Tuesday (10/30) practice report

Tuesday (10/30) practice report
Posted by Dan Wolken

John Calipari admitted to me after Tuesday’s practice that he’s still irritated with the Tigers’ effort in the scrimmage Saturday against Saint Louis. But he’s as irritated with himself as much as he is with the team, because as he said to the players Tuesday, he might have let them get a little bit soft.

In other words, country club time is over. It’s so over that after practice, when I asked Andre Allen for a few minutes to chat, Andre insisted that he talk while sitting down. And I don’t blame him, because I watched a 2 hour, 40 minute practice that was as physically and mentally demanding as anything the Tigers have been through all year. From here on out, Calipari is going to concentrate on building his team’s toughness because that’s what he feels they need. That means a portion of practice every day will be devoted to nothing but football-style drills where they just try to beat each other up. Memphis got better last season when Calipari went to more physical, less cerebral practices. We’ll see how they respond leading up to Monday’s opener against UT-Martin.

Of some concern was Joey Dorsey sitting out Tuesday with what they’re calling a right shoulder sprain. Head athletic trainer Chris Simmons said Dorsey is still day-to-day. My gut feeling is that Dorsey will be ready to play Monday, but the progress he makes from now until Friday will be crucial. Shawn Taggart played center with the first team in Dorsey’s absence.