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Posted: Thursday October 31, 2002 5:04 PM Updated: Sunday November 03, 2002 10:26 PM Memphis Tigers
The following preview is provided by Blue Ribbon. For the most thorough preview available of the upcoming season, order the 2002-03 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, on sale now at 1-800-775-2518. Team Preview | Blue Ribbon Analysis
Memphis coach John Calipari knew his time coaching star guard DeJuan Wagner might be brief, and it was. After a 2001-02 season in which Wagner averaged 21.2 points, second in Conference USA, and was chosen the league’s freshman of the year, he declared for the NBA draft, to the surprise of no one. Was Wagner’s one season as a Tiger a fair trade for all concerned? Perhaps Memphis fans can best answer that question. Wagner helped lead his team to a championship, though it wasn’t the one Tiger fans would have preferred. After being left out of the NCAA Tournament field, Memphis proceeded to win five straight games in the NIT, the last one a 72-62 victory over South Carolina in the title game. Was winning the NIT better than a trip to the Big Dance and a win or two there? Again, Memphis fans can best answer that question while they ponder what another couple of years of Wagner in a Tiger uniform might have meant for the program. But alas, Wagner was not long for Memphis. He was the sixth pick in the first round by the Cleveland Cavaliers and figures to make a ton of money during a lengthy pro career.
If Wagner had been the Tigers’ only departure, there would be no question a coveted NCAA bid would be waiting for them come March. But in a mass exodus that might have gutted a lesser program than the one Calipari has constructed, several other key players left, seemingly one after another. Amare Stoudemire, the 6-foot-10 center from Florida and PrepStar’s top player in the 2002 senior class, committed to the Tigers but opted instead for the draft. He was chosen ninth in the first round by the Phoenix Suns. Junior power forward Chris Massie also declared for the draft, but later withdrew his name. He might have been able to return had he attended summer school, but now Massie would have to pass 21 hours in the fall semester just to gain back the second semester, minus the two games he played at the NBA’s pre-draft Chicago camp. No one on the Memphis staff is expecting to see Massie again. Kelly Wise, one of C-USA’s best big men, used up his eligibility but wasn’t drafted. He’ll try to hook on with an overseas professional league. Finally, sophomore swingman Scooter McFadgon, who started 28 games and averaged 10 points and four rebounds, decided to leave the program. He later transferred to Tennessee. Does that massive loss of personnel concern Calipari? No question he’d love to take the floor with a starting lineup that includes Wagner, Stoudemire and Massie, but he knows that can never happen. He’ll move on. "It’s like any college team," Calipari said. "The thing about college basketball from year to year is you are going to lose players. I’ve heard all these numbers, but the bottom line is Antonio Burks was a starter, Anthony Rice was a starter, Earl Barron was a starter. So we have three starters back. And you’re bringing in four young players, one who started on an SEC team and three who are going to be freshmen who are going to help us. "We’re going to have a young, balanced team. More in the mold of some of my UMass teams, which were based on five players scoring in double figures, playing nine or 10 guys, playing at a higher level of intensity, playing defense like every meal depends on what you do on the court. That’s how this team has got to play and will play." Despite the heavy losses, Memphis still has some talent and should be solid up the middle with veterans at center and the point. Barron (9.2 ppg, 5.4), a 7-foot, 260-pound senior, returns as the Tigers’ most experienced player, having appeared in 102 career games and earned 47 starts. None of those games was more important than the last one he played, against South Carolina in the 2002 NIT championship game. After not scoring a point against Temple in a semifinal victory, Barron made 9-of-9 shots from the field in the first half and finished with a career-high 25 points. Barron’s performance was so dominating that the Gamecocks’ staff was taken aback and couldn’t seem to come up with a way to stop him, even with three physical post players on the roster. "They surprised us with their inside play," South Carolina coach Dave Odom told the media after the game. "It's not that we didn't respect their inside play, but even the most ardent Memphis Tigers supporter could not have expected Barron to go 9-for-9 tonight in the first half." Barron’s handiwork in the regular season might have given an indication of what he could do when he was either a featured scorer or found himself on a roll. He shot 52 percent from the field and 78 percent from the free-throw line a year ago and was the only player in C-USA to finish in the top 10 in both statistics (ninth in each). Barron worked hard to improve his game last season and actually tacked nearly 20 percentage points on to his free-throw average. That improvement ranked second nationally and allowed Barron to pad his point total. After Memphis lost so much front-line might, Calipari is hoping Barron can step forward and prove his performance in the South Carolina game was no fluke. To do that, Calipari believes, Barron will have to become a tad more aggressive. "This is a big year for Earl," Calipari said. "He has gained weight. He is up to almost 270 pounds, but I imagine he will lose weight once we start conditioning and will be around 260. If he can stay around 265 to 270, it will be huge for him. He has terrific hands for a big guy. He can shoot the ball, make free throws, can trail on our break. He needs to have a post presence for this team and also needs to do one thing that I’ve said for two years now -- mix it up. Don’t be afraid to get in there and mix it up no matter who it’s against. "And I think the added weight is going to give him the confidence to do that. He has worked so hard in the last year, and I’m expecting him to have a big year." Calipari is also fortunate to have Burks (8.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 5.0 apg, 2.0), a junior, back for two more seasons at the point. Burks, who played his high school basketball in Memphis, left the city for a one-year stay at Hiwassee (Tenn.) College, where he averaged 14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.9 steals in the 1999-2000 season. Burks sat out in 2000-01 and didn’t practice. Given that and his reputation for occasionally getting out of control on the floor, Calipari and Memphis fans, weren’t sure what to expect out of Burks last season. What Burks did surprised a lot of people. Playing in 36 games and starting 33 of them, Burks led C-USA with a 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio. He also finished third in the league in steals (72) and was fifth in assists (182). For an added bonus, Burks also included 45 percent shooting from the field and a respectable 33 percent from 3-point range. He shot 69 percent from the free-throw line. Burks got better as the season went along, and, consequently, Calipari leaned on him. Burks averaged more than 34 minutes on the floor in the Tigers’ last 10 games, including the NIT run. Typical of his late-season performance was his 11-assist, no-turnover effort against Temple. Burks scored just two points in that game, underscoring his worth as a pure point guard. But though Burks didn’t need to score for Memphis to win last year, he’ll be called on to produce more points in 2002-03. "[Burks is] the fastest point guard in the country in my opinion," Calipari said. "What he did a year ago to get himself in control I believe amazed anyone who had seen him over the years in the city of Memphis. They could not believe he was in control when he played a basketball game. He needs to continue on that path. "I still think he can be the best defensive point guard in America. There is no reason he shouldn’t bother the ball more than any player in the country. Now the question is, will he make open shots? Can he make a shot when they are not guarding him? Making open shots, being in control and running our team is what we want from him." In addition to Barron and Burks, a third starter returns in Rice (7.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.7 apg), a 6-foot-4 sophomore. Rice started nine games a year ago, but six of those came in succession during the C-USA stretch run. Rice wound up playing 23.2 minutes per game, second behind Burks among the Tigers’ veterans. Rice shot an excellent 42 percent from 3-point range a year ago. That was good for sixth in C-USA and more than enough reason for Calipari to give him more minutes. Rice justified his playing time in the postseason. He scored 15 points against Houston in the league tournament, then came off the bench for 14, on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, against UNC Greensboro in the NIT. He scored eight points against Tennessee Tech in the NIT and came up with career highs in rebounds (10) and assists (five) against South Carolina in the final. Another player who figures to start once he becomes eligible in December is Vanderbilt transfer Billy Richmond, a 6-foot-5 sophomore. Richmond played at Hamilton High School in Memphis and was thought of something as a breakthrough recruit for coach Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt. But Richmond didn’t fit into Stallings’ program, so before practice began last fall, he announced he was leaving school. In 2000-01, Richmond played in 29 of Vanderbilt’s 30 games, starting 18 of them and averaging 8.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists. He scored a career-high 21 points against Boston College and came up with 15 points and six rebounds against Kentucky. A skilled athlete, Richmond can play any of the three perimeter positions but figures to land at small forward. Three returnees and two freshmen will compete for time in the frontcourt. Arthur Barclay (2.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg), a 6-foot-8, 230-pound junior, played 18 games before being lost in mid-January with tendinitis in his left knee. Before the injury, Barclay demonstrated a willingness to perform blue-collar tasks. Through the 18 games he played, he led Memphis in charges taken. He grabbed a career-high eight boards against Southern Miss. Mobido Diarra (1.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg), a 6-foot, 240-pound junior, wasn’t asked to do much last season, but he did earn five starts, all in the NIT. The season before, he started 24 times. The native of Mali, West Africa, filled in when called upon in 2001-02. With Barron and Massie in foul trouble, he played a career-high 12 minutes against South Florida and grabbed five rebounds. He gathered in a career-high nine boards against Howard. Duane Ervin (1.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg) is another player who could step up his contributions. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound sophomore was able to improve while working against Wise, Barron and Massie last season. He played 17 minutes against UNC Greensboro in the NIT and came up with a career-high-tying seven rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. "Erwin and Dibo have shown signs of what they can do," Calipari said. Freshmen who could find some playing time in the frontcourt include 6-foot-10, 240-pound Almamy Theiro and 6-foot-7 Rodney Carney. Theiro, like Diarra a native of Mali, averaged 18 points, 12 rebounds and a blocked shot last season for Mt. Zion Christian Academy in Durham, N.C. Carney was the Indianapolis Star’s Player of the Year last season after averaging 21.5 points and 13.6 rebounds for Northwest High School. A good athlete, Carney was a state champion in the high jump (with a personal best of 6-foot-11) and finished sixth in the 400 meters. His mother, Deandra, was also a state champion in Indiana high school track and at one time held the world record in the 60-yard dash. Calipari is hoping the two freshmen can make contributions in the Tigers’ interior defense. "Last year’s team was so big," Calipari said. "It could really block some shots, which really helped us. Now I’m hoping in some areas this team will be better. Obviously shot-blocking will probably not be one of them. If Almamy and Rodney Carney can come in and get a couple blocks a game, we will catch up. But it will be hard for them to do because they are freshmen." One more freshman joins the team this season -- 6-foot-3 Jeremy Hunt, who played for Craigmont High School in Memphis. In 2001-02, Hunt averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists. Despite losing such talented players as Wagner, Wise, Massie and McFagdon and never even getting the opportunity to coach recruit Stoudemire, Calipari will still put a competitive team on the floor. Truth be told, Calipari might even have a little more fun with this team than he did a year ago. With so much firepower, much was expected of the Tigers. Their NIT championship was rewarding, but fell far short of what Memphis fans had hoped could happen with Wagner in uniform. Now, with no bona fide stars on the team, the Tigers will be a little less predictable. No one player will take a disproportionate number of shots, as Wagner did a year ago (a whopping 647, more than twice as much as runner-up McFadgon). "Our goal is to win the league, win the league tournament, make it to the NCAA Tournament and advance," Calipari said. "That’s our goal every year. I think those are all attainable, but we are going have to have a bunch of guys working together." The Tigers don’t have a choice but to rally around one another. If they do, they just might accomplish something the Wagner-led Tigers could not and find their way into the NCAA Tournament.
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