Recent Memphis basketball newpaper coverage

Tiger fans have complained about a lack of newspaper coverage by the Commercial Appeal in the past. Gee! At least four stories on their basketball team in the past week. Would the Observer ever do this? Let's see, Memphis, Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee among other schools covered by them. After reading these I can only wish I was a subscriber and a Memphis fan.


Can last season's Tiger surprise carry his team?
By Gary Parrish, Memphis Commerical Appeal
October 5, 2003

Last preseason, he was the new guy, the late recruit, the one John Calipari signed only after learning Qyntel Woods turned pro.

Most had heard he could jump. Some thought he was a steal. But few believed he was the kind of player who would come to the University of Memphis and start dunking on the eventual national champion Syracuse just seconds into his college career.

Rodney Carney was a pleasant surprise. Now, the question is: Can he do it again?

"To me, it's just like high school," the Indianapolis native said. "At first, people didn't know me. But then I started doing well, and people expected me to do well.

"I carried that load, so I think I can do it again now. I know I can adjust."

As the Tiger basketball team continues preseason workouts in preparation of Friday's trip to Cancun, Mexico, one thing is clear: Rodney Carney's role has changed.

No longer is he merely the high-flying, wing-running, shoot-a-three-if-we-kick-it-out-and-you're-open weapon he was a year ago. Now, the 6-7 small forward is a go-to guy for Memphis, someone the team will routinely depend on when a bucket is needed.

So the question remains: Can he handle it?

"I think so," said Ed Schilling, a first-year Memphis assistant who has known Carney since he recruited him as head coach at Wright State. "But what Rodney's got to do is get his mental toughness there. That's the toughest thing, trying to go from a guy who is a great athlete and a complementary player to a guy who is counted on heavily.

"His mental toughness is going to be key."

During a freshman year in which Carney was basically a secondary option who got most his shots on fastbreaks or kickouts, he averaged 9.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.1 assists per game. Those numbers were good enough to earn Carney a spot on Conference USA's All-Freshman team and make him the Tigers' leading returning scorer and rebounder.

This year, however, the points likely will come in a different fashion.

For instance, unlike his freshman campaign, Carney will have offensive sets geared toward him. One that is still in the experimental stages has him spending a lot of time in the post in an attempt to take advantage of his freakish jumping ability and get some easy buckets that way.

As for the exact numbers Carney needs to produce for the Tigers to be successful, that's hard to say. The roster is loaded with guys who can score in the 10- to 13-point range, meaning it probably isn't necessary for someone to get 17 every night.

But it wouldn't hurt. And it isn't impossible, especially considering Carney believes he's up to the task of being a primary option.

"I know I am because I've been working all summer," he said. "I've been working on my handles and working on a little inside game where I can catch it and score easy. So I know I'm ready to be counted on."

 

Five questions with Ed Schilling, Tiger basketball assistant coach
By Gary Parrish, Memphis Commerical Appeal
October 2, 2003

Q: You didn't take the job here until summer. Is the family settled in?
A: Yeah. We're settled. My oldest daughter started fourth grade. So everything's going well.

Q: One of the players said you're the best thing that could've happened to this program and that you really care about them. How does that make you feel?
A: That's great. I mean, that's what I'm here for. The biggest thing I can do is be there for the kids.

Q: You've been a head coach for the past six seasons. As an assistant now, do you feel like some of the pressure is off?
A: A little bit. Now I can just focus on the players and focus on how I can serve Coach Cal. I don't have to worry about this booster or that booster or this TV station or that issue with the administration. I can really zero in and just try to make the players better.

Q: You've been around the guys for a while now. How is the talent level?
A: It's good. But it's still going to be one of those things where they really have to buy in to what Coach Cal says because we don't have enough talent to just roll over people. We're going to have to execute and keep getting better.

Q: I saw you running the team through ball-handling drills. Do you have better handles than everybody on the roster?
A: Not for long, I hope. And I guarantee you I don't have the speed that Antonio Burks and those guys have. I just want to challenge them every day, give them something new and fresh. I just want to help them get better.

 

Post player commits to hard work, U of M's Erwin learns secret to staying off Calipari's bench
By Gary Parrish, Memphis Commerical Appeal
October 1, 2003

Duane Erwin would come to practice every day. Then not work hard. Then get yelled at. Then get his confidence broken. And then get ready to sit on the bench during the next game.

This was last season. It became a routine so frustrating to everybody involved that it was fair to wonder if Erwin would ever see his junior year at the University of Memphis.

But now here we are. Erwin's still here, too. And if there was ever a guy these Tigers need to have a breakout year and finally reach his potential, it's the 6-9 post player everybody calls 'Red' who has been yearning for this moment since he chose Memphis over UAB.

''This is the opportunity I've been waiting on,'' Erwin said. ''My first two years here I just slacked off because I didn't think I was going to play a large amount of minutes anyway. But now I'm going hard every day, and I have more energy. So I'm just showing Cal that I'm ready to take on the job.''

As the Tigers complete their first week of official practices there are several questions that surround this team, with the biggest in the middle of the court.

Chris Massie and Earl Barron are gone. Kendrick Perkins never came. Consequently, Erwin will patrol the paint this season and get more minutes than even he thought possible.

Which is amazing, really, when considering where Erwin was last year. For the purpose of this story, we'll call it the doghouse.

In practices, John Calipari can deal with bad shots or missed dunks or even a pass thrown into the Finch Center wall. But what the fourth-year Tiger coach absolutely can't stand is a lack of effort on anybody's part.

That meant - at least on the court - that Calipari had no tolerance for Erwin.

''I saw that,'' said sophomore Rodney Carney. ''In practice Cal would ride him so hard, and then in the games he wouldn't play him in clutch situations. Like when we needed a big man to go in and get a rebound, Cal wouldn't call on him. And I think that hurt his confidence.''

At the time, it was obvious Erwin believed the coaching staff was unfairly being hard on him. But now he seems to realize he deserved every bit of the criticism . . . and then some.

''Cal said I didn't work hard, and he was right,'' Erwin acknowledged. ''He was telling the truth. I was like, 'Well, there's no need in me working hard because I'm not going to play as much as I want to anyway.'

''Even when I was in high school my coach told me he had never seen me at my best,'' Erwin added. ''I have so much potential. So now it's time for me to show it and stop just saying that I have potential.

''It's time to let it out.''

Through a handful of practices it appears Erwin is on his way to doing just that.

He's moving at a faster pace and is more lively in general. As a result, Calipari is rewarding Erwin and running him with a first team completed by Antonio Burks, Anthony Rice, Carney and Sean Banks.

Apparently, how long Erwin stays there is up to him.

''Red can be a dominating rebounder and a dominating defender,'' said assistant Tony Barbee, who works with the Tiger big men. ''Offensively, he's what you call serviceable. He will score with a man on his back. Now will he do it seven or eight or nine out of 10 times like Massie did? Not right now. So right now we're not looking for him to be a dominant offensive presence because he's not ready for that.

''Every day he is taking a step,'' Barbee added. ''Now we're still going to stay on him because he needs it. And we need him. And the only way he's going to reach the point we need him at is if we push him to it.

''But so far I see nothing but positive signs.''

 

Forward commits to Tigers
By Gary Parrish, Memphis Commerical Appeal
September 29, 2003

Richard Dorsey visited the University of Memphis this weekend. By the time he left, the 6-8 big forward from Laurinburg Prep in North Carolina had pledged his allegiance to the Tigers and even posed for a team photo.

''I just loved the coaching staff,'' Dorsey said. ''I'll have to get that picture developed soon.''

The U of M's recruitment of Dorsey dates a few months and intensified when Tiger coach John Calipari became enamored with the Baltimore native's aggressive style at this summer's adidas ABCD Camp. After that performance, HoopScoop called Dorsey the seventh-best big forward at the event, and the Tigers keyed on him.

They've now been rewarded.

''I had a good time this weekend,'' said Dorsey, who was also recruited by Miami, Auburn and LSU.

Though the Memphis staff will continue recruiting in case something unforeseen develops, Dorsey's commitment should complete this class. The Tigers already have commitments from Darius Washington of Orlando-Edgewater, Robert Dozier of Lithonia (Ga.), Kareem Cooper of Laurinburg (N.C.) Charter and Hamilton High's Shawne Williams.

Of those, all but Cooper are consensus Top 100 prospects. The class should rank among the nation's elite when national signing day comes in November.

 

Henry Williams wants spot with Bobcats, Oct. 5

Chris Nance commits to Niners, Oct. 3

Morrow chooses Tech over Niners, others, Oct. 3

Anthony Morrow's mom helps with recruiting process; Niners in it, Oct. 2

Niners forced by realignment to look at options, Sept. 30

 

Hey Mike,

 

Mike:
Please don't print your scorecard. There's absolutely NO way you can count those stories on Morrow as stories on the Charlotte 49ers. You might as well count any story on any kid who :lists" us. There was no interest shown. No connection. No local angle. Don't go there. Langston would NEVER write a story with "us" in it unless it was an afterthought.

The story that SHOULD have been written and he would never have done so is how much Anthony Morrow would have flourished in Lutz's guard-oriented system with a historical look at two obvious stats: (1) Lutz's guards continually dominate the ball, the offense runs through his shooters and the three-point stats are loaded with Niner stars -- Morrow's strongest trait; (2) Two past Charlotte high school guard heroes, Byron Dinkins and Jobey Thomas were standouts and First Team All-League selections as local high school stars who stayed home. And, they are both in the all-time Top 10 scorers in school history with cushy pro jobs making tons 'o cash overseas.

Langston would never have written any such angle because his puppet Jerry Faulkner would not give him the appropriate time of day. I wish I was rich. I'd hire Langston and send him to a desserted island with a ton of ACC pennants to hang off his local coconut trees!

Please, please, please don't get me started on this one. I can't way to seee what he doesn't do with "us" when he's writing about K.C. Rivers.

 

Real, please don't bust a hemmoroid before the season begins!

I somehow knew this response was coming... and to top it off, the sports editor missed the big story of the week, the initial post of Nance committing, 49ers land center, October 2. Do you other posters think these stories compare to the Memphis coverage?

Let's see...
1) 49ers officials forced to look at possibilities -- nothing that hasn't been discussed here and there other than some dollar figures and an offical quote from the administration. Certainly the ACC courting Notre Dame has received more Observer notice.

2) Mom helps in recruiting process, October 2 -- "They've also visited Charlotte, N.C. State and Tennessee." That's a lot of mention of the 49ers there, huge stretch to see that's 49er coverage.

3) Latin's Morrow chooses Ga. Tech, October 3 -- "Morrow, a 6-foot-5 guard ranked among the nation's top 30 seniors by All-Star Sports recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons, chose the Yellow Jackets over Charlotte, N.C. State and Tennessee." Once again, this is coverage of the 49ers?

4) Injury gave recruit an opportunity, October 3 -- As mentioned in another thread, same quotes from the story reporting Nance's commitment. In my mind, this was a space filler or the inital story was edited down.

5) Former 49er wants spot with Bobcats, October 5 -- I might give you that one, but he is a player 10 years removed from UNC Charlotte. Other than mentioning his career stats and that he is a member of the Athletic Foundation Board of Directors there is little to do with the Charlotte 49ers. This is a story about Henry Williams wanting to be involved with the Bobcats' franchise in some capacity.

Mr. Persinger, does the mere mention of Charlotte being on a high school recruit's list really classify as coverage of the university's athletic program?

 

:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

:chucks: :chucks: :chucks: :chucks: :chucks: :chucks: :chucks:

 

I've got to agree here. An article "about" the Niners would include more than a simple reference to the program. It should actually inform the reader ABOUT the basketball team or athletic department. My vote - Memphis wins!