two significant recruiting decisions still to be made.
Memphis is in the running for one of the top incoming freshmen in the country, 6-5 point guard Tyreke Evans of Aston, Pa., the MVP of the recent McDonald's All-American high school game.
Evans was one of just two undecided players in the McDonald's game. He finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.
Evans would move right into Rose's spot and be a good fit for the Memphis offense.
So would 6-8 forward Devin Ebanks, a highly rated recruit from Oakdale, Conn., who is still considering playing for Memphis.
Getting both of them into the Memphis fold would be an impressive coup and would build excitement for another powerhouse team. Without them, a strong tournament team next year is a little harder to envision.
Likely returning are two starters, junior forward Robert Dozier and junior guard Antonio Anderson, who were key contributors to the Tigers' tournament run. Dozier averaged 9.1 points and 6.7 rebounds this season and is capable of a lot more, Calipari says. Anderson was the Tigers' top perimeter defender and also averaged 8.5 points.
Also returning are two experienced sophomore guards in Doneal Mack (7.1 ppg) and Willie Kemp (5.2 ppg).
Two recruits have committed to joining the program: 6-10 forward Angel Garcia of East Chicago, Ind., and 6-8 forward Matt Simpkins of Patterson, N.C.
Neither is rated as highly as Evans or Ebanks, but they are both among the top 50 prospects nationally, according to Rivals.com.
Tigers turn attention to reloading lineup, retaining Calipari
'It wasn't in the cards'
Tigers turn attention to reloading lineup, retaining Calipari
By Dan Wolken
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Analysis
SAN ANTONIO -- One year and two weeks ago, University of Memphis coach John Calipari stood outside a locker room at the Alamodome -- the exact same locker room Memphis used at this year's Final Four -- and preempted speculation he would pursue other coaching vacancies.
"Truth be told, there are probably better jobs than Memphis," Calipari said after the Tigers' Elite Eight loss to Ohio State. "But there may not be a better team than the one I'm going to have for the next couple years."
Thirty-seven wins later, Calipari was right back in the very same place, calling those players a Dream Team at the start of the Final Four. On Monday night, however, that dream ended one victory short of its fulfillment.
Short, as in the free throws Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose missed inside the final minute. Short, as in the effort to foul before Mario Chalmers could launch a tying 3-pointer that went through with 2.1 seconds left. Short, as in the quest for Memphis' first national title.
Of all the ways Monday's NCAA championship game could have ended when the Tigers took a nine-point lead with 2:12 to go, nearly all of them favored Memphis celebrating one of the best college basketball seasons ever. Instead, it ended in a blur of mental lapses, missed free throws, coaching errors and clutch plays by Kansas. It ended with a 75-68 overtime loss, leaving Memphis as runner-up for the second time in school history.
"To be that close for these kids and our city, to be that close and have these kids suffer in there like they are right now you're just like, man, I wish I could have just done one thing to get them over the hump," Calipari said after the game. "Because they're suffering right now. They did everything they were supposed to do, really against the odds, and they did it. They were there, and it slips. It's devastating."
As the Jayhawks cut down nets and posed with the national championship trophy, it was a difficult moment to find perspective for Memphis, which was humiliated by scandal and running out of hope eight years ago when Calipari came down from New England and injected belief into skeptical Southern eyes.
One by one, he won them over, turning doubt into hunger for this grand stage. It was an appetite that grew from the unmet expectations of Dajuan Wagner through the missed free throws of Darius Washington in the 2005 Conference USA Tournament to the Alamodome a little more than one year ago when the Tigers had been overwhelmed by Ohio State in the final few minutes of an Elite Eight game.
All along, the goal had been getting back to San Antonio. The Tigers had taken that mission through a 30-1 regular season, through a C-USA Tournament title and to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA South Regional.
When the NCAA Tournament began, Calipari said that his team wanted this championship but didn't need it, and in a way, he was right. This group had taken its place alongside Larry Finch's Tigers of '73 and Keith Lee's Tigers of '85 long before.
But over three weekends, the team that did not need it played as though it could not live without it. Given a rugged road to the Final Four that privately caused concern, Memphis took down four straight difficult opponents. After surviving Mississippi State in Little Rock to get to the Sweet 16, the Tigers blitzed through the regional with a 50-20 halftime barrage against Michigan State and an Elite Eight breakthrough against No. 2-seed Texas after two years of disappointments.
Suddenly, the urban school with an alliterative slogan and compassionate mission was on the Alamodome's grand stage, the "Dreamers, Thinkers, Doers" among programs with a combined 17 national championships.
Understandably, there were doubters. But when Memphis beat UCLA in the national semifinals, 78-63, it was clear the Tigers were entering special territory.
And the Tigers were right on the brink of finishing off a championship before their stars went a combined 1-for-5 from the free-throw line over the final 1:15, before Antonio Anderson threw away an inbounds pass, allowing Kansas to cut a seven-point deficit to four on a Sherron Collins 3-pointer with 1:46 left and before Joey Dorsey fouled out with 1:23 remaining.
"It was a great season and a great game," sophomore forward Shawn Taggart said. "Up seven points with two to go, you think we are going to win, but they made the shots. They outhustled us the whole game and they won. This loss hurts. It really hurts, and we are going to have to use this for next year."
But perhaps the moment that will haunt Memphis most of all is the failure to foul Kansas after Rose's free throw gave the Tigers a 63-60 lead with 10 seconds left. By fouling, Memphis would have put Kansas on the foul line, forcing the Jayhawks to get an offensive rebound to tie the game.
Though Calipari said he instructed Rose to foul Sherron Collins -- it was inconclusive from replays how aggressively Rose tried to foul him -- Calipari probably should have called a timeout just to ensure everyone knew the plan.
"I think everything in life happens for a reason," Calipari said. "I sat there and I looked up and said, 'Lord, if he makes these two, we're supposed to be national champs. If that's Your will, I'm fine. If he misses them and we're not, I'm fine with that too.' We did everything we were supposed to do. It wasn't in the cards."
What's in the cards now? Though they didn't say explicitly, it appears Rose and Douglas-Roberts will both enter the NBA Draft and senior Andre Allen will leave too. Rose is assuredly a top-five pick while Douglas-Roberts might have lifted his stock into the first round. Douglas-Roberts' mother, Judy Roberts, said recently she was retiring from a civil service job after 27 years.
"It's his decision to make, but definitely his dream is to play in the NBA," she said before the Tigers' victory over Michigan State. He's been putting in a lot of work to develop his game to play at the next level. I can't say, one way or another, what he's going to do. I'll let him decide. I'm sure we'll sit down and evaluate his options and see what's best for him. All this work he's put in is definitely to play at the next level. I like his chances."
Losing Rose and Douglas-Roberts will hurt, but Calipari has been talking in recent weeks about re-loading, perhaps with players such as Philadelphia guard Tyreke Evans and New York forward Devin Ebanks, a pair of top-20 recruits who could commit to Memphis.
If they join Anderson and forward Robert Dozier, who would be ill-advised to turn pro a year early, the Tigers could once again be in the top 15 next season. Unless there's an unexpected departure, their core will also include guards Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp, who will be ready for increased roles, and freshman guard Jeff Robinson, who has star potential but got caught up in a numbers game this season.
The qualifier to all of that is whether Calipari will stay at Memphis. Though Calipari said last week he did not want to deal with a re-negotiation of his contract until the NCAA Tournament was over, it is believed he is seeking a deal in the $2.5 million per year range annually, up from the $1.8 million guaranteed he made this season. An athletic department source told The Commercial Appeal that the school would likely find a way to pay Calipari what he wants.
Still, there are other factors. One of the rumors circulating around the Final Four was that Calipari's name could come up as a candidate with the NBA's New York Knicks. And what if Bill Self leaves Kansas for Oklahoma State? Would Calipari be on the list in Lawrence, where he began his career as a graduate assistant?
All those questions would have been easier to take, if the Tigers were celebrating a national championship right now.
"Think about what they've done," Calipari said. "Thirty-eight wins. They took on all comers. They put themselves in position to win the national title. Right now, I'm a little numb. It will hit me how close we really were."
Reach Dan Wolken at 529-2365; read his blogs on the Tigers at thememphisedge.com.
Tigers turn attention to reloading lineup, retaining Calipari
By Dan Wolken
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Analysis
SAN ANTONIO -- One year and two weeks ago, University of Memphis coach John Calipari stood outside a locker room at the Alamodome -- the exact same locker room Memphis used at this year's Final Four -- and preempted speculation he would pursue other coaching vacancies.
"Truth be told, there are probably better jobs than Memphis," Calipari said after the Tigers' Elite Eight loss to Ohio State. "But there may not be a better team than the one I'm going to have for the next couple years."
Thirty-seven wins later, Calipari was right back in the very same place, calling those players a Dream Team at the start of the Final Four. On Monday night, however, that dream ended one victory short of its fulfillment.
Short, as in the free throws Chris Douglas-Roberts and Derrick Rose missed inside the final minute. Short, as in the effort to foul before Mario Chalmers could launch a tying 3-pointer that went through with 2.1 seconds left. Short, as in the quest for Memphis' first national title.
Of all the ways Monday's NCAA championship game could have ended when the Tigers took a nine-point lead with 2:12 to go, nearly all of them favored Memphis celebrating one of the best college basketball seasons ever. Instead, it ended in a blur of mental lapses, missed free throws, coaching errors and clutch plays by Kansas. It ended with a 75-68 overtime loss, leaving Memphis as runner-up for the second time in school history.
"To be that close for these kids and our city, to be that close and have these kids suffer in there like they are right now you're just like, man, I wish I could have just done one thing to get them over the hump," Calipari said after the game. "Because they're suffering right now. They did everything they were supposed to do, really against the odds, and they did it. They were there, and it slips. It's devastating."
As the Jayhawks cut down nets and posed with the national championship trophy, it was a difficult moment to find perspective for Memphis, which was humiliated by scandal and running out of hope eight years ago when Calipari came down from New England and injected belief into skeptical Southern eyes.
One by one, he won them over, turning doubt into hunger for this grand stage. It was an appetite that grew from the unmet expectations of Dajuan Wagner through the missed free throws of Darius Washington in the 2005 Conference USA Tournament to the Alamodome a little more than one year ago when the Tigers had been overwhelmed by Ohio State in the final few minutes of an Elite Eight game.
All along, the goal had been getting back to San Antonio. The Tigers had taken that mission through a 30-1 regular season, through a C-USA Tournament title and to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA South Regional.
When the NCAA Tournament began, Calipari said that his team wanted this championship but didn't need it, and in a way, he was right. This group had taken its place alongside Larry Finch's Tigers of '73 and Keith Lee's Tigers of '85 long before.
But over three weekends, the team that did not need it played as though it could not live without it. Given a rugged road to the Final Four that privately caused concern, Memphis took down four straight difficult opponents. After surviving Mississippi State in Little Rock to get to the Sweet 16, the Tigers blitzed through the regional with a 50-20 halftime barrage against Michigan State and an Elite Eight breakthrough against No. 2-seed Texas after two years of disappointments.
Suddenly, the urban school with an alliterative slogan and compassionate mission was on the Alamodome's grand stage, the "Dreamers, Thinkers, Doers" among programs with a combined 17 national championships.
Understandably, there were doubters. But when Memphis beat UCLA in the national semifinals, 78-63, it was clear the Tigers were entering special territory.
And the Tigers were right on the brink of finishing off a championship before their stars went a combined 1-for-5 from the free-throw line over the final 1:15, before Antonio Anderson threw away an inbounds pass, allowing Kansas to cut a seven-point deficit to four on a Sherron Collins 3-pointer with 1:46 left and before Joey Dorsey fouled out with 1:23 remaining.
"It was a great season and a great game," sophomore forward Shawn Taggart said. "Up seven points with two to go, you think we are going to win, but they made the shots. They outhustled us the whole game and they won. This loss hurts. It really hurts, and we are going to have to use this for next year."
But perhaps the moment that will haunt Memphis most of all is the failure to foul Kansas after Rose's free throw gave the Tigers a 63-60 lead with 10 seconds left. By fouling, Memphis would have put Kansas on the foul line, forcing the Jayhawks to get an offensive rebound to tie the game.
Though Calipari said he instructed Rose to foul Sherron Collins -- it was inconclusive from replays how aggressively Rose tried to foul him -- Calipari probably should have called a timeout just to ensure everyone knew the plan.
"I think everything in life happens for a reason," Calipari said. "I sat there and I looked up and said, 'Lord, if he makes these two, we're supposed to be national champs. If that's Your will, I'm fine. If he misses them and we're not, I'm fine with that too.' We did everything we were supposed to do. It wasn't in the cards."
What's in the cards now? Though they didn't say explicitly, it appears Rose and Douglas-Roberts will both enter the NBA Draft and senior Andre Allen will leave too. Rose is assuredly a top-five pick while Douglas-Roberts might have lifted his stock into the first round. Douglas-Roberts' mother, Judy Roberts, said recently she was retiring from a civil service job after 27 years.
"It's his decision to make, but definitely his dream is to play in the NBA," she said before the Tigers' victory over Michigan State. He's been putting in a lot of work to develop his game to play at the next level. I can't say, one way or another, what he's going to do. I'll let him decide. I'm sure we'll sit down and evaluate his options and see what's best for him. All this work he's put in is definitely to play at the next level. I like his chances."
Losing Rose and Douglas-Roberts will hurt, but Calipari has been talking in recent weeks about re-loading, perhaps with players such as Philadelphia guard Tyreke Evans and New York forward Devin Ebanks, a pair of top-20 recruits who could commit to Memphis.
If they join Anderson and forward Robert Dozier, who would be ill-advised to turn pro a year early, the Tigers could once again be in the top 15 next season. Unless there's an unexpected departure, their core will also include guards Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp, who will be ready for increased roles, and freshman guard Jeff Robinson, who has star potential but got caught up in a numbers game this season.
The qualifier to all of that is whether Calipari will stay at Memphis. Though Calipari said last week he did not want to deal with a re-negotiation of his contract until the NCAA Tournament was over, it is believed he is seeking a deal in the $2.5 million per year range annually, up from the $1.8 million guaranteed he made this season. An athletic department source told The Commercial Appeal that the school would likely find a way to pay Calipari what he wants.
Still, there are other factors. One of the rumors circulating around the Final Four was that Calipari's name could come up as a candidate with the NBA's New York Knicks. And what if Bill Self leaves Kansas for Oklahoma State? Would Calipari be on the list in Lawrence, where he began his career as a graduate assistant?
All those questions would have been easier to take, if the Tigers were celebrating a national championship right now.
"Think about what they've done," Calipari said. "Thirty-eight wins. They took on all comers. They put themselves in position to win the national title. Right now, I'm a little numb. It will hit me how close we really were."
Reach Dan Wolken at 529-2365; read his blogs on the Tigers at thememphisedge.com.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel - Loss doesn't take bloom off Memphis' Derrick Rose
South Florida Sun-Sentinel - Loss doesn't take bloom off Memphis' Derrick Rose
Mike Berardino | Sports columnist
Derrick Rose sat slumped in a golf cart outside the Memphis locker room late Monday night, tears welling in his hollow eyes as the Rev. Jesse Jackson stood nearby.
The freshman point guard had given everything he had in this 75-68 overtime loss to Kansas, but it wasn't enough.
Playing all 45 minutes despite a stomach ailment wasn't enough.
Nor was it enough that he fought through a cramp in his left calf that kept him from elevating to his usual heights as Mario Chalmers drained the 3-pointer that forced overtime.
Scoring 18 points, including 10 straight down the stretch, wasn't enough. Nor were the eight assists and six rebounds Rose produced.
Making one of two free throws with 10.8 seconds to play in regulation wasn't enough to keep the Tigers from blowing a nine-point lead in the final two minutes at the rollicking Alamodome.
It didn't help that Chris Douglas-Roberts missed three free throws, including the front end of a one-and-one, in the final 75 seconds of regulation.
"It wasn't the free throws," Rose would insist later. "It was the plays before the free throws."
All of that may have been enough to convince Pat Riley — introduced at halftime as part of this year's Hall of Fame class — to draft him for the Heat this June, but it wasn't enough to give Memphis its first NCAA basketball crown.
For just the 14th time in his past five seasons, a span covering 172 games, Rose had tasted bitter defeat.
He won Illinois state titles his last two years at Chicago's Simeon High, and when asked before this Final Four to name his most painful defeat, he did not hesitate. It was a state quarterfinal playoff loss his sophomore year to a team led by future North Carolina guard Bobby Frasor. Simeon was up 13 points late when Rose fouled out.
"Man, it was the worst feeling of my life," Rose said. "I hate losing."
No doubt that long-ago loss has been replaced in his aching heart.
And so now Rose waited in a too-bright hallway, preparing to head to the interview room. Jackson, who bonded with the Tigers last week in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination, bent down and whispered words of consolation.
"Champions fall down sometimes, but they get up again and they play through their wounds," Jackson told him. "And so as you talk to the nation, look like a champion who lost the game. Don't look like a freshman, crying and looking pitiful. It hurts, but you get your stars from your scars. It's a part of becoming what you will become."
Great pros don't always end their amateur careers on the victory stand.
Just ask Michael Jordan, who was smothered by Indiana's Dan Dakich in a regional semifinal upset of North Carolina in 1984.
Or Hakeem Olajuwon, who was frozen as Lorenzo Charles dunked the airball that beat Houston in the 1983 NCAA final.
Or Patrick Ewing, whose final act with Georgetown was a stunning upset loss to Villanova in the '85 final.
Olajuwon and Ewing joined Riley at Monday's final as part of the Hall of Fame class, and while no one is quite ready to punch Rose's ticket to Springfield, his performance in defeat did nothing to detract from those predictions of future greatness.
"Derrick showed his will to win," teammate Robert Dozier said. "He made four big baskets in a row down the stretch to give us that nine-point lead, but we couldn't hold on."
That's the flip side of One Shining Moment. Nobody has penned a theme song for it, but it exists just the same.
Monday night, it was the Tigers' turn to experience their version of One Crushing Moment. No one was hurting more than Rose, the kid who so despises losing he used to cry after AAU games.
"Even as a freshman, Derrick is not making excuses," said Jackson, who spoke by phone to Rose's mother earlier in the day. "He's hurt and he's not bitter. Like any 19-year-old kid, his heart is tender. It's been bruised. But he has an internal strength and character and he'll fight through it."
Jackson paused and gave a small smile. One of Rose's older brothers stood a few feet away, transfixed.
"He'll even learn from this," Jackson said. "The ground is no place for a champion."
Even the uncrowned.
more in /sports/columnists
Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Mike Berardino | Sports columnist
Derrick Rose sat slumped in a golf cart outside the Memphis locker room late Monday night, tears welling in his hollow eyes as the Rev. Jesse Jackson stood nearby.
The freshman point guard had given everything he had in this 75-68 overtime loss to Kansas, but it wasn't enough.
Playing all 45 minutes despite a stomach ailment wasn't enough.
Nor was it enough that he fought through a cramp in his left calf that kept him from elevating to his usual heights as Mario Chalmers drained the 3-pointer that forced overtime.
Scoring 18 points, including 10 straight down the stretch, wasn't enough. Nor were the eight assists and six rebounds Rose produced.
Making one of two free throws with 10.8 seconds to play in regulation wasn't enough to keep the Tigers from blowing a nine-point lead in the final two minutes at the rollicking Alamodome.
It didn't help that Chris Douglas-Roberts missed three free throws, including the front end of a one-and-one, in the final 75 seconds of regulation.
"It wasn't the free throws," Rose would insist later. "It was the plays before the free throws."
All of that may have been enough to convince Pat Riley — introduced at halftime as part of this year's Hall of Fame class — to draft him for the Heat this June, but it wasn't enough to give Memphis its first NCAA basketball crown.
For just the 14th time in his past five seasons, a span covering 172 games, Rose had tasted bitter defeat.
He won Illinois state titles his last two years at Chicago's Simeon High, and when asked before this Final Four to name his most painful defeat, he did not hesitate. It was a state quarterfinal playoff loss his sophomore year to a team led by future North Carolina guard Bobby Frasor. Simeon was up 13 points late when Rose fouled out.
"Man, it was the worst feeling of my life," Rose said. "I hate losing."
No doubt that long-ago loss has been replaced in his aching heart.
And so now Rose waited in a too-bright hallway, preparing to head to the interview room. Jackson, who bonded with the Tigers last week in conjunction with the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King's assassination, bent down and whispered words of consolation.
"Champions fall down sometimes, but they get up again and they play through their wounds," Jackson told him. "And so as you talk to the nation, look like a champion who lost the game. Don't look like a freshman, crying and looking pitiful. It hurts, but you get your stars from your scars. It's a part of becoming what you will become."
Great pros don't always end their amateur careers on the victory stand.
Just ask Michael Jordan, who was smothered by Indiana's Dan Dakich in a regional semifinal upset of North Carolina in 1984.
Or Hakeem Olajuwon, who was frozen as Lorenzo Charles dunked the airball that beat Houston in the 1983 NCAA final.
Or Patrick Ewing, whose final act with Georgetown was a stunning upset loss to Villanova in the '85 final.
Olajuwon and Ewing joined Riley at Monday's final as part of the Hall of Fame class, and while no one is quite ready to punch Rose's ticket to Springfield, his performance in defeat did nothing to detract from those predictions of future greatness.
"Derrick showed his will to win," teammate Robert Dozier said. "He made four big baskets in a row down the stretch to give us that nine-point lead, but we couldn't hold on."
That's the flip side of One Shining Moment. Nobody has penned a theme song for it, but it exists just the same.
Monday night, it was the Tigers' turn to experience their version of One Crushing Moment. No one was hurting more than Rose, the kid who so despises losing he used to cry after AAU games.
"Even as a freshman, Derrick is not making excuses," said Jackson, who spoke by phone to Rose's mother earlier in the day. "He's hurt and he's not bitter. Like any 19-year-old kid, his heart is tender. It's been bruised. But he has an internal strength and character and he'll fight through it."
Jackson paused and gave a small smile. One of Rose's older brothers stood a few feet away, transfixed.
"He'll even learn from this," Jackson said. "The ground is no place for a champion."
Even the uncrowned.
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Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Chicago Sports.com - If only Calipari had been as Self-aware as the other guy
Chicago Sports.com - If only Calipari had been as Self-aware as the other guy
By Steve Rosenbloom
If only Calipari had been as Self-aware as the other guy
I hate it that Bill Self, who slithered out of Champaign for Lawrence, won the NCAA Championship, but congratulations to him. And what good luck that Self was facing a coach who didn't know when to, I don't know, actually coach.
Memphis' John Calipari said his team tried to foul with less than 10 seconds remaining but Sherron Collins ran away from them. Well, no. That's not what his team tried to do. I mean, was he watching then end of regulation? Because the guy checking Collins clearly raised his hands with four seconds left to show the referees he didn't mean to make contact. And Calipari's failure -- or refusal -- to call a timeout to make sure his players knew to foul and his failure to call a timeout after Mario Chalmers fired a shot into eternity was bad coaching, as well.
And now Self might slither out of Kansas for Oklahoma State. You'd think not -- not after finally winning a championship -- but he never shot down the idea that he'd listen to how high Okie State's money stacks. Only a snake would find a way to soil a perfect moment.
Memphis made one basket in last 7:12 of the NCAA Championship game and missed four free throws in that time. The Tigers missed seven of 16 free throws after halftime. Make one, and you win a title. Miss that many, and you'll hear about it or think about it everyday forever. The most basic part of basketball -- the free throw -- and the thing that dogged the Tigers all season got them, the thing that Calipari tried to downplay all season killed them. Missed free throws. Yeesh.
Most underrated moment in Memphis' choking away a nine-point lead with 2:12 to go was Joey Dorsey's stupid foul 30 feet from the basket that got Memphis' best rebounder disqualified.
Has Derrick Rose scored in overtime yet?
Missed free throws. Yeesh.
By Steve Rosenbloom
If only Calipari had been as Self-aware as the other guy
I hate it that Bill Self, who slithered out of Champaign for Lawrence, won the NCAA Championship, but congratulations to him. And what good luck that Self was facing a coach who didn't know when to, I don't know, actually coach.
Memphis' John Calipari said his team tried to foul with less than 10 seconds remaining but Sherron Collins ran away from them. Well, no. That's not what his team tried to do. I mean, was he watching then end of regulation? Because the guy checking Collins clearly raised his hands with four seconds left to show the referees he didn't mean to make contact. And Calipari's failure -- or refusal -- to call a timeout to make sure his players knew to foul and his failure to call a timeout after Mario Chalmers fired a shot into eternity was bad coaching, as well.
And now Self might slither out of Kansas for Oklahoma State. You'd think not -- not after finally winning a championship -- but he never shot down the idea that he'd listen to how high Okie State's money stacks. Only a snake would find a way to soil a perfect moment.
Memphis made one basket in last 7:12 of the NCAA Championship game and missed four free throws in that time. The Tigers missed seven of 16 free throws after halftime. Make one, and you win a title. Miss that many, and you'll hear about it or think about it everyday forever. The most basic part of basketball -- the free throw -- and the thing that dogged the Tigers all season got them, the thing that Calipari tried to downplay all season killed them. Missed free throws. Yeesh.
Most underrated moment in Memphis' choking away a nine-point lead with 2:12 to go was Joey Dorsey's stupid foul 30 feet from the basket that got Memphis' best rebounder disqualified.
Has Derrick Rose scored in overtime yet?
Missed free throws. Yeesh.
AP - Calipari has no regrets a day after bitter loss
Calipari has no regrets a day after bitter loss
Associated Press - April 8, 2008 6:35 PM ET
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis coach John Calipari says he has no regrets the day after his Tigers lost to Kansas in the NCAA title game.
The team returned home Tuesday from San Antonio and was greeted by a crowd of several hundred screaming supporters at the airport.
The Tigers lost 75-68 in overtime after blowing a 9-point lead over the final two minutes.
But all was forgiven at the airport, with fans decked out in Tiger blue and waving pom-poms.
Calipari said he and the players won't beat themselves up about the game. He said it's been a pleasure coaching the team.
Calipari said the Tigers played to win, and played for the city of Memphis.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Associated Press - April 8, 2008 6:35 PM ET
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Memphis coach John Calipari says he has no regrets the day after his Tigers lost to Kansas in the NCAA title game.
The team returned home Tuesday from San Antonio and was greeted by a crowd of several hundred screaming supporters at the airport.
The Tigers lost 75-68 in overtime after blowing a 9-point lead over the final two minutes.
But all was forgiven at the airport, with fans decked out in Tiger blue and waving pom-poms.
Calipari said he and the players won't beat themselves up about the game. He said it's been a pleasure coaching the team.
Calipari said the Tigers played to win, and played for the city of Memphis.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Bleacher Report - Memphis Basketball: Free Throws Are Important Coach Calipari!
The Bleacher Report - Memphis Basketball: Free Throws Are Important Coach Calipari!
Paul Salman
A few weeks ago, while on Pardon the Interruption, Coach John Calipari was asked the importance of free throws to him. His reply was that when he recruits a player he has 25 things he looks for in that player. Free Throw shooting is 26th on that list. Basically, he couldn't be less concerned about the Free Throw shooting skills in the players he recruits. He said his teams never have high FT%, but do hit them when it counts.
Before I break this down and show why Coach Cal is wrong and needs to re think ranking of what he looks for in a player, allow me to say that I agree that FT% would be low on my list as well. I would want players on my team that are like the guys that he finds: Athletic, fast, play hard, long arms etc.. However, I would not play down the importance of free throw shooting the way he does.
The first thing Memphis defenders will say is that they shot around 70% in the tournament which is more then 8% better then their season average of 61.4%. Its easy to say that, "oh yea, they increase their percentage in the more important games."
Lets take a closer look. In the 5 games in the NCAA tournament that Memphis won,they won by an average of 15.6 points. Their best free throw shooting games came against Michigan State in the sweet 16, and Texas in the elite 8, where they shot 83% and 87% respectively. However, they also won these games by 18 and 15 points respectively.
In round 2 against Mississippi State when Memphis squeaked by a 3 point victory, they shot a dismal 46.9% from the line. This is a game where the free throws obviously mattered and they did not hit them. Its fair to say they won this game on sheer talent against a much lesser Mississippi State opponent. Had this been a more quality opponent like say, Tennessee on February 23 when Memphis shot 47% from the charity stripe, and suffered their one defeat of the regular season, Memphis may have suffered an early exit from the Tournament.
Coach Cal may deny this and say other mental errors cost them the Tennessee game, and the Championship game. To that I say mental errors happen and are hard to erase. You can prepare all you want, but at game speed things happen and players make mistakes. You cannot predict what the other team will do to force you into these mental errors.
However free throws are sole on the player. There is no opposing force, and is something that can be improved.
Before I say this next part, I know that Coach Cal is an all time coach and I am some guy writing an article about his team losing. You may say How can I be giving him advice? Well this just seems to be a lay up (or a free throw) and is just way to obvious so here I go:
When your team shoots under 50% in a game and you lose, as a coach you should not allow your players to leave practice until some kind of free throw quota is met. As a coach you can apply this quota to every practice. Just like practicing plays and various defenses, players should be forced to shoot free throws.
Now I know this topic will get toss around a lot in the coming days and will get tired. Coach Cal, who I think is a great coach and obviously a great recruiter, will get second guessed a ton.
However, I feel it is important to point these facts out because of Coach Cal's view of the matter. He seems to have complete disregard for free throw shooting and believes that his team can win on talent alone. This works in Conference USA where Coach Cal recruits players who are head and shoulders above the competition and ends up 4 games ahead of the second place team in the conference. This obviously works in the tournament as well, even against some of the best teams in the country, IE: Michigan State and Texas.
However when his team met a Kansas team that is almost on par as far as talent, (I say almost because you can argue that Memphis has better players) a few extra points from the free throw line would have made all the difference.
With that being said, I don't think Coach Cal's goal was to get to the final four or even the championship game. His goal was to win the championship game.
Maybe now Coach Cal will move free throw shooting into his top 25 of things to look for in his recruits.
Paul Salman
A few weeks ago, while on Pardon the Interruption, Coach John Calipari was asked the importance of free throws to him. His reply was that when he recruits a player he has 25 things he looks for in that player. Free Throw shooting is 26th on that list. Basically, he couldn't be less concerned about the Free Throw shooting skills in the players he recruits. He said his teams never have high FT%, but do hit them when it counts.
Before I break this down and show why Coach Cal is wrong and needs to re think ranking of what he looks for in a player, allow me to say that I agree that FT% would be low on my list as well. I would want players on my team that are like the guys that he finds: Athletic, fast, play hard, long arms etc.. However, I would not play down the importance of free throw shooting the way he does.
The first thing Memphis defenders will say is that they shot around 70% in the tournament which is more then 8% better then their season average of 61.4%. Its easy to say that, "oh yea, they increase their percentage in the more important games."
Lets take a closer look. In the 5 games in the NCAA tournament that Memphis won,they won by an average of 15.6 points. Their best free throw shooting games came against Michigan State in the sweet 16, and Texas in the elite 8, where they shot 83% and 87% respectively. However, they also won these games by 18 and 15 points respectively.
In round 2 against Mississippi State when Memphis squeaked by a 3 point victory, they shot a dismal 46.9% from the line. This is a game where the free throws obviously mattered and they did not hit them. Its fair to say they won this game on sheer talent against a much lesser Mississippi State opponent. Had this been a more quality opponent like say, Tennessee on February 23 when Memphis shot 47% from the charity stripe, and suffered their one defeat of the regular season, Memphis may have suffered an early exit from the Tournament.
Coach Cal may deny this and say other mental errors cost them the Tennessee game, and the Championship game. To that I say mental errors happen and are hard to erase. You can prepare all you want, but at game speed things happen and players make mistakes. You cannot predict what the other team will do to force you into these mental errors.
However free throws are sole on the player. There is no opposing force, and is something that can be improved.
Before I say this next part, I know that Coach Cal is an all time coach and I am some guy writing an article about his team losing. You may say How can I be giving him advice? Well this just seems to be a lay up (or a free throw) and is just way to obvious so here I go:
When your team shoots under 50% in a game and you lose, as a coach you should not allow your players to leave practice until some kind of free throw quota is met. As a coach you can apply this quota to every practice. Just like practicing plays and various defenses, players should be forced to shoot free throws.
Now I know this topic will get toss around a lot in the coming days and will get tired. Coach Cal, who I think is a great coach and obviously a great recruiter, will get second guessed a ton.
However, I feel it is important to point these facts out because of Coach Cal's view of the matter. He seems to have complete disregard for free throw shooting and believes that his team can win on talent alone. This works in Conference USA where Coach Cal recruits players who are head and shoulders above the competition and ends up 4 games ahead of the second place team in the conference. This obviously works in the tournament as well, even against some of the best teams in the country, IE: Michigan State and Texas.
However when his team met a Kansas team that is almost on par as far as talent, (I say almost because you can argue that Memphis has better players) a few extra points from the free throw line would have made all the difference.
With that being said, I don't think Coach Cal's goal was to get to the final four or even the championship game. His goal was to win the championship game.
Maybe now Coach Cal will move free throw shooting into his top 25 of things to look for in his recruits.
The Roanoke Times - Timing of using timeouts timely art
Timing of using timeouts timely art
Aaron McFarling
Somewhere, as you read this, former Virginia coach Pete Gillen is probably crafting a cover letter to the Memphis athletic director.
"If you're looking for a coach who is not shy about calling timeouts, please consider me ..."
Of course, Gillen probably would have used them all in the first half, long before the clock reached 10.8 seconds in Monday's national championship game. He probably wouldn't have had the luxury that Memphis coach John Calipari had with his team clinging to 63-60 lead over Kansas.
Didn't matter either way. Calipari had one left to call, and he chose not to use it.
Big mistake.
Isn't it amazing? Five months, 40 games, 38 wins -- and the national title comes down to a timeout that wasn't called.
This is why coaches make millions. This is why Sean Sutton, who recently resigned under pressure at Oklahoma State, has been given $300,000 by the school not to coach. (Oh, and he gets $20,000 a month over the next 10 years, too. You know, sort of like those lottery payments.)
They make big bucks to make big decisions on the fly. And Calipari blew his Monday.
Certainly there were other factors that contributed to Kansas' 75-68 overtime victory. Missed free throws by the Tigers. Clutch shot after clutch shot by Kansas. And of, course, that 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers -- a jumper for the ages -- that sent the game to OT.
But Chalmers should never have been able to take that shot. Even Calipari agrees on that point. He wanted his team to foul, but his team did not foul.
"Sherron Collins got away," Calipari told reporters after the game, referring to the Kansas player who brought the ball up the floor and passed to Chalmers at the top of the key. "We were going to foul at half court. He got away from our man [Derrick Rose]. And then when our man did foul him and pushed him to the floor, probably didn't foul him hard enough because of the space.
"But we were fouling. He separated. I imagine their coach said, 'They're going to try to foul you, so run from them.' And we were fouling.
"We're going to foul with 10 seconds to go and they run from us. We push the kid to the floor, but we don't foul him hard enough and the kid makes a shot over our arm. And that's why we lose. That's bottom line what happened."
No. Bottom line what happened is that his players weren't in a great position to foul and didn't foul emphatically enough. In fact, contrary to Calipari's recreation of the events, Rose looked tentative in his fouling efforts, as if he wasn't sure that was what the Tigers were supposed to do. He even threw up his hands in the classic "I didn't touch him" move shortly before Chalmers' shot.
But can you blame him? For those guys, the universe must have been swirling at that moment. Seconds away from a national title, leading by 3, the instinctual response is to simply play good defense, not hack your opponent.
We can debate forever whether fouling is the best option in this situation. That's not the point. The point is that Calipari believed it was the best option, but he couldn't get his team to execute it.
That's where a timeout comes in. In that situation, chaos serves the offense. A 30-second huddle after Rose's free throw would have allowed Calipari to calm his struggling team and clearly establish the game plan. Rose -- and presumably others, if Collins somehow got away -- would have left the officials no choice but to blow the whistle.
About 7 seconds remained when Collins reached midcourt. So maybe Collins would have hit both free throws, Memphis would have clanked another pair, and the Jayhawks would have made a half-court shot to win it. But that's asking a lot more than what Chalmers had to do -- speculator as it was.
Calipari knew that. And there was only one thing missing to ensure it went the way he wanted it.
If only he'd had Gillen on speed dial.
Aaron McFarling
Somewhere, as you read this, former Virginia coach Pete Gillen is probably crafting a cover letter to the Memphis athletic director.
"If you're looking for a coach who is not shy about calling timeouts, please consider me ..."
Of course, Gillen probably would have used them all in the first half, long before the clock reached 10.8 seconds in Monday's national championship game. He probably wouldn't have had the luxury that Memphis coach John Calipari had with his team clinging to 63-60 lead over Kansas.
Didn't matter either way. Calipari had one left to call, and he chose not to use it.
Big mistake.
Isn't it amazing? Five months, 40 games, 38 wins -- and the national title comes down to a timeout that wasn't called.
This is why coaches make millions. This is why Sean Sutton, who recently resigned under pressure at Oklahoma State, has been given $300,000 by the school not to coach. (Oh, and he gets $20,000 a month over the next 10 years, too. You know, sort of like those lottery payments.)
They make big bucks to make big decisions on the fly. And Calipari blew his Monday.
Certainly there were other factors that contributed to Kansas' 75-68 overtime victory. Missed free throws by the Tigers. Clutch shot after clutch shot by Kansas. And of, course, that 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers -- a jumper for the ages -- that sent the game to OT.
But Chalmers should never have been able to take that shot. Even Calipari agrees on that point. He wanted his team to foul, but his team did not foul.
"Sherron Collins got away," Calipari told reporters after the game, referring to the Kansas player who brought the ball up the floor and passed to Chalmers at the top of the key. "We were going to foul at half court. He got away from our man [Derrick Rose]. And then when our man did foul him and pushed him to the floor, probably didn't foul him hard enough because of the space.
"But we were fouling. He separated. I imagine their coach said, 'They're going to try to foul you, so run from them.' And we were fouling.
"We're going to foul with 10 seconds to go and they run from us. We push the kid to the floor, but we don't foul him hard enough and the kid makes a shot over our arm. And that's why we lose. That's bottom line what happened."
No. Bottom line what happened is that his players weren't in a great position to foul and didn't foul emphatically enough. In fact, contrary to Calipari's recreation of the events, Rose looked tentative in his fouling efforts, as if he wasn't sure that was what the Tigers were supposed to do. He even threw up his hands in the classic "I didn't touch him" move shortly before Chalmers' shot.
But can you blame him? For those guys, the universe must have been swirling at that moment. Seconds away from a national title, leading by 3, the instinctual response is to simply play good defense, not hack your opponent.
We can debate forever whether fouling is the best option in this situation. That's not the point. The point is that Calipari believed it was the best option, but he couldn't get his team to execute it.
That's where a timeout comes in. In that situation, chaos serves the offense. A 30-second huddle after Rose's free throw would have allowed Calipari to calm his struggling team and clearly establish the game plan. Rose -- and presumably others, if Collins somehow got away -- would have left the officials no choice but to blow the whistle.
About 7 seconds remained when Collins reached midcourt. So maybe Collins would have hit both free throws, Memphis would have clanked another pair, and the Jayhawks would have made a half-court shot to win it. But that's asking a lot more than what Chalmers had to do -- speculator as it was.
Calipari knew that. And there was only one thing missing to ensure it went the way he wanted it.
If only he'd had Gillen on speed dial.
Topeka Capital Journal - Rick Dean: From timeouts to Roy, media focused on KU
Rick Dean: From timeouts to Roy, media focused on KU
Posted by Rick Dean
Kudos for Kansas, criticism of Calipari and some "What was Roy thinking?" comments highlight today's final installment of the media watch on The Day After KU's third NCAA championship.
• ESPN's Jay Bilas, on Memphis coach John Calipari's insistence that his Tigers were trying to foul before Mario Chalmers' game-tying 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds in regularation:
"John Calipari may have wanted them to foul, but the players had no intention of fouling. They didn't call a timeout when they should have (after a made free throw) with 10.8 seconds left. Even when the ball came in, Derrick Rose had the chance to foul at halfcourt, and you could see he had his hands up, trying not to do it.
"Then they could have called a timeout (after the Chalmers basket) with 2.1 seconds left. You have time for a decent shot, maybe get fouled, and they chose not to do that. This was about poise at the end. Memphis lost their's, Kansas kept their's, and that's why they're national champions."
• Newly hired ESPN studio analyst Bob Knight, also faulting Calipari for not taking a timeout to set his defense before the historic Chalmers shot:
"You take the timeout (after a made free throw made it 63-60) so your kids know the exact circumstances. You don't take anything for granted. You say, 'OK boys, we can't give up three points. You have a clock in your head. You count 1-2-3-4-5, then foul. Then they only have a chance to score two.'
"That's an absolute must in this circumstance. You can't think that, just because we worked on this in practice, they'll remember it now. There's too much at stake. There was indecision there (among the players), should I foul or not?"
Posted by Rick Dean
Kudos for Kansas, criticism of Calipari and some "What was Roy thinking?" comments highlight today's final installment of the media watch on The Day After KU's third NCAA championship.
• ESPN's Jay Bilas, on Memphis coach John Calipari's insistence that his Tigers were trying to foul before Mario Chalmers' game-tying 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds in regularation:
"John Calipari may have wanted them to foul, but the players had no intention of fouling. They didn't call a timeout when they should have (after a made free throw) with 10.8 seconds left. Even when the ball came in, Derrick Rose had the chance to foul at halfcourt, and you could see he had his hands up, trying not to do it.
"Then they could have called a timeout (after the Chalmers basket) with 2.1 seconds left. You have time for a decent shot, maybe get fouled, and they chose not to do that. This was about poise at the end. Memphis lost their's, Kansas kept their's, and that's why they're national champions."
• Newly hired ESPN studio analyst Bob Knight, also faulting Calipari for not taking a timeout to set his defense before the historic Chalmers shot:
"You take the timeout (after a made free throw made it 63-60) so your kids know the exact circumstances. You don't take anything for granted. You say, 'OK boys, we can't give up three points. You have a clock in your head. You count 1-2-3-4-5, then foul. Then they only have a chance to score two.'
"That's an absolute must in this circumstance. You can't think that, just because we worked on this in practice, they'll remember it now. There's too much at stake. There was indecision there (among the players), should I foul or not?"
CBS Ratings for NCAA Basketball Final Drop From 2007
CBS Ratings for NCAA Basketball Final Drop From 2007
By Tim Mullaney
April 8 (Bloomberg) -- CBS Corp. said television ratings for the NCAA basketball championship game fell less than 1 percent, in a tournament hampered by the absence of big-market teams.
Last night's 75-68 win by the University of Kansas Jayhawks over the University of Memphis Tigers drew an average 12.1 percent of U.S. TV households, New York-based CBS said today in a statement, citing preliminary figures. Last year's final drew 12.2 percent.
Before last night, ratings for the 64-game tournament were down about 8 percent, said Mike Aresco, CBS Sports senior vice president for programming. He cited the University of Illinois and Ohio State University, which made the finals in 2005 and 2007 respectively, and failed to make the field this year. High- profile teams from Duke University, University of Kentucky and Indiana University got knocked out in the first weekend.
``We've had more blowouts than in previous years,'' Aresco said in an interview. ``It hasn't been the kind of tournament we've been used to.''
In one such game, the April 5 semifinal between Kansas and the University of North Carolina, CBS commentator Billy Packer declared the match over before halftime as Kansas raced ahead by as many as 28 points.
By Tim Mullaney
April 8 (Bloomberg) -- CBS Corp. said television ratings for the NCAA basketball championship game fell less than 1 percent, in a tournament hampered by the absence of big-market teams.
Last night's 75-68 win by the University of Kansas Jayhawks over the University of Memphis Tigers drew an average 12.1 percent of U.S. TV households, New York-based CBS said today in a statement, citing preliminary figures. Last year's final drew 12.2 percent.
Before last night, ratings for the 64-game tournament were down about 8 percent, said Mike Aresco, CBS Sports senior vice president for programming. He cited the University of Illinois and Ohio State University, which made the finals in 2005 and 2007 respectively, and failed to make the field this year. High- profile teams from Duke University, University of Kentucky and Indiana University got knocked out in the first weekend.
``We've had more blowouts than in previous years,'' Aresco said in an interview. ``It hasn't been the kind of tournament we've been used to.''
In one such game, the April 5 semifinal between Kansas and the University of North Carolina, CBS commentator Billy Packer declared the match over before halftime as Kansas raced ahead by as many as 28 points.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
The One that Slipped Away
Wow! Surprisingly I wasn't as down as I expected to be. I guess turning 40 provides a bit of maturity. The season is over, but another will begin.
The toughest part of losing the National Championship is to realize Memphis was about five seconds away from winning it all. It was a perfect storm the last two minutes to give away that game - the steal on the inbounds and the 3 by Kansas, the missed free throws by the team best players, the defense that couldn't stop Kansas in the end.
Nevermind the overtime, the Memphis players never seemed to get over the fact that overtime never should have happened.
Well, more later..........................
Monday, April 07, 2008
ESPN's Andy Katz - Calipari has chance for vindication with title
Calipari has chance for vindication with title
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Updated: April 6, 2008
SAN ANTONIO -- Talk with Memphis coach John Calipari these days, and you might be wondering if he is going to run for office.
His mother still dreams that he's going to be president, he said Sunday.
Well, Calipari's stump speeches certainly echo a number of candidates who have been trying to run for the highest office in the land.
You get a little Hillary Clinton from Calipari when he talks about how it takes a "village" at schools like UMass or Memphis -- ones that aren't in the BCS conferences -- to get to the Final Four.
He went John Edwards multiple times with his populist platform about how winning the national title could help boost the mood of a city that has "the highest poverty rate of any mid-South city with kids growing up that don't see the light of hope and no vision of what they can become."
He talked about stopping the cycles of the players on his team, saying that if some of his players had not found a home at Memphis, they might never have had the opportunity to receive an education.
He tried to help the media understand why the Memphis players feel they have been received unfair public perception after some of their legal troubles and team violations off the court. But Calipari also said that there would be a different image of the program if you spent time with the players.
He admitted that he recruits players who fit his school. If he were at Stanford, he would recruit players who could be successful at Stanford. But he's not, so he recruits to Memphis -- the same way he recruited to Massachusetts -- by finding players who can succeed at that particular school.
He even dug deep into his family tree, saying that his grandparents entered the country through Ellis Island and that his sister and he were the first in his family to receive a college education.
Calipari did say that he keeps the 15 "for sale" signs that were put in his front yard when the Tigers went to the NIT in his first three seasons there.
"I'm not a miracle worker," Calipari said. "I'm like my dad, grinding it out day by day. I don't throw kids under the bus right away. I'm about access and opportunity."
That is Calipari's public spin. But Calipari is driven a bit by the perception about him, too.
The 1996 UMass run to the Final Four has an asterisk next to it in the Final Four records book. The reason is that Marcus Camby admitted to taking money from an agent. The Final Four appearance has been "vacated" by the NCAA, and no banner hangs in the Mullins Center in Amherst.
That was the last time Calipari went to the Final Four. Until now. And with Saturday's 78-63 win over UCLA, Calipari is on the cusp of his first national title.
"When you're at a non-BCS school like UMass and Memphis, there's always some reason why you're there," Calipari said. "I hear it: 'Can't coach, no one wanted the players.' My biggest thing is that I'm not going to deal with any of that. We'll make all our statements on the court."
Bringing two schools off the traditional path, like UMass and Memphis, to the Final Four is what makes Calipari's run so unique, according to his former assistants.
"The other schools here like UCLA, North Carolina and Kansas have a birthright to be here, but not at those two places," said UTEP head coach Tony Barbee, a grad assistant on that UMass team. "He doesn't see road blocks."
"I think, personally, that he wants to show people that [UMass] wasn't a fluke, that 'I can do this thing again,'" said Drexel coach Bruiser Flint, an assistant to Calipari then and the successor to him at UMass. "John likes those challenges. The thing that makes him want to do more is when people tell him it's something he can't. He's not at Kentucky, not at one of the BCS schools."
Flint said what really has bothered Calipari is that the coach knew he had a national championship team in Memphis, yet the Tigers were continuously picked against after the second round of the tournament.
"He hates that," Flint said. "The guy has won 38 games. It's not like he just throws the ball out there. He's done a good job. Give him credit. He got a great player in Derrick Rose to put him over the top. He gets pissed off when there are articles out there that he's going to be outcoached.
"He knows what he's doing, but stuff like that ticks Cal off in a way that if he wins the national championship, y'all can finally give him credit. I think the guy is going to go in the Hall of Fame with those types of numbers right now. The numbers are phenomenal."
And that's one area where no spin is needed. The Tigers won 33 games in each of the past two seasons. With Saturday's semifinal, they set an NCAA record for most wins in a season with 38. They'll be looking to extend that record by one when they play Kansas on Monday night.
"I'm 49 years old and truthfully, I'm winding it down," Calipari said. "I've done this for 26 years at the highest level, 16 years as a Division I coach, four years in the NBA and more as an assistant at Kansas and Pitt. I don't want to do this for 30 more years. This thing is winding down for me."
And when it's all over, regardless of the rhetoric, Calipari will be judged by his long-term accomplishments. Some will buy it, some won't. He's always known that he's not going to get everyone's vote. But that's not going to stop him from trying.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Updated: April 6, 2008
SAN ANTONIO -- Talk with Memphis coach John Calipari these days, and you might be wondering if he is going to run for office.
His mother still dreams that he's going to be president, he said Sunday.
Well, Calipari's stump speeches certainly echo a number of candidates who have been trying to run for the highest office in the land.
You get a little Hillary Clinton from Calipari when he talks about how it takes a "village" at schools like UMass or Memphis -- ones that aren't in the BCS conferences -- to get to the Final Four.
He went John Edwards multiple times with his populist platform about how winning the national title could help boost the mood of a city that has "the highest poverty rate of any mid-South city with kids growing up that don't see the light of hope and no vision of what they can become."
He talked about stopping the cycles of the players on his team, saying that if some of his players had not found a home at Memphis, they might never have had the opportunity to receive an education.
He tried to help the media understand why the Memphis players feel they have been received unfair public perception after some of their legal troubles and team violations off the court. But Calipari also said that there would be a different image of the program if you spent time with the players.
He admitted that he recruits players who fit his school. If he were at Stanford, he would recruit players who could be successful at Stanford. But he's not, so he recruits to Memphis -- the same way he recruited to Massachusetts -- by finding players who can succeed at that particular school.
He even dug deep into his family tree, saying that his grandparents entered the country through Ellis Island and that his sister and he were the first in his family to receive a college education.
Calipari did say that he keeps the 15 "for sale" signs that were put in his front yard when the Tigers went to the NIT in his first three seasons there.
"I'm not a miracle worker," Calipari said. "I'm like my dad, grinding it out day by day. I don't throw kids under the bus right away. I'm about access and opportunity."
That is Calipari's public spin. But Calipari is driven a bit by the perception about him, too.
The 1996 UMass run to the Final Four has an asterisk next to it in the Final Four records book. The reason is that Marcus Camby admitted to taking money from an agent. The Final Four appearance has been "vacated" by the NCAA, and no banner hangs in the Mullins Center in Amherst.
That was the last time Calipari went to the Final Four. Until now. And with Saturday's 78-63 win over UCLA, Calipari is on the cusp of his first national title.
"When you're at a non-BCS school like UMass and Memphis, there's always some reason why you're there," Calipari said. "I hear it: 'Can't coach, no one wanted the players.' My biggest thing is that I'm not going to deal with any of that. We'll make all our statements on the court."
Bringing two schools off the traditional path, like UMass and Memphis, to the Final Four is what makes Calipari's run so unique, according to his former assistants.
"The other schools here like UCLA, North Carolina and Kansas have a birthright to be here, but not at those two places," said UTEP head coach Tony Barbee, a grad assistant on that UMass team. "He doesn't see road blocks."
"I think, personally, that he wants to show people that [UMass] wasn't a fluke, that 'I can do this thing again,'" said Drexel coach Bruiser Flint, an assistant to Calipari then and the successor to him at UMass. "John likes those challenges. The thing that makes him want to do more is when people tell him it's something he can't. He's not at Kentucky, not at one of the BCS schools."
Flint said what really has bothered Calipari is that the coach knew he had a national championship team in Memphis, yet the Tigers were continuously picked against after the second round of the tournament.
"He hates that," Flint said. "The guy has won 38 games. It's not like he just throws the ball out there. He's done a good job. Give him credit. He got a great player in Derrick Rose to put him over the top. He gets pissed off when there are articles out there that he's going to be outcoached.
"He knows what he's doing, but stuff like that ticks Cal off in a way that if he wins the national championship, y'all can finally give him credit. I think the guy is going to go in the Hall of Fame with those types of numbers right now. The numbers are phenomenal."
And that's one area where no spin is needed. The Tigers won 33 games in each of the past two seasons. With Saturday's semifinal, they set an NCAA record for most wins in a season with 38. They'll be looking to extend that record by one when they play Kansas on Monday night.
"I'm 49 years old and truthfully, I'm winding it down," Calipari said. "I've done this for 26 years at the highest level, 16 years as a Division I coach, four years in the NBA and more as an assistant at Kansas and Pitt. I don't want to do this for 30 more years. This thing is winding down for me."
And when it's all over, regardless of the rhetoric, Calipari will be judged by his long-term accomplishments. Some will buy it, some won't. He's always known that he's not going to get everyone's vote. But that's not going to stop him from trying.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
Geoff Calkins - As title game time nears, nervous tummy the norm
As title game time nears, nervous tummy the norm
By Geoff Calkins
Monday, April 7, 2008
SAN ANTONIO -- Derrick Rose walked to the podium, whispered something to Memphis coach John Calipari, then disappeared for the rest of the day.
"He said his stomach is bothering him," Calipari said.
To which Memphians everywhere can answer: We know how he feels!
Stomachs bothering you this morning, Memphis? Maybe doing somersaults? Palms sweaty? Head swimming with hopes and possibilities?
At 8:21 this evening, the Memphis Tigers will play the Kansas Jayhawks for the national title.
How can anyone read that sentence without feeling a little jittery? Memphis in the title game? Memphis with a chance -- a good chance -- to win it all?
"Nothing much good happens in Memphis," said forward Robert Dozier, who really didn't mean it like that. But he knows your frustrations, understands what's at stake.
This is about basketball, plainly. And this is not about basketball.
It is about crime and cynicism and our perceptions of ourselves. A team from Memphis winning a national title? Would Memphians even know how to react?
"I'd do seven back flips with one hip coming off the floor," Calipari said. "At least I'd try."
So there's another reason this could be a memorable night: Calipari's victory dance.
Of course, Calipari's hip won't be going anywhere if Rose's stomach doesn't settle down by this evening. His teammates did not seem concerned.
"Derrick eats gummy bears and Starbursts for breakfast, and Twizzlers and honey buns for lunch," said Chris Douglas-Roberts. "It was bound to happen sometime."
Calipari personally served Rose a plate of pasta after Saturday night's win, just to make sure the kid got something healthy in his stomach.
"He didn't eat it," said Joey Dorsey. "He just pushed it around his plate."
Dorsey replayed the scene in his head.
"Maybe he's hungry!" he said.
Everyone laughed at this. It's the soundtrack to the Tigers' trip to the championship game. Constant laughter. From the coaches, the players and, now, the reporters covering them.
Joey, how do you explain your team's improved free-throw shooting?
"I'm not taking the shots," he said.
Har.
Dorsey talked to reporters for half an hour Sunday in what the NCAA calls a "breakout" session. When it ended, he was whisked away in a golf cart.
"I've covered players from all levels, high school, college and pro," shouted a columnist from a national Web site, "and Joey, you're the best."
Dorsey shrugged. As if to say, we've been like this all along. Y'all are just starting to pay attention.
"We're intellectual," said Douglas-Roberts.
Intellectual?
"A couple of guys are very well-spoken," he said, "including myself."
A columnist from New Jersey stopped to ask a Commercial Appeal reporter if Rose could possibly be as humble as he appears. A columnist from Indianapolis said the Tigers remind him of Indiana's undefeated team.
It's as if the entire world is starting to realize what Memphians knew all along.
"This is a dream team," said Douglas-Roberts. "We support each other. We pull for each other. I've talked to enough players around the country -- and I've been on enough teams -- to know it isn't always like this."
Every team doesn't have a transcendent talent like Rose, who blushes -- literally blushes -- whenever anyone says something nice about him. Every team doesn't have a player like Douglas-Roberts, who's as unflappable as his game.
Every team doesn't have Antonio Anderson, who lives to defend, or Willie Kemp, who is happy just to make shots.
Every player doesn't have Dorsey, part man, part toddler, part Hallmark Card.
"I'm emotional," he said. "I couldn't get to sleep at all last night."
Not because Dorsey is nervous about tonight's matchup with Kansas, either. Because he knows it will be his last game with this team.
Win or lose, this collection of Tigers will never play together again. They have tonight. Period. You have tonight to remember them by.
What would you give to see Larry Finch, Larry Kenon and Ronnie Robinson play one more time? Or Andre Turner, Baskerville Holmes and Keith Lee?
This is the last time you will see Dorsey, Rose and Douglas-Roberts on a court together. Playing for a championship.
It is the only way it could have ended, naturally. It is what they wanted all along.
A chance. A chance to show what a little 'ol team from Memphis can do. A chance to play on the biggest night, on the biggest stage and for the biggest stakes.
Dorsey is writing another story for the occasion. As usual, he wouldn't say how it goes. Reporters asked Douglas-Roberts, instead. Any clues, Chris?
Douglas-Roberts smiled and stroked his chin. You know, the way he does.
"I don't know the other parts," he said, "but I know how it ends."
Geoff Calkins: 529-2364
By Geoff Calkins
Monday, April 7, 2008
SAN ANTONIO -- Derrick Rose walked to the podium, whispered something to Memphis coach John Calipari, then disappeared for the rest of the day.
"He said his stomach is bothering him," Calipari said.
To which Memphians everywhere can answer: We know how he feels!
Stomachs bothering you this morning, Memphis? Maybe doing somersaults? Palms sweaty? Head swimming with hopes and possibilities?
At 8:21 this evening, the Memphis Tigers will play the Kansas Jayhawks for the national title.
How can anyone read that sentence without feeling a little jittery? Memphis in the title game? Memphis with a chance -- a good chance -- to win it all?
"Nothing much good happens in Memphis," said forward Robert Dozier, who really didn't mean it like that. But he knows your frustrations, understands what's at stake.
This is about basketball, plainly. And this is not about basketball.
It is about crime and cynicism and our perceptions of ourselves. A team from Memphis winning a national title? Would Memphians even know how to react?
"I'd do seven back flips with one hip coming off the floor," Calipari said. "At least I'd try."
So there's another reason this could be a memorable night: Calipari's victory dance.
Of course, Calipari's hip won't be going anywhere if Rose's stomach doesn't settle down by this evening. His teammates did not seem concerned.
"Derrick eats gummy bears and Starbursts for breakfast, and Twizzlers and honey buns for lunch," said Chris Douglas-Roberts. "It was bound to happen sometime."
Calipari personally served Rose a plate of pasta after Saturday night's win, just to make sure the kid got something healthy in his stomach.
"He didn't eat it," said Joey Dorsey. "He just pushed it around his plate."
Dorsey replayed the scene in his head.
"Maybe he's hungry!" he said.
Everyone laughed at this. It's the soundtrack to the Tigers' trip to the championship game. Constant laughter. From the coaches, the players and, now, the reporters covering them.
Joey, how do you explain your team's improved free-throw shooting?
"I'm not taking the shots," he said.
Har.
Dorsey talked to reporters for half an hour Sunday in what the NCAA calls a "breakout" session. When it ended, he was whisked away in a golf cart.
"I've covered players from all levels, high school, college and pro," shouted a columnist from a national Web site, "and Joey, you're the best."
Dorsey shrugged. As if to say, we've been like this all along. Y'all are just starting to pay attention.
"We're intellectual," said Douglas-Roberts.
Intellectual?
"A couple of guys are very well-spoken," he said, "including myself."
A columnist from New Jersey stopped to ask a Commercial Appeal reporter if Rose could possibly be as humble as he appears. A columnist from Indianapolis said the Tigers remind him of Indiana's undefeated team.
It's as if the entire world is starting to realize what Memphians knew all along.
"This is a dream team," said Douglas-Roberts. "We support each other. We pull for each other. I've talked to enough players around the country -- and I've been on enough teams -- to know it isn't always like this."
Every team doesn't have a transcendent talent like Rose, who blushes -- literally blushes -- whenever anyone says something nice about him. Every team doesn't have a player like Douglas-Roberts, who's as unflappable as his game.
Every team doesn't have Antonio Anderson, who lives to defend, or Willie Kemp, who is happy just to make shots.
Every player doesn't have Dorsey, part man, part toddler, part Hallmark Card.
"I'm emotional," he said. "I couldn't get to sleep at all last night."
Not because Dorsey is nervous about tonight's matchup with Kansas, either. Because he knows it will be his last game with this team.
Win or lose, this collection of Tigers will never play together again. They have tonight. Period. You have tonight to remember them by.
What would you give to see Larry Finch, Larry Kenon and Ronnie Robinson play one more time? Or Andre Turner, Baskerville Holmes and Keith Lee?
This is the last time you will see Dorsey, Rose and Douglas-Roberts on a court together. Playing for a championship.
It is the only way it could have ended, naturally. It is what they wanted all along.
A chance. A chance to show what a little 'ol team from Memphis can do. A chance to play on the biggest night, on the biggest stage and for the biggest stakes.
Dorsey is writing another story for the occasion. As usual, he wouldn't say how it goes. Reporters asked Douglas-Roberts, instead. Any clues, Chris?
Douglas-Roberts smiled and stroked his chin. You know, the way he does.
"I don't know the other parts," he said, "but I know how it ends."
Geoff Calkins: 529-2364
Sunday, April 06, 2008
CHAMPIONSHIP RUN: City's love for Tiger hoops dates to '57 title game
CHAMPIONSHIP RUN: City's love for Tiger hoops dates to '57 title game
By Zack McMillin
Thursday, March 22, 2001
Editor's note: In 2001, the University of Memphis was headed to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament in John Calipari's first year as coach. It marked the Tigers' first NIT final since 1957, when the Tigers lost to Bradley. Zack McMillin, who covered the Tigers at the time, wrote this account of the 1957 Tiger team.
Jack Butcher remembers worrying over a haircut.
Now the winningest high school basketball coach in Indiana history, Butcher arrived in New York City wondering if he could find a barber good enough to tame his curls and keep his flattop looking sharp.
This was 1957, and Butcher, a scrawny but fiery basketball player, was the point guard for the Memphis State College basketball team. The Tigers were in New York, in March, to play in the oldest postseason basketball tournament in the country, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
They would be underdogs in every game they played, Butcher's Tigers, but the junior from Loogootee, Ind., just wanted to find a good barber. A few blocks from the team's hotel - The Paramount - Butcher found a place. And, well, you might say he got butchered.
"My hair wasn't all that easy to cut, and the guy who cut my hair, I think he just got off the boat," Butcher says. "One side of it was round; the other side of it was flat."
So when Butcher came back to Memphis, one of the first things he did was take a crosstown bus to his barber shop. And the reception he got there tells a small but significant story about the city of Memphis's relationship to the game of basketball and to the campus in East Memphis that, 44 years later, has become so well known for its basketball program.
"Before we went to the NIT," Butcher says, "nobody knew who I was. Well, soon as I got back to town, I went back to the barber to straighten out that mess from New York. Everybody in there knew who I was and that's all they wanted to talk about, the NIT."
On Tuesday in New York, the University of Memphis basketball team makes its first appearance in the NIT semifinals since the 1957 team made a run to the finals and captivated the city. Nearly 30,000 fans came to The Pyramid last week to watch the current bunch of Tigers play.
It took one glorious March week in 1957 to nudge the program onto a national stage.
"That was the first time we really hit the big time," says that team's coach, Bob Vanatta, who is still living and still working in Jupiter, Fla., at age 82. "It really put Memphis on the map."
Captivating a city
Where were you when the city of Memphis fell in love with the game of basketball?
If you lived in Memphis, well, chances are you were in someone's living room, surrounded by a few dozen other people, watching the Tigers. And if you were like Al Brown, your heart was in your gut and your fingernails were shorn clean and the Tigers of Memphis State College were the good guys and the Braves of Bradley were the bad guys.
"The city just closed down while they were playing," says Brown, then a teacher at Central High and now the director of the university's M Club. "It was quiet. Streetcars and buses weren't running. Up until later, it was the biggest (sporting) event the city had seen."
In The Commercial Appeal the day after the "Heartbreaking NIT Final," as the newspaper put it, the page one story ran with two photographs of cheerleader Betty Jean Lauderdale.
In the first frame, she is clapping and jubilant as Memphis takes a lead over Bradley. In the second, she is dejected, with her face in her hands.
That reflected the city's mood on March 23, 1957, when the Tigers lost to the heavily favored Bradley Braves after a controversial final 60 seconds that included a layup and winning free throw by Bradley forward Shelley McMillon.
"Every time I see someone that goes back that far, they say, 'Boy, they cheated you out of that game,' " says Oscar Ammer, a freshman then who recently retired from the Memphis City School system.
Memphis had never played in the NIT before, and, though the NCAA had by then surpassed it in significance, the tournament was still considered very prestigious. The Tigers had never before played on national TV until CBS broadcast the first-round game against Utah. And never before had the program captivated the city the way it would in its one-week run to the championship game.
"Our town should be tremendously proud of these boys," Mayor Edmund Orgill said after watching the final at the old Madison Square Garden. "It is almost as if they won."
The headline in the newspaper the day after the team returned would foreshadow what would become a long love affair: "City Officials, Lusty Crowd Welcome Tigers at Airport."
"The team deserves a reception like this," said City Commissioner Claude Armour, who was on hand, at midnight, to present the team with a key to the city.
You might say the Tigers had locked up Memphis.
"When I came to Memphis the summer before, I went around town and you never saw a basket," Vanatta says. "What we did brought basketball to the forefront. Before, it was just a football town, but the next year, I'll tell you, baskets began to blossom all over town."
Earning a bid
They were underdogs in every game: By three points to Utah in the opener, by 2 1/2 in the quarterfinals to Manhattan, by six to St. Bonaventure in the semifinals, by 10 to Bradley.
There was Win Wilfong, a future pro and one of the best four or five players to ever wear blue-and-gray, averaging 20 points per game on his way to being named a Converse All-American.
There was Butcher, the point guard and one of the best high school coaches in the history of the basketball-mad state of Indiana.
There was Bob Swander, who dropped in the game-winner against St. Bonaventure and wrote his doctoral thesis on the mechanics of shooting a basketball.
There was Ron Regan, the forward everyone credits for providing toughness, and Jim Hockaday, the Selmer, Tenn., forward whose physical toughness provided the difference in the quarterfinals.
It was a diverse team.
Wilfong and Butcher were both married and had served in the military. There were players from Indiana and Missouri, from West Tennessee and Middle Tennessee, from city and from country.
And there was the coach, Vanatta, who had actually left Bradley to coach at Memphis the year before.
"He was a tremendous encourager," says Swander, 65, a semi-retired real estate developer in Sun City, Ariz. "If you made a mistake, he would always encourage you: 'That's OK. Now, make up for it.' "
In many ways, Vanatta was not unlike the Tigers' current coach, John Calipari. He was an accomplished coach at a young age, had worked his way to the top by making all the right connections and knew how to sell himself and his program. Vanatta wrote Calipari a letter after he was hired at Memphis last year, and the two spoke for more than an hour on the phone.
"My philosophy in coaching was always about, you know, going downtown and having coffee with the guys and talking to them," says Vanatta . "People like to know you, and I think John does some of the same things. I used to do television commercials. We sold a lot of hot dogs, but we also became a part of the people."
In his first season as coach, with the Tigers carried by Wilfong's all-round brilliance as a player, Vanatta was able to sell the program to the city.
The Tigers started the season with eight straight wins before losing to Seattle and Elgin Baylor in the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City.
The game Vanatta says earned Memphis its NIT spot was a showdown at Ellis Auditorium against Louisville, ranked third in the country.
The Tigers won, 81-78, earned a ranking of 16th in the country and then defeated 20th-ranked Western Kentucky at the Field House. And when the NIT came calling, Memphis accepted.
"The NIT in those days was considered THE tournament," Vanatta says. "The first three years I was there, we went to the NIT over the NCAA."
Making a run
Going into the NIT, the Tigers had played seven games decided by four points or less, and had won all of them.
The trend would continue at Madison Square Garden, an arena with an old parquet floor and, as Swander remembers, "lots of dead spots out there."
First up: Utah, on Saturday, March 16. Wilfong fouled out with nearly 14 minutes remaining, but the Tigers won, thanks to late free throws from Butcher and Swander.
Then came Manhattan, with a squad composed entirely of players from New York City, and Memphis took the only lopsided game it played in New York, 85-73.
On Thursday, Memphis earned a trip to the finals to play Vanatta's old team, Bradley, by outlasting St. Bonaventure in overtime. Swander became the game's hero when he saved a possession by throwing a ball off an opponent's shins and saved the game by throwing in the game-winning shot.
"I thought my heart was about to go in the goal, too," Swander said afterward.
Bradley came into Saturday's nationally televised championship game fresh off blowout victories over Xavier and Temple. The Braves were considered bigger, faster and deeper than the Tigers.
"Bradley rated cinch to win NIT crown," it said in the New York Post, in big, bold headlines.
The Braves took a 15-point lead, but Memphis cut it to 51-43 by half. With Wilfong, the tourney MVP, on his way to 31 points, the Tigers scored the first 15 points of the second half to take a 58-51 lead.
With four minutes left and Memphis ahead, 81-75, Wilfong fouled out. With 40 seconds left, the lead was down to two, when Bradley made a steal that may or may not have involved a foul. The Braves missed, but McMillon was there to clean things up.
He scored, earned a foul and hit the ensuing free throw.
Even if, as one newspaper pointed out, Bradley seemed to be using "football tactics" in the deciding sequence, the ride was over for the Tigers.
But the love affair had begun. A crowd of 2,000 people - including one Elvis Presley - greeted the team at the airport around midnight.
"That had to be one of the great highlights of a coach's career," Vanatta says. "That was just a special deal. A lot of people indicated that was the beginning of intercollegiate athletics at Memphis."
By Zack McMillin
Thursday, March 22, 2001
Editor's note: In 2001, the University of Memphis was headed to the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament in John Calipari's first year as coach. It marked the Tigers' first NIT final since 1957, when the Tigers lost to Bradley. Zack McMillin, who covered the Tigers at the time, wrote this account of the 1957 Tiger team.
Jack Butcher remembers worrying over a haircut.
Now the winningest high school basketball coach in Indiana history, Butcher arrived in New York City wondering if he could find a barber good enough to tame his curls and keep his flattop looking sharp.
This was 1957, and Butcher, a scrawny but fiery basketball player, was the point guard for the Memphis State College basketball team. The Tigers were in New York, in March, to play in the oldest postseason basketball tournament in the country, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
They would be underdogs in every game they played, Butcher's Tigers, but the junior from Loogootee, Ind., just wanted to find a good barber. A few blocks from the team's hotel - The Paramount - Butcher found a place. And, well, you might say he got butchered.
"My hair wasn't all that easy to cut, and the guy who cut my hair, I think he just got off the boat," Butcher says. "One side of it was round; the other side of it was flat."
So when Butcher came back to Memphis, one of the first things he did was take a crosstown bus to his barber shop. And the reception he got there tells a small but significant story about the city of Memphis's relationship to the game of basketball and to the campus in East Memphis that, 44 years later, has become so well known for its basketball program.
"Before we went to the NIT," Butcher says, "nobody knew who I was. Well, soon as I got back to town, I went back to the barber to straighten out that mess from New York. Everybody in there knew who I was and that's all they wanted to talk about, the NIT."
On Tuesday in New York, the University of Memphis basketball team makes its first appearance in the NIT semifinals since the 1957 team made a run to the finals and captivated the city. Nearly 30,000 fans came to The Pyramid last week to watch the current bunch of Tigers play.
It took one glorious March week in 1957 to nudge the program onto a national stage.
"That was the first time we really hit the big time," says that team's coach, Bob Vanatta, who is still living and still working in Jupiter, Fla., at age 82. "It really put Memphis on the map."
Captivating a city
Where were you when the city of Memphis fell in love with the game of basketball?
If you lived in Memphis, well, chances are you were in someone's living room, surrounded by a few dozen other people, watching the Tigers. And if you were like Al Brown, your heart was in your gut and your fingernails were shorn clean and the Tigers of Memphis State College were the good guys and the Braves of Bradley were the bad guys.
"The city just closed down while they were playing," says Brown, then a teacher at Central High and now the director of the university's M Club. "It was quiet. Streetcars and buses weren't running. Up until later, it was the biggest (sporting) event the city had seen."
In The Commercial Appeal the day after the "Heartbreaking NIT Final," as the newspaper put it, the page one story ran with two photographs of cheerleader Betty Jean Lauderdale.
In the first frame, she is clapping and jubilant as Memphis takes a lead over Bradley. In the second, she is dejected, with her face in her hands.
That reflected the city's mood on March 23, 1957, when the Tigers lost to the heavily favored Bradley Braves after a controversial final 60 seconds that included a layup and winning free throw by Bradley forward Shelley McMillon.
"Every time I see someone that goes back that far, they say, 'Boy, they cheated you out of that game,' " says Oscar Ammer, a freshman then who recently retired from the Memphis City School system.
Memphis had never played in the NIT before, and, though the NCAA had by then surpassed it in significance, the tournament was still considered very prestigious. The Tigers had never before played on national TV until CBS broadcast the first-round game against Utah. And never before had the program captivated the city the way it would in its one-week run to the championship game.
"Our town should be tremendously proud of these boys," Mayor Edmund Orgill said after watching the final at the old Madison Square Garden. "It is almost as if they won."
The headline in the newspaper the day after the team returned would foreshadow what would become a long love affair: "City Officials, Lusty Crowd Welcome Tigers at Airport."
"The team deserves a reception like this," said City Commissioner Claude Armour, who was on hand, at midnight, to present the team with a key to the city.
You might say the Tigers had locked up Memphis.
"When I came to Memphis the summer before, I went around town and you never saw a basket," Vanatta says. "What we did brought basketball to the forefront. Before, it was just a football town, but the next year, I'll tell you, baskets began to blossom all over town."
Earning a bid
They were underdogs in every game: By three points to Utah in the opener, by 2 1/2 in the quarterfinals to Manhattan, by six to St. Bonaventure in the semifinals, by 10 to Bradley.
There was Win Wilfong, a future pro and one of the best four or five players to ever wear blue-and-gray, averaging 20 points per game on his way to being named a Converse All-American.
There was Butcher, the point guard and one of the best high school coaches in the history of the basketball-mad state of Indiana.
There was Bob Swander, who dropped in the game-winner against St. Bonaventure and wrote his doctoral thesis on the mechanics of shooting a basketball.
There was Ron Regan, the forward everyone credits for providing toughness, and Jim Hockaday, the Selmer, Tenn., forward whose physical toughness provided the difference in the quarterfinals.
It was a diverse team.
Wilfong and Butcher were both married and had served in the military. There were players from Indiana and Missouri, from West Tennessee and Middle Tennessee, from city and from country.
And there was the coach, Vanatta, who had actually left Bradley to coach at Memphis the year before.
"He was a tremendous encourager," says Swander, 65, a semi-retired real estate developer in Sun City, Ariz. "If you made a mistake, he would always encourage you: 'That's OK. Now, make up for it.' "
In many ways, Vanatta was not unlike the Tigers' current coach, John Calipari. He was an accomplished coach at a young age, had worked his way to the top by making all the right connections and knew how to sell himself and his program. Vanatta wrote Calipari a letter after he was hired at Memphis last year, and the two spoke for more than an hour on the phone.
"My philosophy in coaching was always about, you know, going downtown and having coffee with the guys and talking to them," says Vanatta . "People like to know you, and I think John does some of the same things. I used to do television commercials. We sold a lot of hot dogs, but we also became a part of the people."
In his first season as coach, with the Tigers carried by Wilfong's all-round brilliance as a player, Vanatta was able to sell the program to the city.
The Tigers started the season with eight straight wins before losing to Seattle and Elgin Baylor in the All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City.
The game Vanatta says earned Memphis its NIT spot was a showdown at Ellis Auditorium against Louisville, ranked third in the country.
The Tigers won, 81-78, earned a ranking of 16th in the country and then defeated 20th-ranked Western Kentucky at the Field House. And when the NIT came calling, Memphis accepted.
"The NIT in those days was considered THE tournament," Vanatta says. "The first three years I was there, we went to the NIT over the NCAA."
Making a run
Going into the NIT, the Tigers had played seven games decided by four points or less, and had won all of them.
The trend would continue at Madison Square Garden, an arena with an old parquet floor and, as Swander remembers, "lots of dead spots out there."
First up: Utah, on Saturday, March 16. Wilfong fouled out with nearly 14 minutes remaining, but the Tigers won, thanks to late free throws from Butcher and Swander.
Then came Manhattan, with a squad composed entirely of players from New York City, and Memphis took the only lopsided game it played in New York, 85-73.
On Thursday, Memphis earned a trip to the finals to play Vanatta's old team, Bradley, by outlasting St. Bonaventure in overtime. Swander became the game's hero when he saved a possession by throwing a ball off an opponent's shins and saved the game by throwing in the game-winning shot.
"I thought my heart was about to go in the goal, too," Swander said afterward.
Bradley came into Saturday's nationally televised championship game fresh off blowout victories over Xavier and Temple. The Braves were considered bigger, faster and deeper than the Tigers.
"Bradley rated cinch to win NIT crown," it said in the New York Post, in big, bold headlines.
The Braves took a 15-point lead, but Memphis cut it to 51-43 by half. With Wilfong, the tourney MVP, on his way to 31 points, the Tigers scored the first 15 points of the second half to take a 58-51 lead.
With four minutes left and Memphis ahead, 81-75, Wilfong fouled out. With 40 seconds left, the lead was down to two, when Bradley made a steal that may or may not have involved a foul. The Braves missed, but McMillon was there to clean things up.
He scored, earned a foul and hit the ensuing free throw.
Even if, as one newspaper pointed out, Bradley seemed to be using "football tactics" in the deciding sequence, the ride was over for the Tigers.
But the love affair had begun. A crowd of 2,000 people - including one Elvis Presley - greeted the team at the airport around midnight.
"That had to be one of the great highlights of a coach's career," Vanatta says. "That was just a special deal. A lot of people indicated that was the beginning of intercollegiate athletics at Memphis."
Fox's Jeff Goodman - Dorsey's made his mark at Memphis
Dorsey's made his mark at Memphis
by Jeff Goodman
Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at GoodmanonFOX@aol.com or check out his blog, Good 'N Plenty.
Updated: April 6, 2008, 9:12 PM EST
SAN ANTONIO - Joey Dorsey was signed, sealed and delivered.
For Auburn.
Dorsey actually signed a letter of intent with two schools back in 2003 coming out of Laurinburg Institute — Auburn and Memphis.
"I was close," said Memphis' senior big man.
He was beyond close. Then-Laurinburg coach Chris Chaney actually sat down with the rebounding machine — then known as Richard — and talked with him about what it meant to honor the verbal commitment he made to Memphis in late October.
You see, Dorsey had committed to John Calipari's Tigers. But he had a last-second change of heart in mid-November and was contemplating heading to Auburn.
"It was a crazy day," Chaney said. "He wanted to sign with Auburn. There was no doubt about it."
Chaney took him down to the school library and had a heart-to-heart.
"I just talked to him about being true to your word and doing what's best for him," Chaney said.
The Memphis staff had an inkling they might not get Dorsey, but wasn't aware it was that close.
"We knew there was a chance we were going to lose him," Memphis assistant Derek Kellogg said.
Dorsey made the right decision, judging by his success — and his team's success on the court. Dorsey and his teammates will face Kansas in the national title game on Monday night.
One year after he landed in Memphis, the likeable 6-foot-9, 260-pound Baltimore native got some reinforcements. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Shawne Williams, Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier arrived on campus.
"They put Memphis on the map," Dorsey said.
Dorsey is a self-admitted knucklehead who has had his share of trouble.
But he's one of those guys you want to pull for.
He grew up in a tough area in Baltimore and was actually tossed out of middle school for being what he calls "hyperactive."
"I don't even want to go back," Dorsey said. "It's not safe. They call it Iraq it's so bad. You can't even walk the streets."
He's made it rain (definition: tossing money into the air) at a club on Beale Street in Memphis. He's allegedly punched a couple of people and then ran like hell. On Saturday night, he sat there laughing and yelling at UCLA's prized center, Kevin Love, after CDR dunked on the big man.
With Dorsey, it's par for the course.
This is a kid who changed his name to Joey because he didn't feel as though Richard was a "basketball name."
He called Monday's game between arguably the two most athletic teams in the country a "pickup game."
He said that CDR's style is a "slow, old-man's game."
It's hard to dislike Dorsey. While his coach, John Calipari, seemingly has an ulterior motive for each and every comment, the athletic big man just says what's on his mind.
And you can't help but smile.
"Joey's matured over the years," Chaney said. "He's so likeable and just wants to make people laugh."
Dorsey will leave Memphis as Conference USA's all-time leading rebounder and his career record at the school is an amazing 126-25. That's more than 100 games over the .500 mark.
He grabbed 15 boards against Love and the Bruins on Saturday night, pushing his tournament total to 52 in five games.
"He's a beast," Dozier said. "He loves to talk trash and that's just who he is."
Kellogg remembers the first time he saw Dorsey at a prep school tournament in Rhode Island. Dorsey's gullet was hanging out of his uniform and he ended up squaring off at half-court with a player from Winchendon.
"He's really grown as a person and a player," Kellogg said. "Obviously, he's been a huge part of our success."
While CDR and freshman phenom Derrick Rose soak up most of the headlines, it wouldn't be possible without Dorsey.
"We'd never be where we are today if Joey didn't decide to come here," Tigers junior guard Antonio Anderson said. "There's no way."
And to think he was nearly written off.
by Jeff Goodman
Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at GoodmanonFOX@aol.com or check out his blog, Good 'N Plenty.
Updated: April 6, 2008, 9:12 PM EST
SAN ANTONIO - Joey Dorsey was signed, sealed and delivered.
For Auburn.
Dorsey actually signed a letter of intent with two schools back in 2003 coming out of Laurinburg Institute — Auburn and Memphis.
"I was close," said Memphis' senior big man.
He was beyond close. Then-Laurinburg coach Chris Chaney actually sat down with the rebounding machine — then known as Richard — and talked with him about what it meant to honor the verbal commitment he made to Memphis in late October.
You see, Dorsey had committed to John Calipari's Tigers. But he had a last-second change of heart in mid-November and was contemplating heading to Auburn.
"It was a crazy day," Chaney said. "He wanted to sign with Auburn. There was no doubt about it."
Chaney took him down to the school library and had a heart-to-heart.
"I just talked to him about being true to your word and doing what's best for him," Chaney said.
The Memphis staff had an inkling they might not get Dorsey, but wasn't aware it was that close.
"We knew there was a chance we were going to lose him," Memphis assistant Derek Kellogg said.
Dorsey made the right decision, judging by his success — and his team's success on the court. Dorsey and his teammates will face Kansas in the national title game on Monday night.
One year after he landed in Memphis, the likeable 6-foot-9, 260-pound Baltimore native got some reinforcements. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Shawne Williams, Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier arrived on campus.
"They put Memphis on the map," Dorsey said.
Dorsey is a self-admitted knucklehead who has had his share of trouble.
But he's one of those guys you want to pull for.
He grew up in a tough area in Baltimore and was actually tossed out of middle school for being what he calls "hyperactive."
"I don't even want to go back," Dorsey said. "It's not safe. They call it Iraq it's so bad. You can't even walk the streets."
He's made it rain (definition: tossing money into the air) at a club on Beale Street in Memphis. He's allegedly punched a couple of people and then ran like hell. On Saturday night, he sat there laughing and yelling at UCLA's prized center, Kevin Love, after CDR dunked on the big man.
With Dorsey, it's par for the course.
This is a kid who changed his name to Joey because he didn't feel as though Richard was a "basketball name."
He called Monday's game between arguably the two most athletic teams in the country a "pickup game."
He said that CDR's style is a "slow, old-man's game."
It's hard to dislike Dorsey. While his coach, John Calipari, seemingly has an ulterior motive for each and every comment, the athletic big man just says what's on his mind.
And you can't help but smile.
"Joey's matured over the years," Chaney said. "He's so likeable and just wants to make people laugh."
Dorsey will leave Memphis as Conference USA's all-time leading rebounder and his career record at the school is an amazing 126-25. That's more than 100 games over the .500 mark.
He grabbed 15 boards against Love and the Bruins on Saturday night, pushing his tournament total to 52 in five games.
"He's a beast," Dozier said. "He loves to talk trash and that's just who he is."
Kellogg remembers the first time he saw Dorsey at a prep school tournament in Rhode Island. Dorsey's gullet was hanging out of his uniform and he ended up squaring off at half-court with a player from Winchendon.
"He's really grown as a person and a player," Kellogg said. "Obviously, he's been a huge part of our success."
While CDR and freshman phenom Derrick Rose soak up most of the headlines, it wouldn't be possible without Dorsey.
"We'd never be where we are today if Joey didn't decide to come here," Tigers junior guard Antonio Anderson said. "There's no way."
And to think he was nearly written off.
Fox Sport's Mark Kriegel - Memphis makes statement by handling UCLA
Memphis makes statement by handling UCLA
by Mark Kriegel
Mark Kriegel is the national columnist for FOXSports.com. He is the author of two New York Times best sellers, Namath: A Biography and Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich, which Sports Illustrated called "the best sports biography of the year."
Updated: April 5, 2008, 11:12 PM EST 160 comments add this RSS blog email print
SAN ANTONIO - A couple years ago, Memphis lost to UCLA in the regional final 50-45. This time, with a chance at the championship at stake, Memphis led by 50-45 with 13:35 still to play.
Truth is, it didn't seem nearly that close by then. Five points didn't begin to describe the disparity between these two teams. For most of the night, it felt as if all that stood between UCLA and a brand of ignominy unaccustomed to most Bruins fans was a sophomore named Russell Westbrook.
By both reputation and proclamation, Westbrook is the best defender in the Pac-10. The day before, on a Southwest flight from Los Angeles, I asked his father how that had happened. Russell Sr., whose own career never advanced beyond pickup games at Compton's Ross Snyder playground, spoke of his son's capacity to punish himself with endless sets of dips and chin-ups at the same park.
"The boy built himself up," the elder Westbrook said.
There was a proud father, and nothing his son did — or didn't do — in Saturday's 78-63 defeat should diminish that pride. Darren Collison, UCLA's point guard and second leading scorer, had a night he'll try to forget. Kevin Love, the first-team All-American center, had a difficult time getting the ball on the blocks. Josh Shipp seemed absent for long stretches. But Westbrook kept attacking the basket, trying his best to remain undiscouraged in the face of increasingly severe odds.
He'd finish with 22 of the Bruins' 63 points. But with 3:44 remaining, he drove right at Memphis' Joey Dorsey, who goes roughly the same size as the Cleveland Cavaliers' Ben Wallace. Dorsey threw the shot away.
Not long after that, I thought I saw the slightest slouch creep across Westbrook's shoulders. It was as if he had finally come to understand that nothing he could do — certainly no amount of dips or chin-ups — would change the outcome.
Derrick Rose, probably the most talented player in this tournament, promptly ran the ball up court and converted a spectacular scooping layup.
"Every time we took quick shots, they got fast-break baskets and hurt us," Westbrook said. "Great players. They were getting to the ball faster than we were."
Rose and his backcourt mate, Chris Douglas-Roberts, scored 25 and 28 points, respectively. Together, they were 20-for-23 from the line, taking all of Memphis' foul shots. To watch them was to wonder how many NBA teams have better backcourts. Throw in Joey Dorsey, and it was as if UCLA had been spanked by the Detroit Pistons.
"I feel like they're the most athletic team in the country," Love said. "Definitely the most athletic team we've faced."
"I have a good team," said Memphis coach John Calipari, displaying his little known talent for understatement.
The theory that Memphis was overrated, racking up the bulk of its 37 wins in an inferior conference, can now be put to rest. Conference USA might not be so tough, but Calipari's squad most certainly is. Actually, they made the Pac-10's best team look like another league opponent.
Going into the game, it was assumed that Memphis was the deeper team. It was also supposed that UCLA had an advantage in coaching, as Ben Howland teaches team defense as well as anyone in the country. When asked about that Saturday night, Calipari deadpanned: "I don't think Ben is that bad."
Calipari is one of the great hustlers in college basketball. But give him and his team their respect. To this point, they've had a better run through the tournament than any of the collegiate aristocracies to have arrived here for the Final Four. They didn't need lucky calls, or as was the case with UCLA and Texas A&M, non-calls. They didn't grant underdogs false hope. Rather, in their last three games they beat Michigan State, Texas and now UCLA by an average margin of 16.
"Going into the game, we knew that we was going to win so there isn't much to say," Rose said.
"Every game, we expect to win," Douglas-Roberts said. "A lot of teams try to run on us because they can't prepare for our athletes in practice."
You don't have to like Memphis. But you have to like their chances Monday night against Kansas. Don't take my word for it. Ask Russell Westbrook.
by Mark Kriegel
Mark Kriegel is the national columnist for FOXSports.com. He is the author of two New York Times best sellers, Namath: A Biography and Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich, which Sports Illustrated called "the best sports biography of the year."
Updated: April 5, 2008, 11:12 PM EST 160 comments add this RSS blog email print
SAN ANTONIO - A couple years ago, Memphis lost to UCLA in the regional final 50-45. This time, with a chance at the championship at stake, Memphis led by 50-45 with 13:35 still to play.
Truth is, it didn't seem nearly that close by then. Five points didn't begin to describe the disparity between these two teams. For most of the night, it felt as if all that stood between UCLA and a brand of ignominy unaccustomed to most Bruins fans was a sophomore named Russell Westbrook.
By both reputation and proclamation, Westbrook is the best defender in the Pac-10. The day before, on a Southwest flight from Los Angeles, I asked his father how that had happened. Russell Sr., whose own career never advanced beyond pickup games at Compton's Ross Snyder playground, spoke of his son's capacity to punish himself with endless sets of dips and chin-ups at the same park.
"The boy built himself up," the elder Westbrook said.
There was a proud father, and nothing his son did — or didn't do — in Saturday's 78-63 defeat should diminish that pride. Darren Collison, UCLA's point guard and second leading scorer, had a night he'll try to forget. Kevin Love, the first-team All-American center, had a difficult time getting the ball on the blocks. Josh Shipp seemed absent for long stretches. But Westbrook kept attacking the basket, trying his best to remain undiscouraged in the face of increasingly severe odds.
He'd finish with 22 of the Bruins' 63 points. But with 3:44 remaining, he drove right at Memphis' Joey Dorsey, who goes roughly the same size as the Cleveland Cavaliers' Ben Wallace. Dorsey threw the shot away.
Not long after that, I thought I saw the slightest slouch creep across Westbrook's shoulders. It was as if he had finally come to understand that nothing he could do — certainly no amount of dips or chin-ups — would change the outcome.
Derrick Rose, probably the most talented player in this tournament, promptly ran the ball up court and converted a spectacular scooping layup.
"Every time we took quick shots, they got fast-break baskets and hurt us," Westbrook said. "Great players. They were getting to the ball faster than we were."
Rose and his backcourt mate, Chris Douglas-Roberts, scored 25 and 28 points, respectively. Together, they were 20-for-23 from the line, taking all of Memphis' foul shots. To watch them was to wonder how many NBA teams have better backcourts. Throw in Joey Dorsey, and it was as if UCLA had been spanked by the Detroit Pistons.
"I feel like they're the most athletic team in the country," Love said. "Definitely the most athletic team we've faced."
"I have a good team," said Memphis coach John Calipari, displaying his little known talent for understatement.
The theory that Memphis was overrated, racking up the bulk of its 37 wins in an inferior conference, can now be put to rest. Conference USA might not be so tough, but Calipari's squad most certainly is. Actually, they made the Pac-10's best team look like another league opponent.
Going into the game, it was assumed that Memphis was the deeper team. It was also supposed that UCLA had an advantage in coaching, as Ben Howland teaches team defense as well as anyone in the country. When asked about that Saturday night, Calipari deadpanned: "I don't think Ben is that bad."
Calipari is one of the great hustlers in college basketball. But give him and his team their respect. To this point, they've had a better run through the tournament than any of the collegiate aristocracies to have arrived here for the Final Four. They didn't need lucky calls, or as was the case with UCLA and Texas A&M, non-calls. They didn't grant underdogs false hope. Rather, in their last three games they beat Michigan State, Texas and now UCLA by an average margin of 16.
"Going into the game, we knew that we was going to win so there isn't much to say," Rose said.
"Every game, we expect to win," Douglas-Roberts said. "A lot of teams try to run on us because they can't prepare for our athletes in practice."
You don't have to like Memphis. But you have to like their chances Monday night against Kansas. Don't take my word for it. Ask Russell Westbrook.
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