Wednesday (10/31) practice observations

Wednesday (10/31) practice observations
Posted by Dan Wolken

Interesting day over at the Finch. First, there was the injury situation with Joey Dorsey, which started with him telling reporters that his right shoulder was hurting but that he was preparing to play Monday. Dorsey was on the floor for the first part of practice (operating mostly with his left arm), but when the action went live, he sat out. The realization that he might miss the first game of his college career apparently hit Dorsey pretty hard, as he was overcome with emotion while sitting on the sidelines. By the end of practice, Dorsey seemed to be in better spirits, but he clearly doesn’t want to miss a game. In some respects, I think Dorsey — if he’s still hurting come Monday — would be better served by sitting out and giving himself another 10 days to get ready for New York. Even without Dorsey, the Tigers shouldn’t have much trouble getting past UT-Martin and then Maine/Richmond.

After Dorsey left the floor, sophomore forward Pierre Niles followed. He tweaked his right knee and is listed as day-to-day. Meanwhile, coach John Calipari wasn’t too happy with sophomore center Hashim Bailey. So the Tigers played a lot of small ball, and the combination of Derrick Rose and Willie Kemp in the backcourt really looked good. If Dorsey can’t go Monday, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a starting lineup with Kemp, Rose, CDR, Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier. Shawn Taggart had a pretty good practice and looks like he’s ready to play significant minutes in Dorsey’s absence.

Athletic Director R.C. Johnson came in to watch the last half of practice, and he told me that the last season tickets are now gone, so FedExForum is indeed sold out. He also wanted me to relay the message that Memphis is out of parking passes for FedExForum, so please quit calling to ask about them.