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The Career of Mike Schaplowsky- a 50 year dynasty


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2019 Postseason Wrap-Up

 

I won't go into a full postseason run-down, Kansas beat Maryland in the National Championship game, while Mercer beat Indiana in the NIT championship.

 

Tulsa lost 87-69 to Southern Illinois in the First round of the NCAA Tournament.

 

UTEP lost to George Mason 76-67 in the Second Round of the NIT Tournament.

 

Houston lost 88-85 to Penn in the Second Round of the NIT Tournament.

 

Our most successful conference teams were UAB, who made it to the NIT Elite Eight, and Tulane, who won the CIT.

 

Next time, I'll take a look at the offseason. I can tell you right now, that this team next year might resemble the team I would have had at Sam Houston St. this season. It's going to be ugly.

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2019 Offseason

 

Awards

 

No national awards, which is a bit disappointing, but I was named Conference USA Coach of the Year, and several of my players got awards. Let's take a look:

 

2018-2019 CONFERENCE USA AWARDS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Player of the Year:

[b]SR SG Thomas Diaz  Memphis  11.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3.2 APG 1.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG[/b]

Freshman of the Year:
FR SF Greg Henriquez  Rice  14.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.9 APG 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG

Coach of the Year:
[b]Mike Schaplowsky  Memphis  27 - 9 (14 - 2)[/b] 

All-league 1st Team:
C  SR Bryan Voyles  Central Florida  15.4 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.3 SPG, 2.4 BPG
PF SR Tony Griffin  Tulsa  12.1 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 1.6 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.4 BPG
SF SR Jordan Justice  Tulsa  14.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG
[b]SG SR Thomas Diaz  Memphis  11.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG[/b]
PG SR Andrew Hubbard  Tulane  11.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 6.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG

All-league 2nd Team:
[b]C  JR Franklyn Crandell  Memphis  8.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 3.8 BPG[/b]
PF JR Mervin Weathers  Houston  10.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.3 SPG, 0.5 BPG
[b]SF SR David Berg  Memphis  10.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.3 BPG[/b]
SG JR Wilton Glaser  Tulane  18.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.3 BPG
PG SR Rafael Cano  UTEP  14.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG

All-freshman Team:
C  FR Charles West  Rice  2.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.0 APG, 0.6 SPG, 1.5 BPG
PF FR Abraham Hillard  Tulsa  2.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.5 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.4 BPG
SF FR Greg Henriquez  Rice  14.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG
SG FR Lenard Meunier  Marshall  15.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.4 SPG, 0.2 BPG
[b]PG FR Amos Lusk  Memphis  9.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.1 BPG[/b]

 

Departing Players

 

C Kurt Marshall- graduating

SG Thomas Diaz- graduating

SF David Berg- graduating

PF Carrol Nilsen- graduating

PF Mark Cohen- entering draft

C Franklyn Crandell- entering draft

PF Gaston Lytle- entering draft.

 

F*ck!!!!! Basically my entire post is gone. Kurt didn't play much, and Carrol was disappointing, but the other 5 are huge losses. We are losing the C-USA player of the year in Diaz, while Franklyn Crandell was on the C-USA Second Team. Ok, so to be honest, while it sucks losing Cohen, he wasn't as big of a star as he should have been. Lytle outplayed him, but man it would have been nice to have 1 of those 2 back, and Crandell. Ugh!

 

Final Recruiting Class

 

FR C Troy Tomblin (***, #173 overall)

FR SF Stan Martin (***, #407 overall)

 

Well, at least I did sign 2 recruits this year, but I lost 7 players. And of those 7, only 1 was drafted. Mark Cohen went 44th overall. Damn you Gaston and Franklyn. Despite all that, Memphis still pulled the #124 class in the nation, but only 5th in the C-USA. Troy is going to thrown into the fire early, as he is the only big man on the roster, although John Breland is 6'7'', he may see some time at the 4. Stan will most likely redshirt. I'm hoping for some luck as far as transfers go.

 

Chuck Lugo, my recruiting coordinator, wants a raise. Yea, I'm taking a huge chance here, but I'm giving him his raise. Joshua Amos also wants a raise, but he didn't do squat to help me this season, so he isn't getting that raise.

 

No conference movement to speak of, so we're ok there.

 

Job Offers

 

Louisiana Tech has offered me their head coaching position. While they do have a full roster, it's a roster that quite frankly sucks. No thanks.

 

And that was it. I'm staying at Memphis. Talk about a slap in the face. Remember how I gave Chuck Lugo that raise? So how does he thank me? By taking the head coaching job at LA Tech. What a POS. Now I need a new recruiting coordinator. Didn't take long for me to find my guy. Gregg Orman is my new recruiting coordinator. His recruit rating is 81, which is 6 better than Chuck. But he's also costing me $60,000 more than Chuck would have.

 

Transfers

 

Remember how I said this years roster would resemble the roster of Sam Houston St. if I'd have stayed there? I wasn't lying. We go 7 deep, 6 if you take out Amos, who is still injured for another 286 days and probably won't be able to play until next February, at best. We've got 7 scholarships available for transfers. We need bodies, I don't care if they are red/red, red/orange, we just need bodies, especially in the post.

 

We've added 2 to the roster, C Scottie Harris and PF Brenton Tweedy. Neither one will amount for much but a warm body, which is what we need. Still 5 schollies to dish out.

 

Add 1 more to the roster, PF Monte Donofrio, another red/orange guy.

 

So we'll play the 2019-2020 season with 10 players. 10 sounds a lot better than 7.

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How do you adjust your team settings (pace, passing, defensive schemes)?

Do you keep it set the same for the year or do you adjust based on your opponent?

 

To be honest, I actually don't mess with that much, I let the computer AI take care of all that. Once every couple weeks or so, I'll hit the recommend button for game planning and go with it.

 

Since this is pretty much a quick sim anyways, I don't do a lot of hands on activity other than scheduling and recruiting.

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Here is a look at the initial 20 man call list for the recruiting period

 

Name                Pos    Ht   Wt  Rating   Interest           State
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hector Friday         C  6-11  311     ***  Very High       Tennessee
Daniel Stout         SG   6-2  177     ***  Very High       Tennessee
Drew Osterman        SF   6-6  222     ***  Very High       Tennessee
Randell Sellars      SG   6-3  171    ****       High       Tennessee
Eldridge Boyd         C  6-11  261     ***       High        Illinois
Nicolas Lack         PG   5-9  181     ***       High        Illinois
Robert Nickel        SG   6-4  197     ***       High  South Carolina
David Gilpin          C   6-9  221   *****    Average       Minnesota
Brent Sides           C   6-8  230   *****    Average       Wisconsin
Mark Santoro         SF   6-4  217   *****    Average        New York
Johnny Carillo        C   6-7  232    ****    Average       Tennessee
Wayne Rogers          C  6-11  224    ****    Average        Illinois
Garrett Oliveira      C   6-8  235    ****    Average  North Carolina
Roosevelt Mason      PF  6-10  229    ****    Average           Texas
Ervin Parent         PF   6-6  231    ****    Average      Washington
Claud Stevens        PF   7-0  230    ****    Average  North Carolina
Chris Sharp          PF   6-9  234    ****    Average         Indiana
John Farrell          C  6-10  241    ****    Average        Virginia
Clint Goodnight       C   6-9  221     ***    Average       Tennessee
Xander Aguilar       PF  6-10  211     ***    Average       Tennessee

 

With 3 scholarships to hand out, we are still in a serious need for post players that can contribute, but I can't pass up on a 4 star SG that has high interest in us at the moment. Simply put, we need to get the best players we can get, and hopefully get these scholarships filled quickly.

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Offseason Recruiting News

 

August 2019

 

We've offered scholarships to 3 centers, Boyd, Friday, and Gilpin. All are either green or blue rated potential.

 

September 2019

 

No change in the 3 guys we offered schollies to, as Boyd and Friday still have very high interest, while Gilpin has average interest. We freed up another scholarship by cutting another walk-on, and offered it to 4 star Garrett Oliveira, another center. Good thing is, all 4 of these guys can play PF if need be.

 

October 2019

 

No change in interest with Boyd, Friday, or Gilpin. Boyd has us as his #1, with Xavier and Auburn on our heels. Friday has us #2, with Ole Miss in the lead. We're competing with Kansas for the services of Gilpin. Oliveira now has high interest in us, but we're behind North Carolina for his services.

 

November 2019 (early signing period)

 

Gilpin signed with Kansas, Friday signed with Ole Miss, Oliveira signed with North Carolina, and Boyd signed with us. Now we're back to the grind on our other 3 scholarships. I've added a few players to the call list, and here is what the new, updated call list looks like:

 

Name               Pos    Ht   Wt  Rating  Interest           State
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chris Houser         C   6-9  232     ***   Average        Oklahoma
Donato Vila          C   6-9  246     ***   Average           Spain
Cyrus Cathey         C   6-8  221     ***   Average           Texas
Daniel Stout        SG   6-2  177     ***   Average       Tennessee
Robert Nickel       SG   6-4  197     ***   Average  South Carolina
Dominic Hewett      SF   6-7  220   *****       Low           Texas
Mario Albertini     PG  5-10  154   *****       Low           Italy
Richard Mundell     PG  5-11  155   *****       Low          Canada

 

We'll go 10 deep this season, as I decided to redshirt Amos Lusk. He's still injured for another 3 months, and if he came back this season, it would be in mid-February. Why have him waste a whole season on the IR? So he redshirts, everybody else plays.

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ok, so that didn't work like I thought it would, I thought it would actually show the screenshots in the post, but instead you have to click on the links. If you guys like it that way, I'll do it that way year by year, but if not, I'll just do the copy and paste and code from FBCB without the color codes. Here's a look at the schedule.

 

 

 

  Date        Opponent                 Record  RPI  Result  Score  Record
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11/10/19    vs. Detroit                 0-0   66                       
 11/22/19    VCU                         0-0   69                       
 11/27/19    at Utah State               0-0   45                       
 12/01/19    at #9 Tennessee             0-0    6                       
 12/05/19    Towson                      0-0   38                       
 12/09/19    at Kansas State             0-0   35                       
 12/15/19    Purdue                      0-0  287                       
 12/20/19    South Florida               0-0   52                       
 12/22/19    UL-Lafayette                0-0   84                       
 12/28/19    Alcorn State                0-0  236                       
 12/30/19    Texas Tech                  0-0   65                       
 01/04/20    Seton Hall                  0-0  108                       
 01/15/20    Tulane                      0-0   67                       
 01/18/20    at Tulsa                    0-0   39                       
 01/22/20    Southern Methodist          0-0  322                       
 01/25/20    at Rice                     0-0  151                       
 01/29/20    at Southern Methodist       0-0  322                       
 02/01/20    at UAB                      0-0  106                       
 02/05/20    UTEP                        0-0  107                       
 02/08/20    at East Carolina            0-0  198                       
 02/12/20    at Tulane                   0-0   67                       
 02/15/20    Tulsa                       0-0   39                       
 02/19/20    Houston                     0-0   58                       
 02/22/20    Rice                        0-0  151                       
 02/26/20    UAB                         0-0  106                       
 02/29/20    Southern Mississippi        0-0  289                       
 03/04/20    at Central Florida          0-0  122                       
 03/07/20    at Marshall                 0-0  238

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November 2019

 

  Date        Opponent                     Record  RPI  Result  Score  Record
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11/10/19    vs. Detroit                     1-2  173       W  88-86     1-0
 11/11/19    vs. Western Michigan            1-2  184       W  57-43     2-0
 11/17/19    vs. #13 Southern Illinois       7-0   13       L  83-66     2-1
 11/22/19    VCU                             1-4  315       W  67-66     3-1
 11/27/19    at Utah State                   4-1   91       L  64-59     3-2

 

About what I expected, as Southern Illinois is really good, and going to Utah State is always tough. 2 of our 3 wins have been by a combined 3 points. Oh boy!

 

Overall Record: 3-2

Home Record: 1-0

Road Record: 0-1

Neutral Record: 2-1

Rank: NR

RPI: 77

 

Recruiting News

 

None to speak of, no signings, none of the guys we are looking at signed elsewhere. I offered a couple scholarships to some of the 5 star guys that have average interest that haven't been offered yet.

 

Player Averages

 

Attached is a link to the player averages, so you can see how everybody is doing statwise.

1682469026_memphisaveragesNovember.jpg.2d4cdb861ddd948b06a7b3917bb0e1a0.jpg

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December 2019

 

 Date        Opponent                    Record  RPI  Result  Score  Record
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11/10/19    vs. Detroit                    4-7  138       W  88-86     1-0
 11/11/19    vs. Western Michigan           3-7  247       W  57-43     2-0
 11/17/19    vs. #8 Southern Illinois      13-0   27       L  83-66     2-1
 11/22/19    VCU                            3-9  346       W  67-66     3-1
 11/27/19    at Utah State                 11-2   69       L  64-59     3-2
 12/01/19    at #23 Tennessee               8-2  133       L  92-57     3-3
 12/05/19    Towson                         7-2   84       L  70-53     3-4
 12/09/19    at Kansas State                6-5  189       L  85-71     3-5
 12/15/19    Purdue                         6-6  150       L  97-74     3-6
 12/20/19    South Florida                  9-3   50       L  61-51     3-7
 12/22/19    UL-Lafayette                   7-4   25       L  72-62     3-8
 12/28/19    Alcorn State                   3-8  202       L  89-66     3-9
 12/30/19    Texas Tech                     9-3   71       L  78-69    3-10

 

How in the f*ck do we lose EVERY SINGLE GAME IN DECEMBER? Including getting pounded by teams like Towson and Alcorn St? Un-frikkin-believable! This team is an absolute joke, and it's thanks to my inept recruiting that we are in such bad shape. Of course it didn't help that half the team decided to leave early to go pro, and where are those guys now? I hope you like walking the streets looking for a dollar, you POSes. We start conference play next month, and hopefully, by the grace of god, that will be our saving grace.

 

Overall Record: 3-10

Home Record: 1-6

Road Record: 0-3

Neutral Record: 2-1

Rank: NR

RPI: 199

 

199? Really? That's f'in pathetic. This is not Memphis basketball. I may be looking for a new job next season due to the fact that my ass got canned here.

 

Recruiting News

 

The 5 star guys we were looking at signed elsewhere, but check this out, Mario Albertini, from Italy, is another 5 star recruit. And guess what, his interest in us is very high. Amazing, since we're not even on his top 5 list of schools. But nobody has offered him yet, so guess what, we're throwing everything his way, including a scholarship offer. Maybe I'll get lucky here.

 

Player Averages

 

Here's a look at the player averages through December, and it's not pretty.

1085661753_memphisaveragesDecember.jpg.11d012d54e87b7bbbf3b751094022d7a.jpg

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January 2020

 

 Date        Opponent                    Record  RPI  Result  Score      Record
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11/10/19    vs. Detroit                   8-12  134       W  88-86         1-0
 11/11/19    vs. Western Michigan          7-11  250       W  57-43         2-0
 11/17/19    vs. #8 Southern Illinois      21-1   14       L  83-66         2-1
 11/22/19    VCU                           5-16  327       W  67-66         3-1
 11/27/19    at Utah State                 14-6   93       L  64-59         3-2
 12/01/19    at #18 Tennessee              14-4   28       L  92-57         3-3
 12/05/19    Towson                        15-3   47       L  70-53         3-4
 12/09/19    at Kansas State               9-10  136       L  85-71         3-5
 12/15/19    Purdue                        11-9  100       L  97-74         3-6
 12/20/19    South Florida                 14-5   49       L  61-51         3-7
 12/22/19    UL-Lafayette                  14-6   79       L  72-62         3-8
 12/28/19    Alcorn State                  8-11  185       L  89-66         3-9
 12/30/19    Texas Tech                    12-6   27       L  78-69        3-10
 01/04/20    #14 Seton Hall                16-3   38       L  59-43        3-11
 01/15/20    Tulane                        13-6  215       L  89-65  3-12 (0-1)
 01/18/20    at Tulsa                      12-7   81       L  68-66  3-13 (0-2)
 01/22/20    Southern Methodist            5-13  346       W  60-59  4-13 (1-2)
 01/25/20    at Rice                       8-10  231       W  91-75  5-13 (2-2)
 01/29/20    at Southern Methodist         5-13  346       L  79-56  5-14 (2-3)

 

Well, at least we won a couple games in January, but this team is still absolutely pathetic. We'll be lucky to win 10 games this season. I just don't understand it. Ah well, I'm still in good with the AD, let's write this season off and move on to next season.

 

Overall Record: 5-14

Conference Record: 2-3

Home Record: 2-8

Road Record: 1-5

Neutral Record: 2-1

Rank: NR

RPI: 195

 

Recruiting News

 

Boom shaka boom boom! That 5 star PG from Italy, Marco Albertini? We took a chance and through a schollie his way because nobody else had, and the MFer ACCEPTED IT! Hells yeah, that is my first 5 star signing so far. It's sad that it had to be a foreign guy though. We also signed SG Justin Bouldin. So I've got 1 scholarship left to fill, and I'm using it on a 4 star C from Washington who hasn't signed yet. If not, I have a fallback (hopefully) on a 3 star C from Georgia who hasn't been offered yet.

 

Player Averages

 

Here's a look at the player averages through January.

507456813_memphisaveragesJanuary.jpg.f78b623009f79f9991148c37488f405f.jpg

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February-March 7, 2020

 

I decided there was no reason to waste a post just for 2 regular season games in March, so I lumped them into the February post.

 

 

  Date        Opponent                    Record  RPI  Result   Score       Record
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11/10/19    vs. Detroit                  16-13   65       W   88-86          1-0
 11/11/19    vs. Western Michigan         16-13  157       W   57-43          2-0
 11/17/19    vs. #8 Southern Illinois      31-2   12       L   83-66          2-1
 11/22/19    VCU                          12-20  254       W   67-66          3-1
 11/27/19    at Utah State                18-12  109       L   64-59          3-2
 12/01/19    at #18 Tennessee              20-9   39       L   92-57          3-3
 12/05/19    Towson                        21-8   47       L   70-53          3-4
 12/09/19    at Kansas State              15-15  107       L   85-71          3-5
 12/15/19    Purdue                       14-16  106       L   97-74          3-6
 12/20/19    South Florida                20-10   44       L   61-51          3-7
 12/22/19    UL-Lafayette                 19-10   72       L   72-62          3-8
 12/28/19    Alcorn State                 13-16  190       L   89-66          3-9
 12/30/19    Texas Tech                   18-11   16       L   78-69         3-10
 01/04/20    #11 Seton Hall                24-6   30       L   59-43         3-11
 01/15/20    Tulane                        22-8  115       L   89-65   3-12 (0-1)
 01/18/20    at Tulsa                     15-15  165       L   68-66   3-13 (0-2)
 01/22/20    Southern Methodist            7-22  346       W   60-59   4-13 (1-2)
 01/25/20    at Rice                      15-14  166       W   91-75   5-13 (2-2)
 01/29/20    at Southern Methodist         7-22  346       L   79-56   5-14 (2-3)
 02/01/20    at UAB                        23-8   34       L   84-61   5-15 (2-4)
 02/05/20    UTEP                         17-13  145       W   88-75   6-15 (3-4)
 02/08/20    at East Carolina             14-15  180       L   89-70   6-16 (3-5)
 02/12/20    at Tulane                     22-8  115       L   64-63   6-17 (3-6)
 02/15/20    Tulsa                        15-15  165       W   77-60   7-17 (4-6)
 02/19/20    Houston                      18-10   67       L  100-93   7-18 (4-7)
 02/22/20    Rice                         15-14  166       W   79-71   8-18 (5-7)
 02/26/20    UAB                           23-8   34       L   62-38   8-19 (5-8)
 02/29/20    Southern Mississippi         13-17  189       L   77-61   8-20 (5-9)
 03/04/20    at Central Florida           13-16  154       W   74-63   9-20 (6-9)
 03/07/20    at Marshall                  10-20  245       W   78-47  10-20 (7-9)

 

 

At least we've got some momentum going into the C-USA Tournament, and we did get to 10 wins with an absolutely crap roster. It's pretty simple though, it's win the C-USA Tourney and get the auto bid to the NCAA Tourney, or for the first time in my career, I'll be watching the entire postseason from home.

 

Overall Record: 10-20

Conference Record: 7-9

Home Record: 5-11

Road Record: 3-8

Neutral Record: 2-1

Rank: NR

RPI: 173

 

Recruiting News

 

Nothing new on the recruiting front, we've still got 1 scholarship to use, and I've gone after some 3 star players who haven't been offered yet. Not that I'm expecting anything, I think I'll have that scholarship to use for a possible transfer. In any case, that 5 star guy we picked up has me excited for the future... that is if I have a future here after this season is over.

 

 

Here's a look at the final C-USA standings.

 

TEAM                     CW  CL   Pct   W   L   Pct  RPI  Prestige
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tulane                   13   3  .813  22   8  .733  115        50
Houston                  11   5  .688  18  10  .643   67        70
UTEP                     10   6  .625  17  13  .567  145        65
UAB                      10   6  .625  23   8  .742   34        76
Rice                     10   6  .625  15  14  .517  166        42
Central Florida           8   8  .500  13  16  .448  154        55
East Carolina             8   8  .500  14  15  .483  180        45
Memphis                   7   9  .438  10  20  .333  173        81
Tulsa                     6  10  .375  15  15  .500  165        71
Southern Mississippi      5  11  .313  13  17  .433  189        49
Marshall                  5  11  .313  10  20  .333  245        51
Southern Methodist        3  13  .188   7  22  .241  346        40

 

We are the #9 seed in the C-USA Tournament and will take on #8 seed Tulsa.

 

The other First Round Pairings are as follows:

 

(12) SMU vs. (5) Rice

(10) Southern Miss vs. (7) ECU

(11) Marshall vs. (6) Central Florida

 

Player Averages

 

Here's a look at the player stat averages through the end of the regular season:

171594649_MemphisaveragesFebruarythruMarch7.jpg.04172b67cbcaa4d31e18540ea0c6c293.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...

March 11, 2020

 

Conference USA First Round

(9) Tulsa (15-15) vs. (8) Memphis (10-20)

 

I've never been in this position in my young coaching career, playing so early in a conference tournament. We lost to Tulsa by 2 at their place, but won by 17 at home. This is a neutral game, so it'll be interesting to see how it plays out. They've got a great guard tandem of Lamar Coble and Jere Salter, so if we can contain them, our chances are good. We got lucky as Coble only played 11 minutes due to foul trouble, and Salter only scored 9 points. They did have 2 that had 16, but we had 4 in double figures led by Troy Tomblin with 18. The result was a 73-60 win, and we are one step closer to going back to the NCAA Tournament.

 

Memphis 73, Tulsa 60

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tulsa  (15-16, 6-10):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Leandro Pena      C    30   0-5   0-0   2   8   0  4   0
Dewey Rasmussen   PF   21   1-1   0-0   1   4   0  5   2
D. Ghesquier      SF   27  4-17   0-0   3   5   1  2  10
Lamar Coble       SG   11   0-1   0-0   1   2   3  4   0
Jere Salter       SG   32  3-12   1-2   2   6   5  3   9
Everette Sapp     PG   27  6-12   1-2   2   2   1  3  16
James Stauffer    PG    3   1-3   0-0   0   0   0  0   2
Paul Porter       SG   15  5-11   3-4   1   1   2  3  16
Abraham Hillard   PF   16   0-1   0-0   1   5   0  0   0
Ricky Braziel     C    11   1-4   0-0   3   5   1  0   2
Lamont Nordstrom  SF    5   1-2   0-0   0   1   1  0   3
Charles Marino    PF    2   0-1   0-0   0   1   0  0   0

Turnovers: 7 (D.Rasmussen 1, D.Ghesquier 2, L.Coble 2, 
J.Salter 2)
Blocked Shots: 2 (L.Pena 1, P.Porter 1)
Steals: 3 (J.Salter 3)
3P FGs: 11-39 (L.Pena 0-1, D.Ghesquier 2-11, L.Coble 
0-1, J.Salter 2-9, E.Sapp 3-5, J.Stauffer 0-2, 
P.Porter 3-8, L.Nordstrom 1-2)

Memphis  (11-20, 7-9):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Troy Tomblin      C    25   4-8 10-13   2   6   1  1  18
Monte Donofrio    PF   27   1-3   2-2   1   8   3  4   4
John Breland      SF   29  6-13   0-0   1   6   0  3  13
Gerald Sena       SG   35   4-6   4-4   0   2   3  0  14
Antione Cantwell  PG   33  5-13   3-4   2   3   0  2  13
Brenton Tweedy    C    22   2-3   0-1   2  12   0  0   4
Jerry Robertson   SG   19   1-5   5-8   0   1   0  3   7
Stan Martin       SF    9   0-0   0-0   0   1   0  0   0
Scottie Harris    C     2   0-0   0-0   0   0   0  0   0

Turnovers: 6 (M.Donofrio 3, J.Breland 1, A.Cantwell 1, 
S.Martin 1)
Blocked Shots: 5 (A.Cantwell 1, B.Tweedy 2, J.Robertson 
2)
Steals: 1 (G.Sena 1)
3P FGs: 3-13 (J.Breland 1-2, G.Sena 2-4, A.Cantwell 
0-3, J.Robertson 0-4)

Player of Game: PF Troy Tomblin (MMPHS)

 

 

 

March 12, 2020

 

Conference USA Quarterfinals

(8) Memphis (11-20) vs. (1) Tulane (22-8)

 

We played Tulane to a 1 point loss at their place, and if that team shows up, we've got a great chance to win this game. It's not going to be easy though. They've got very balanced scoring, and Wilton Glaser is their stud, averaging 20 points a game. We'll definitely be keying tight on him. While Glaser did score his 14 points, John Breland was sensational for us, scoring 31 points in this shootout. We trailed by 5 at halftime but turned it on in the second half to stun Tulane, as we move to the semifinals with an 84-77 victory!

 

Memphis 84, Tulane 77

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Memphis  (12-20, 7-9):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Troy Tomblin      C    18   4-5   3-4   1   3   0  4  11
Monte Donofrio    PF   34   3-4   1-2   1   4   2  2   7
John Breland      SF   34 12-29   0-0   2   9   1  0  31
Gerald Sena       PG   37   5-8   3-3   1   4   1  1  15
Antione Cantwell  PG   10   1-2  8-10   0   1   0  4  10
Brenton Tweedy    C    10   0-1   0-0   1   2   0  5   0
Jerry Robertson   SG   22   0-1   0-0   0   3   1  4   0
Stan Martin       SF   19   4-7   2-2   2   7   3  2  10
Scottie Harris    C    16   0-2   0-0   1   5   1  0   0

Turnovers: 10 (M.Donofrio 2, J.Breland 2, G.Sena 1, 
B.Tweedy 1, J.Robertson 1, S.Martin 3)
Blocked Shots: 4 (M.Donofrio 1, J.Breland 1, S.Martin 
1, S.Harris 1)
Steals: 5 (J.Breland 1, G.Sena 2, J.Robertson 1, 
S.Martin 1)
3P FGs: 9-18 (J.Breland 7-14, G.Sena 2-2, S.Martin 0-1, 
S.Harris 0-1)

Tulane  (22-9, 13-3):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
C. Pomerleau      C    30  6-13   3-5   4   7   4  3  15
Stephen Jarboe    PF   30   2-4   4-6   1   6   2  0   9
Herschel Xiong    SF   28   1-4   0-0   0   1   0  2   3
Wilton Glaser     SG   30  4-12   3-4   1   6   5  5  14
Floyd Leos        PG   15   5-6   0-0   0   2   0  5  13
Gerardo Clark     SG   24   2-4   4-4   0   1   1  2  10
Stanton Mangum    PF   17   1-2   3-4   0   3   1  2   5
Wayne Whitehouse  PG   13   2-5   1-2   0   2   0  0   6
John Dunning      PF    5   1-3   0-0   0   0   0  0   2
Charles Clawson   SG    5   0-0   0-0   1   1   0  2   0
Basil Jenkins     PG    1   0-1   0-0   0   0   0  0   0
Charles Poland    SF    2   0-1   0-0   0   2   0  0   0

Turnovers: 13 (S.Jarboe 2, H.Xiong 3, W.Glaser 4, 
S.Mangum 2, W.Whitehouse 1, J.Dunning 1)
Blocked Shots: 1 (G.Clark 1)
Steals: 3 (H.Xiong 2, W.Whitehouse 1)
3P FGs: 11-24 (S.Jarboe 1-2, H.Xiong 1-3, W.Glaser 3-8, 
F.Leos 3-3, G.Clark 2-3, W.Whitehouse 1-3, B.Jenkins 
0-1, C.Poland 0-1)

Player of Game: SF John Breland (MMPHS)

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March 13, 2020

 

Conference USA Semifinals

(8) Memphis (12-20) vs. (4) UAB (24-8)

 

It doesn't get any easier here in the tourney, as UAB is really one of the toughest teams in the conference. They hammered us twice in the regular season, and we're going to have to play a perfect game to beat them. Not much to talk about with their team, they are stacked, with 2 guys averaging over 15 ppg. We're just hoping not to get blown out of the water here.

 

As expected, they jumped out on us early, but we hung with them. They led by 6 at halftime, and 2 of their players combined for 39 of their points. If only we could have stopped them. As it stands, a gallant effort but not enough. We end a very, very dismal season with a 68-59 loss.

 

UAB 68, Memphis 59

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UAB  (25-8, 10-6):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
David Barnett     C    27  3-10   0-0   3   5   2  0   6
Jackson Mobley    PF   38   1-3   0-0   4  12   5  3   2
Chris Francis     SF   29  6-11   2-3   2   5   0  2  16
Arthur Doane      SG   28 11-22   0-1   3   9   2  4  23
Chris Fairfield   PG   27   3-7   2-3   1   7   0  3   9
Brian Thompson    SG   18   0-2   0-0   0   2   1  2   0
John Springer     PG   13   2-3   0-1   0   1   1  1   5
Kerry Perry       SF    4   2-2   0-0   1   1   0  0   5
Dennis Eggleston  SG    1   0-0   0-0   0   0   0  0   0
Tan She           C    15   1-4   0-1   2   3   1  0   2

Turnovers: 13 (J.Mobley 4, A.Doane 3, C.Fairfield 2, 
B.Thompson 3, D.Eggleston 1)
Blocked Shots: 7 (D.Barnett 1, J.Mobley 4, C.Fairfield 
1, T.She 1)
Steals: 5 (J.Mobley 1, C.Francis 1, A.Doane 1, 
B.Thompson 2)
3P FGs: 6-17 (C.Francis 2-4, A.Doane 1-4, C.Fairfield 
1-4, B.Thompson 0-2, J.Springer 1-1, K.Perry 1-1, 
T.She 0-1)

Memphis  (12-21, 7-9):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Troy Tomblin      C    26  1-12   0-0   0   2   3  2   2
Monte Donofrio    PF   34   1-3   0-0   3   7   4  2   2
John Breland      SF   32  4-18   0-0   2   6   2  0  11
Gerald Sena       SG   36   4-9   6-7   2   6   1  0  15
Antione Cantwell  PG   33  8-11   0-0   2   4   3  2  17
Brenton Tweedy    C    17   2-2   0-0   1   7   1  2   4
Jerry Robertson   SG   11   3-4   0-0   0   1   1  1   6
Stan Martin       SF   10   1-4   0-0   1   2   1  1   2
Scottie Harris    C     2   0-0   0-0   0   0   0  0   0

Turnovers: 8 (T.Tomblin 1, M.Donofrio 1, G.Sena 2, 
A.Cantwell 4)
Blocked Shots: 2 (J.Breland 1, B.Tweedy 1)
Steals: 4 (M.Donofrio 1, B.Tweedy 2, J.Robertson 1)
3P FGs: 5-15 (J.Breland 3-11, G.Sena 1-2, A.Cantwell 
1-2)

Player of Game: SG Arthur Doane (UAB)

 

I just realized I forgot to put the other conference tournament scores up, my bad. But in the C-USA championship, UAB hammered UTEP 68-48.

 

2020 Selection Sunday

 

It was a very down year for Conference USA, who is sending only 4 teams to the postseason.

 

UAB got the 9th seed in the NCAA South Region and will face (8) Texas Tech in the First Round.

 

Houston got the 5th seed in the NIT West Region and will travel to (4) Wake Forest in the Second Round.

 

Tulane got the 5th seed in the NIT South Region and will travel to (4) Syracuse in the Second Round.

 

UTEP got the 8th seed in the CBI and will host (9) Elon in the First Round.

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2020 Postseason Wrap-Up

 

Auburn beat Arizona 70-58 to win the NCAA Tournament.

Wake Forest beat Kent St. 70-58 (go figure) to win the NIT.

Georgetown beat Iowa 2 games to 1 to win the CBI.

St. Marys beat Western Illinois 58-50 to win the CIT.

 

UAB lost to (8) Texas Tech 99-84 in the First Round of the NCAA Tourney.

 

Houston lost to (4) Wake Forest 71-68 in the Second Round of the NIT.

 

Tulane lost to (4) Syracuse 80-72 in the Second Round of the NIT.

 

UTEP beat (9) Elon 95-91 in the First Round of the CBI, then in the Quarterfinals beat (1) Hampton 72-70, but lost to (13) Iowa 83-62 in the Semifinals.

 

Not a good postseason for the C-USA.

 

Next post will include a few notes about the Memphis Tigers season, as well as get into the offseason.

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2020 Offseason

 

Awards

 

To the surprise of nobody, we were shut out on the national award front. 1 of my players got a conference award. Let's take a look.

 

Player of the Year:

SR SG Wilton Glaser  Tulane  21.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.2 APG 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG

Freshman of the Year:
FR SG Norman May  UTEP  14.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.3 APG 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG

Coach of the Year:
Carey Finlay  Tulane  22 - 10 (13 - 3) 

All-league 1st Team:
C  SR Chance Hewlett  UAB  6.6 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.5 SPG, 3.6 BPG
PF SR Mervin Weathers  Houston  12.0 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 1.0 BPG
SF SO Chris Francis  UAB  15.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG
SG SR Wilton Glaser  Tulane  21.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG
PG JR Jere Salter  Tulsa  14.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.9 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG

All-league 2nd Team:
C  SR Chris Hart  UTEP  7.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.2 APG, 0.7 SPG, 2.2 BPG
PF SR Jackson Mobley  UAB  5.0 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.6 SPG, 3.0 BPG
[b]SF JR John Breland  Memphis  15.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.8 BPG[/b]
SG SO Greg Henriquez  Rice  20.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG
PG JR Steven Whitehead  Rice  12.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG

All-freshman Team:
C  FR Dewey Rasmussen  Tulsa  7.1 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG
PF FR Ricky Braziel  Tulsa  4.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 0.9 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.1 BPG
SF FR Gerardo Clark  Tulane  7.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG
SG FR Norman May  UTEP  14.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG
PG FR Tobias Waugh  Central Florida  4.1 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.1 BPG

 

The question is, does Breland return? I sure hope so.

 

Departing Players

 

none, and this pleases me very much. Memphis should return back to prominence next season.

 

Final Recruiting Class

 

FR PG Mario Albertini (*****, #20 overall)

FR C Eldridge Boyd (***, #523 overall)

FR SG Justin Bouldin (***, #531 overall)

 

Not the greatest class, but I'm stoked about Albertini, he's going to be sensational. All 3 of these players have either blue or green potential, and FBCB rated our class 47th best in the nation, which is tops in the C-USA. We are the only school in the conference to pick up a 5 star recruit, and only 1 other school even got a 4 star recruit. Don't call me Coach Calipari, I did everything by the book!

 

Joshua Amos is still requesting a raise. I was lucky enough to keep him this season without giving him a raise, to me he's not good enough to be bumped up to $50,000, so I'm keeping him at $40,000 and if he walks, he walks.

 

No conference movement that concerns us, so now it's time to see what kind of offers come my way. Not that I expect to take any of them, as I'm expecting huge things at Memphis this season.

 

Aaaaand my decision was made quite easy. Nobody wants my services after the disastrous season I had, so I'll be staying at Memphis, not that I wasn't going to anyways.

 

Unbelievably, Joshua Amos is still here. Nobody else thinks he's worth $50,000 a year either.

 

Transfers

 

We've still got one scholarship to use on transfers, if I care to. I put out a couple feelers, but no takers, so I'm keeping my roster the way it is.

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2020 Initial Recruiting

 

We've got 3 scholarships to hand out and have a major need for SF and PF, so we're keying on those areas. Unfortunately, with the disastrous season we had last season, most of the interest comes from 3 star players, but I've stretched to add a few 4 and 5 star players as well. Here's a look at the initial 20 man call list:

 

 Name                Pos    Ht   Wt  Rating   Interest           State
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prince Burden        PF   6-6  224   *****        Low     Mississippi
Del Owen             PF   6-9  222    ****    Average         Georgia
Donnie Kozlowski     PF   6-7  222    ****    Average        Illinois
Boris Herrod         PF   6-5  225    ****        Low  North Carolina
Danilo Cohen         PF  6-10  247    ****        Low  North Carolina
David Wang           PF   6-7  223    ****        Low         Florida
Russel Hines         PF   6-8  240    ****        Low         Florida
Carl Hurtado         SF   6-4  238    ****    Average         Georgia
Joesph Bethel        SF   6-4  207    ****        Low     Mississippi
Teddy Johnson         C   7-1  231     ***       High        Kentucky
Manuel Abel          PF   6-8  221     ***  Very High       Tennessee
David Marvin         PF   6-6  211     ***       High       Louisiana
Brian Crow           PF   6-7  206     ***       High        Illinois
Paul Russell         PF   6-7  221     ***       High           Texas
Arthur Saito         PF   6-7  205     ***       High        Oklahoma
Alphonse Chester     SF   6-8  223     ***  Very High       Tennessee
Hector Whitmer       SF   6-7  213     ***       High        Illinois
William Barrera      SF   6-6  210     ***       High        Illinois
David Roberson       SG   6-1  180     ***  Very High        Arkansas
Darrin Chesson       SG   6-3  177     ***       High           Texas

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2020 Recruiting News

 

August 2020

 

4 star Donnie Kozlowski is showing average interest in us now, so I'm going after him fairly hard. I offered a scholarship, we'll see what happens. I also offered a scholarship to 5 star Prince Burden, but I'm sure I'll end up with 3 star recruits.

 

September 2020

 

Kozlowski is still showing average interest, but we've got Burden up to average interest, crossing fingers. I'm probably making a mistake by putting all my recruiting into those 2 players and looking at a few others.

 

October 2020

 

I'm about to give up on Burden, as Florida and Mississippi St. are at the top, and I don't think we can overtake them. I like my chances to get Kozlowski though, as right now Iowa is in the lead, but we've offered, they haven't. I've also sent an offer to Manuel Abel. He's a 3 star, but he is still showing very high interest in us. He'll be a good backup.

 

November 2020 (early signing period)

 

1 for 2 with the recruits so far, as Abel signed with us, but Burden signed with Florida. That's ok, that means Kozlowski is still on the market, but he's still average. We'll keep after him though. Hey at least we finally pulled a signing in the early signing period.

 

We've got 3 guys willing to redshirt: Brenton Tweedy, Scottie Harris, and Monte Donofrio. All post players. All juniors. None of my freshmen are willing to redshirt, and I was hoping at least one would be. So, here's what we're going to do, since I only have 5 post players, with a couple others than can play post if necessary, I'm going to redshirt Harris and Tweedy. That means John Breland, who is only 6'7'', will probably spend some time at PF. Fortunately I have a number of perimeter players, so I can mix and match there.

 

Early draft reports are in, even with a heck of a training camp, John Breland is still projected to go undrafted. That's just crazy talk. And of our projected starting 5: 4 of the 5 are green rated currently, with another current green player (Albertini) set to come off the bench. Our weakness is Donofrio who is only orange rated current. Unfortunately, the bench isn't very strong, but we'll make it work. Our starting 5 plus a top reserve should each get over 30 minutes a game.

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<p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">November 2020</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

</p><pre class="ipsCode"> Date Opponent Record RPI Result Score Record

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11/16/20 at Illinois 3-1 38 L 79-70 0-1

11/20/20 UL-Lafayette 2-3 152 W 81-72 1-1

11/22/20 vs. East Tennessee State 0-6 310 W 69-57 2-1

11/24/20 vs. Green Bay 3-3 33 L 69-67 2-2

11/25/20 vs. Notre Dame 2-1 60 L 85-63 2-3

11/30/20 at Arizona State 0-2 273 W 93-84 3-3

</pre><div></div><p> </p><p> </p><p>

Aside from the Notre Dame loss, all our other losses have been close, but man, losing to Green Bay? I've still got a long ways to go to get this team good again. At least we finished the month at .500.</p><p> </p><p>

Overall Record: 3-3</p><p>

Home Record: 1-0</p><p>

Road Record: 1-1</p><p>

Neutral Record: 1-2</p><p>

Rank: NR</p><p>

RPI: 265</p><p> </p><p>

That is a good awful RPI!</p><p> </p><p>

<span style="text-decoration:underline;">Recruiting News</span></p><p> </p><p>

No change as far as Kozlowski goes, he's still got us behind Iowa, but we'll keep fighting to get him. We're also going after Danilo Cohen, another 4 star PF although not as highly ranked.</p><p> </p><p>

<span style="text-decoration:underline;">Player Stats</span></p><p> </p><p>

Here's a look at the stats through November.</p><p><a class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image" href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_08/1140817031_memphisstatsthroughNovemebr.jpg.8f91088cb6db8eb72a9c6867966d4f8c.jpg" data-fileid="2978" data-fileext="jpg" rel=""><img data-fileid="2978" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt="1140817031_memphisstatsthroughNovemebr.jpg.8f91088cb6db8eb72a9c6867966d4f8c.jpg" data-src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_08/1140817031_memphisstatsthroughNovemebr.jpg.8f91088cb6db8eb72a9c6867966d4f8c.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></a></p>

1140817031_memphisstatsthroughNovemebr.jpg.8f91088cb6db8eb72a9c6867966d4f8c.jpg

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<p><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">December 2020</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>

</p><pre class="ipsCode">Date Opponent Record RPI Result Score Record

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11/16/20 at Illinois 9-5 10 L 79-70 0-1

11/20/20 UL-Lafayette 8-5 47 W 81-72 1-1

11/22/20 vs. East Tennessee State 4-11 304 W 69-57 2-1

11/24/20 vs. Green Bay 6-7 144 L 69-67 2-2

11/25/20 vs. #18 Notre Dame 10-1 171 L 85-63 2-3

11/30/20 at Arizona State 4-7 62 W 93-84 3-3

12/09/20 Tennessee-Martin 5-7 213 L 79-67 3-4

12/14/20 at Tennessee State 7-6 256 W 63-62 4-4

12/19/20 Western Kentucky 5-9 235 L 77-69 4-5

12/22/20 Mississippi Valley State 3-7 160 W 97-65 5-5

12/25/20 Wisconsin 9-3 16 L 72-66 5-6

12/29/20 at Oakland 1-10 117 W 93-77 6-6</pre><div></div><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p>

Are you kidding me? Teams like Tennessee-Martin and Western Kentucky should not be beating us. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're at .500, but we should be at least 3 games over .500. And things don't get any easier in January, as we finish off the non-conference schedule against 2 teams with a combined record of 19-3. I'd be willing to bet the farm that we are sitting under .500 at the end of the month.</p><p> </p><p>

<span style="text-decoration:underline;">Recruiting News</span></p><p> </p><p>

Cohen signed with N.C. State, Kozlowski with Iowa. Now it's just a matter of getting the best guys we can. That could start with Korbl Willner, a 4 star PF out of Germany. He's tops on the list right now. We're also looking at Timothy Jepson, a 3 star SF.</p><p> </p><p>

<span style="text-decoration:underline;">Player Stats</span></p><p> </p><p>

Here's a look at the averages through January, and you can see they aren't where I thought they'd be.</p><p><a class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image" href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_08/1738058956_memphisstatsthroughDecember.jpg.0286a0dbedb1ce440503bca311160a90.jpg" data-fileid="2979" data-fileext="jpg" rel=""><img data-fileid="2979" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt="1738058956_memphisstatsthroughDecember.jpg.0286a0dbedb1ce440503bca311160a90.jpg" data-src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2015_08/1738058956_memphisstatsthroughDecember.jpg.0286a0dbedb1ce440503bca311160a90.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></a></p>

1738058956_memphisstatsthroughDecember.jpg.0286a0dbedb1ce440503bca311160a90.jpg

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January 2021

 

Date        Opponent                    Record  RPI  Result  Score       Record
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11/16/20    at Illinois                   14-7   25       L  79-70          0-1
 11/20/20    UL-Lafayette                  14-7   83       W  81-72          1-1
 11/22/20    vs. East Tennessee State      6-17  323       W  69-57          2-1
 11/24/20    vs. Green Bay                 8-14  199       L  69-67          2-2
 11/25/20    vs. #18 Notre Dame            15-5   35       L  85-63          2-3
 11/30/20    at Arizona State              6-13  116       W  93-84          3-3
 12/09/20    Tennessee-Martin             10-11  214       L  79-67          3-4
 12/14/20    at Tennessee State           11-11  308       W  63-62          4-4
 12/19/20    Western Kentucky              8-14  287       L  77-69          4-5
 12/22/20    Mississippi Valley State      6-14  311       W  97-65          5-5
 12/25/20    Wisconsin                     13-8   40       L  72-66          5-6
 12/29/20    at Oakland                    9-11  141       W  93-77          6-6
 01/02/21    West Virginia                 14-6   14       L  76-57          6-7
 01/07/21    Kansas State                  13-6   13       W  82-77          7-7
 01/13/21    Southern Mississippi          8-11  247       L  73-65    7-8 (0-1)
 01/16/21    at UTEP                       9-11  161       W  81-63    8-8 (1-1)
 01/20/21    Tulsa                         10-8   72       L  99-81    8-9 (1-2)
 01/23/21    East Carolina                 8-12   96       L  68-63   8-10 (1-3)
 01/27/21    at East Carolina              8-12   96       W  92-83   9-10 (2-3)
 01/30/21    at Marshall                   7-11  238       W  68-60  10-10 (3-3)

 

I'm happy that this team is still at .500 as we enter February. The postseason is still very much in reach, but we've got to have a strong rest of the season. Unfortunately, the consistency on this team just isn't there, so it'll be interesting to see how things play out.

 

Overall Record: 10-10

Conference Record: 3-3

Home Record: 3-7

Road Record: 6-1

Neutral Record: 1-2

Rank: NR

RPI: 210

 

This is a complete reversal of how most teams are. Usually most teams are better at home, but we've proven to be road warriors thus far this season.

 

Recruiting News

 

Nothing new to report as far as signings go, but at least Korbl Willner is showing more of an interest in us. Unfortunately, we're still 4th on his list.

 

Player Stats

 

Here's a look at the player stats through January:

 

 Player              Pos  GP  GS   Min   Pts  Orb  Reb  Ast  Stl  Blk   To  Fls   +/-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amos Lusk            SG  20  20  30.2  13.8  1.5  4.6  2.9  1.4  0.1  1.8  2.2   1.5
John Breland         SF  20  20  28.3  13.4  1.2  5.5  1.9  0.6  1.3  2.0  3.1   3.7
Troy Tomblin          C  20  20  25.0  11.7  1.2  5.4  1.4  0.8  0.3  1.3  3.0   0.7
Antione Cantwell     SF  20  20  29.6  11.3  2.9  5.3  4.1  0.7  0.3  2.0  3.3   0.7
Mario Albertini      PG  20   0  24.8   8.0  0.5  2.3  3.4  1.6  0.1  1.5  2.3   0.1
Monte Donofrio       PF  20  20  30.8   6.2  2.6  8.8  1.2  0.9  0.4  1.1  2.7   1.7
Michael Higgins      SG  20   0  10.5   3.9  0.5  1.1  1.2  0.5  0.0  0.9  0.7  -3.4
Justin Bouldin       SF  20   0   9.5   3.0  0.5  1.5  0.8  0.5  0.2  0.8  1.2  -0.6
Eldridge Boyd         C  20   0   9.1   2.3  0.6  2.7  0.3  0.3  0.1  0.7  1.2  -2.5
Stan Martin          SF   5   0   3.4   1.2  0.4  0.6  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.4  0.2  -0.8
Gerald Sena          SG  13   0   2.0   1.1  0.1  0.4  0.1  0.2  0.0  0.2  0.0  -0.2
Brenton Tweedy        C   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0
Scottie Harris        C   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0
Jerry Robertson      SG   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0

 

Higgins and Boyd are absolutely killing us. Got to get more out of them.

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February-March 6, 2021

 

Date        Opponent                    Record  RPI  Result  Score        Record
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 11/16/20    at Illinois                  20-11   20       L  79-70           0-1
 11/20/20    UL-Lafayette                  20-9   92       W  81-72           1-1
 11/22/20    vs. East Tennessee State     10-20  328       W  69-57           2-1
 11/24/20    vs. Green Bay                10-22  243       L  69-67           2-2
 11/25/20    vs. #9 Notre Dame             24-6   12       L  85-63           2-3
 11/30/20    at Arizona State             11-17  126       W  93-84           3-3
 12/09/20    Tennessee-Martin             14-18  210       L  79-67           3-4
 12/14/20    at Tennessee State           17-14  226       W  63-62           4-4
 12/19/20    Western Kentucky             14-17  260       L  77-69           4-5
 12/22/20    Mississippi Valley State     12-17  270       W  97-65           5-5
 12/25/20    Wisconsin                    20-10   27       L  72-66           5-6
 12/29/20    at Oakland                   13-15  171       W  93-77           6-6
 01/02/21    West Virginia                20-10   19       L  76-57           6-7
 01/07/21    Kansas State                 18-11   22       W  82-77           7-7
 01/13/21    Southern Mississippi         12-17  237       L  73-65     7-8 (0-1)
 01/16/21    at UTEP                      12-18  198       W  81-63     8-8 (1-1)
 01/20/21    Tulsa                        17-11   71       L  99-81     8-9 (1-2)
 01/23/21    East Carolina                12-18  154       L  68-63    8-10 (1-3)
 01/27/21    at East Carolina             12-18  154       W  92-83    9-10 (2-3)
 01/30/21    at Marshall                  12-16  180       W  68-60   10-10 (3-3)
 02/03/21    at Central Florida           13-17  145       W  86-77   11-10 (4-3)
 02/06/21    UAB                          18-10  135       W  75-73   12-10 (5-3)
 02/10/21    at Tulsa                     17-11   71       W  95-83   13-10 (6-3)
 02/13/21    Tulane                       18-11   64       L  67-55   13-11 (6-4)
 02/17/21    at Southern Mississippi      12-17  237       W  87-83   14-11 (7-4)
 02/20/21    Southern Methodist           12-17  238       W  80-74   15-11 (8-4)
 02/24/21    Marshall                     12-16  180       L  75-72   15-12 (8-5)
 02/27/21    at Rice                      18-11   74       L  81-73   15-13 (8-6)
 03/03/21    at Houston                   18-11  111       W  89-79   16-13 (9-6)
 03/06/21    UTEP                         12-18  198       W  77-76  17-13 (10-6)

 

I could not be happier with the way we finished the regular season. Obviously I'm disappointed at some of our losses, especially the Marshall loss on February 24th, but this team is really gelling and playing together, and I strongly believe a win or 2 in the C-USA Tourney will get us to the postseason, despite our less than impressive RPI.

 

Overall Record: 17-13

Conference Record: 10-6

Home Record: 6-9

Road Record: 10-2

Neutral Record: 1-2

Rank: 3 points in mid-major poll.

RPI: 118

 

Again, the RPI is the only thing that scares me about making a postseason tournament. We've got to have at least 1, maybe even 2 wins in the C-USA Tourney just to have a chance, in my opinion. Speaking of which, we'll be the 3rd seed and get a bye to the Quarterfinals, where we'll take on the winner of (11) SMU/(6) Tulane. That game, I'm not too worried about.

 

Recruiting News

 

Both guys we were looking at declined our offer, so now it's on to a couple new guys.

 

Player Stats

 

Here are the final regular season stats:

 

Player              Pos  GP  GS   Min   Pts  Orb  Reb  Ast  Stl  Blk   To  Fls   +/-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amos Lusk            SG  30  30  30.6  13.9  1.5  4.6  3.0  1.6  0.1  1.9  2.2   1.0
John Breland         SF  30  30  29.3  13.4  1.4  5.9  1.7  0.7  1.0  1.8  3.1   1.9
Troy Tomblin          C  30  30  26.6  12.8  1.3  5.8  1.7  0.6  0.3  1.4  2.9   2.2
Antione Cantwell     SF  30  30  30.0  11.9  2.7  5.0  3.9  0.8  0.3  2.0  3.3   1.4
Mario Albertini      PG  30   0  24.2   7.8  0.5  2.2  3.2  1.3  0.1  1.3  2.2   0.3
Monte Donofrio       PF  30  30  30.1   6.4  2.2  8.0  1.1  0.9  0.4  1.1  2.9   3.2
Michael Higgins      SG  30   0  10.2   3.9  0.3  0.9  1.3  0.3  0.0  0.9  0.8  -1.4
Justin Bouldin       SF  30   0   9.0   2.7  0.5  1.5  0.7  0.5  0.1  0.9  1.3  -0.8
Eldridge Boyd         C  30   0   8.2   2.2  0.6  2.6  0.4  0.3  0.1  0.5  0.9  -1.6
Gerald Sena          SG  20   0   2.1   1.1  0.2  0.7  0.2  0.1  0.0  0.2  0.2  -0.5
Stan Martin          SF   8   0   3.3   0.8  0.3  0.5  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.3  0.3  -2.1
Jerry Robertson      SG   2   0   1.0   0.0  0.0  0.5  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  -2.0
Brenton Tweedy        C   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0
Scottie Harris        C   0   0   0.0   0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0  0.0   0.0

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Here's a look at the final Conference USA standings:

 

 TEAM                     CW  CL   Pct   W   L   Pct  RPI  Prestige
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tulsa                    11   5  .688  17  11  .607   64        67
UAB                      11   5  .688  18  10  .643  138        77
Memphis                  10   6  .625  17  13  .567  119        76
Houston                  10   6  .625  18  11  .621   97        72
Central Florida           8   8  .500  13  17  .433  128        55
Tulane                    8   8  .500  18  11  .621   80        56
East Carolina             8   8  .500  12  18  .400  140        48
Rice                      7   9  .438  18  11  .621   72        46
Marshall                  6  10  .375  12  16  .429  204        49
Southern Mississippi      6  10  .375  12  17  .414  228        47
Southern Methodist        6  10  .375  12  17  .414  262        39
UTEP                      5  11  .313  12  18  .400  202        65

 

Here's a look at the First Round C-USA Tourney Results:

 

(5) Central Florida- 61, (12) UTEP- 53

(6) Tulane- 56, (11) SMU- 48

(7) ECU- 89, (10) Southern Miss- 68

(8) Rice- 81, (9) Marshall- 55

 

The Quarterfinals will be as follows:

 

(8) Rice vs. (1) Tulsa

(5) Central Florida vs. (4) Houston

(7) ECU vs. (2) UAB

(6) Tulane vs. (3) Memphis

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March 11, 2021

 

Conference USA Quarterfinals

(6) Tulane (19-11) vs. (3) Memphis (17-13)

 

This isn't going to be an easy game, as overall they had a better record than us, and they beat us 67-55 at home in our only regular season match-up. They don't really have a stacked lineup though, PG Floyd Leos is their best player, so this is a very winnable game, and we're hot right now. Let's see what happens.

 

This was a nip and tuck game throughout the 1st half, as we went into the locker room tied, but an 11-0 run to open the 2nd half gave us a lead we would not lose as we get a big, big win 78-63.

 

Memphis 78, Tulane 63

Tulane  (19-12, 8-8):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Justin Johnson    C    25  3-12  7-10   4   5   2  4  13
Stanton Mangum    PF   30   5-7   1-4   3   9   1  4  11
Charles Clawson   SF   23   0-1   2-2   0   3   1  5   2
Gerardo Clark     SG   28  3-10   3-4   0   5   1  3  10
Floyd Leos        PG   34   4-8   2-4   2   5   0  1  12
Wayne Whitehouse  SG   24   3-7   0-1   0   6   4  1   8
John Dunning      C    19   0-3   0-0   1   4   1  4   0
Charles Guinn     PF    6   2-3   1-3   1   2   0  0   7
Charles Poland    SF    9   0-1   0-0   0   0   0  0   0
Michael Garcia    PG    3   0-1   0-0   1   1   0  1   0

Turnovers: 14 (J.Johnson 2, C.Clawson 2, G.Clark 1, 
F.Leos 3, W.Whitehouse 3, J.Dunning 3)
Blocked Shots: 2 (S.Mangum 1, W.Whitehouse 1)
Steals: 4 (C.Clawson 1, G.Clark 2, F.Leos 1)
3P FGs: 7-19 (C.Clawson 0-1, G.Clark 1-6, F.Leos 2-4, 
W.Whitehouse 2-4, C.Guinn 2-2, C.Poland 0-1, M.Garcia 
0-1)

Memphis  (18-13, 10-6):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Troy Tomblin      C    14   4-6   4-4   0   0   1  4  12
Monte Donofrio    PF   36   1-4   2-4   2  14   1  2   4
John Breland      C    34  9-14  3-10   1   6   1  5  22
Antione Cantwell  SF   34  6-10   6-6   4   7   5  3  19
Amos Lusk         PG    1   1-1   0-0   0   0   0  0   2
Mario Albertini   PG   33   1-3   3-5   0   2   5  4   6
Michael Higgins   SG   20   1-6   3-6   0   2   0  1   6
Gerald Sena       SG   11   0-2   0-0   1   3   0  1   0
Justin Bouldin    SF    8   2-5   0-0   1   2   0  0   5
Eldridge Boyd     C     9   1-4   0-0   1   3   1  1   2
Jerry Robertson   SG    1   0-0   0-0   0   0   0  0   0

Turnovers: 8 (T.Tomblin 1, M.Donofrio 2, J.Breland 1, 
A.Cantwell 1, M.Albertini 1, M.Higgins 1, G.Sena 1)
Blocked Shots: 3 (J.Breland 3)
Steals: 7 (M.Donofrio 1, J.Breland 1, A.Cantwell 1, 
M.Albertini 1, M.Higgins 2, E.Boyd 1)
3P FGs: 5-15 (J.Breland 1-3, A.Cantwell 1-4, 
M.Albertini 1-2, M.Higgins 1-3, G.Sena 0-1, J.Bouldin 
1-2)

Player of Game: SF Antione Cantwell (MMPHS)

 

Other Quarterfinal Results:

 

(1) Tulsa- 94, (8) Rice- 67

(4) Houston- 70, (5) Central Florida- 56

(7) ECU- 68, (2) UAB- 58

 

Semifinal Pairings:

 

(4) Houston vs. (1) Tulsa

(7) ECU vs. (3) Memphis

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March 12, 2021

 

Conference USA Semifinals

(7) ECU (14-18) vs. (3) Memphis (18-13)

 

We got some bad news earlier in the day as Amos Lusk ended up tearing a ligament in his thumb yesterday and he's out for the rest of the season. That means Mario Albertini will make his first start of the season in a pressure role. We got a bit lucky from a seeding standpoint as we get ECU instead of UAB, but they did split with us in the regular season, and we'll see how the guys react to the loss of Lusk.

 

Well it wasn't a great effort, as we were down early, but we rallied to lead by 2 at halftime. Neither team took care of the ball, but we forced 19 turnovers and only committed 17. That combined with the fact we made 7 more shots, and we advance to the C-USA Championship with a 70-60 win!

 

Memphis 70, East Carolina 60

Memphis  (19-13, 10-6):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Troy Tomblin      C    25  4-11   3-6   1   6   2  2  11
Monte Donofrio    PF   35   3-5   0-0   3  14   1  3   6
John Breland      SF   28  7-13   2-4   1   2   0  4  19
Antione Cantwell  SG   22   4-9   0-0   2   4   1  4   9
Mario Albertini   PG   32   2-5   1-2   0   1   5  3   6
Michael Higgins   SG   17   3-4   4-4   0   0   4  4  10
Gerald Sena       SF   12   0-1   0-0   0   2   3  2   0
Justin Bouldin    SF   11   2-6   0-1   1   2   0  1   5
Eldridge Boyd     C    10   2-4   0-0   3   6   0  0   4
Jerry Robertson   SG    6   0-0   0-0   0   1   1  0   0

Turnovers: 17 (M.Donofrio 4, J.Breland 3, A.Cantwell 4, 
M.Albertini 3, M.Higgins 3)
Blocked Shots: 1 (M.Donofrio 1)
Steals: 8 (T.Tomblin 1, J.Breland 2, A.Cantwell 1, 
M.Higgins 2, J.Bouldin 2)
3P FGs: 6-15 (J.Breland 3-5, A.Cantwell 1-3, 
M.Albertini 1-3, J.Bouldin 1-4)

East Carolina  (14-19, 8-8):
Player            Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Z. Crutchfield    C    31   3-6   0-1   2   8   0  2   6
Monte Tavares     PF   31   2-6   4-5   0   6   1  3   8
Kenneth Voorhees  SF   23   2-9   2-4   2   2   0  4   6
Bernard Deleon    SG   33   2-9   4-5   5   8   5  1   8
Arlen Hague       PG   35  6-14   1-2   1   3   3  1  16
Will Moya         PF   11   1-2   1-2   2   6   1  0   3
Hans Reed         PF    6   1-1   2-2   0   1   0  0   4
Larry Thorton     SF   22   3-7   0-0   0   2   1  5   7
Joe Leiker        SF    6   0-0   2-2   0   1   1  0   2
G. Satterwhite    PG    1   0-0   0-0   0   0   0  1   0

Turnovers: 19 (Z.Crutchfield 2, M.Tavares 1, K.Voorhees 
5, B.Deleon 7, A.Hague 3, J.Leiker 1)
Blocked Shots: 1 (M.Tavares 1)
Steals: 8 (K.Voorhees 1, B.Deleon 1, A.Hague 2, W.Moya 
1, H.Reed 1, L.Thorton 1, J.Leiker 1)
3P FGs: 4-24 (K.Voorhees 0-4, B.Deleon 0-5, A.Hague 
3-11, L.Thorton 1-4)

Player of Game: SF John Breland (MMPHS)

 

Our opponent in the title game will be (1) Tulsa, who handled (4) Houston 85-67.

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