Everybody knows it's been a struggle for Josh Pastner to keep the University of Memphis' basketball program together during this transition year, but he won't be getting any sympathy from his colleagues in Conference USA.
"I'm telling you, Memphis is going to be good,"
Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik said.
"I would love to coach Memphis' team,"
Houston coach Tom Penders said. "I still think they have a very good ballclub."
It's been interesting this summer to gauge the reaction of Memphis' league rivals to John Calipari's departure. Had Calipari (and his recruiting class) stayed, the Tigers undoubtedly would have been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in the preseason with no end in sight to their 61-game C-USA winning streak.
Now, the rest of the pack senses opportunity -- as well it should. The Tigers have just nine scholarship players on their roster and a lot of question marks.
Yet there's a consensus that Memphis is one of four teams at the head of the pack along with Tulsa, UTEP and Houston.
"It's going to be interesting,"
Marshall coach Donnie Jones said. "I'd put Tulsa and Memphis at the top."
"It would be safe to say Tulsa is the No. 1 team,"
SMU coach Matt Doherty said. "I think Memphis will be good, UTEP will be good. Then after that, Houston will be in that mix and I think everybody else will be fighting it out a little bit."
As a first-year head coach who is just about to celebrate his 32nd birthday, Pastner is understandably anxious about this season knowing that the Tigers have a short bench and the bull's-eye on their back is bigger than ever.
The good news for Pastner is that the tide of public opinion is pretty firmly right now behind Tulsa as the preseason favorite, taking some of the pressure off Memphis. But the league's coaches are familiar with the Tigers' personnel, and nobody is going to discount their chances of a fifth straight title.
"They just don't have a Tyreke (Evans) or Derrick (Rose) type, but they've got a lot of good players,"
Penders said. "If they get it together and figure out the style they can be effective with, I like their returning personnel a lot. They'll be a different type of team, but I still think they're going to be a good ballclub. Winning is a habit and it's a culture, and they've got a lot of kids back who are used to winning. I don't think they're going to just disappear."
Staff completed
Memphis has filled four administrative positions on its coaching staff, though only one has a title attached to it at this point. Matt Dunn, who worked at Miami-Dade College with current Tigers big man Will Coleman, has joined the staff as head equipment manager and director of the Finch Center.
That's essentially a new position, designed specifically to monitor who is using the Tigers' practice facility and particularly who has access to the much sought-after and expensive Nike gear, which if improperly monitored has the potential to cause NCAA violations.
"I think that's important to make sure that we're in compliance (with the NCAA) and with the Nike contract to make sure that if you're audited that you have bookwork, paperwork, documentation, all that stuff,"
Pastner said. "Obviously me or our assistants don't have the time to do that. We need someone to oversee that area and oversee the Finch Center."
As previously reported, Memphis has also added Josh Daesche, a native of Philadelphia who previously worked at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Mass. Daesche's title has yet to be officially determined, though he is listed on the Memphis Web site as an advance scout/video coordinator.
The Tigers' staff will include two graduate assistants in Scott Robinson and Dan Connelley. Robinson has been a manager with the Tigers for the past five years, while Connelley previously worked at his alma mater, Florida State, as a manager and then at Princeton was director of basketball.
Pastner said he wasn't in a hurry to delegate titles and specific responsibilities. It's possible that Pastner could make one more hire.
"Everyone's going to be involved in a little bit of everything and everyone that came on, including myself and the support staff, they all know how I feel,"
Pastner said. "Every ego needs to be deflated and everyone needs to roll up their sleeves and be on the front line."
Waiting for the word
The Tigers are anxiously awaiting word about the situation with incoming freshman Martin Ngaloro, who will have an MRI on Monday to look at a knee injury he suffered last week in France. The 6-8 Ngaloro isn't necessarily projected as a huge difference-maker, but with Memphis already short on bodies, every situation is magnified.
If Ngaloro's injury turns out to be serious, the Tigers could very well be back on the market for another player at the power forward position. Though senior Pierre Henderson-Niles weighed in last week at 288 pounds and looks good physically -- meaning he and Coleman could potentially play together in the frontcourt -- the Tigers' staff feels like the team is still short a player who can bang inside.
Bringing Matt Simpkins back isn't being discussed. The 6-8 forward was suspended from the team last season under Calipari and then reached a mutual decision with Pastner to transfer.
Ideally, Memphis would like to have another guard available as well in case of injury. James Harvey, a walk-on point guard from Germantown, is athletic enough to get in a game and defend his position for a few minutes but won't be eligible until the second semester. Adding another scholarship guard is almost entirely out of the question because of the guards Memphis covets in the 2010 recruiting class.
