11 Memphis

There are several things an NBA scout can do to kill time in Memphis before a Grizzlies game in the evening. He might get a rack of ribs at Charlie Vergos Rendezvous, check out the scene at B.B. King's Blues Club on Beale Street or admire the sequin-studded jumpsuits at Graceland. Over the last several weeks, however, the most popular activity has been to head to a Memphis University practice and look longingly at the school's collection of potential pros. "We've had 17 NBA scouts in here," coach John Calipari said during the second week of practice. After he saw point guard Antonio Burks, one personnel man asked Calipari, "What is he, a senior?" The scout couldn't believe Burks was a sophomore.

Entering his second season, Calipari has assembled a cast long on talent but short on chemistry. He will rely heavily on three newcomers—juco transfers Burks and Chris Massie plus consensus high school player of the year Dajuan Wagner—to improve a squad that was 21-15 and lost to Tulsa in an NIT semifinal last season. "On the court they'll be aggressive," says Calipari, "but we've got to get them to understand how important communicating is."

The player most likely to assume a leadership role is Burks, but he has bigger concerns. He has to master a new offense and shake off substantial rust. He last played in a game 1� years ago at Hiwassee College in Madisonville, Tenn., where he spent one season schooling inferior opponents while averaging 14.2 points a game. A Division I nonqualifier coming out of high school, Burks still didn't have his academics in order when he transferred to Memphis in August 2000, so he wasn't eligible to play last season and couldn't practice with the team.

The Tigers expect Wagner, a sharp-shooting 6'3" guard out of Camden (N.J.) High, to have an immediate impact. He already holds the single-game scoring record on his new home court, having rung up 50 points in a high school tournament game at the Pyramid last December. With Burks and Wagner the Tigers have the makings of a formidable backcourt, and the inside game—with the 6'9", 235-pound Massie, all- Conference USA forward Kelly Wise (15.3 points last year) and 7-foot center Earl Barron—may be even stronger. Factor in 6'5" sophomore swingman Scooter McFadgon, and Calipari has the luxury of going big or small.

The problem is, with no depth to speak of, Calipari will have to rely on television timeouts and wisely use his team timeouts to rest his players. Preseason scrimmages were staged in five-minute segments to get the top six players used to the scheduled TV stoppages after the 16-, 12-, eight- and four-minute marks in each half. Calipari is no stranger to winning with a short bench. "When I was at UMass, we had six guys," he says of his 1995-96 team. "Our seventh, eighth and ninth guys were walkons. And we went to the Final Four."

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