Joe Jackson will commit to Memphis today at 6:30 on the Memphis campus.
“Yes, he is,” Memphis White Station coach Jesus Patino said by phone.
“I think he’s just a home kid. He’s born and raised here. He really likes the city, likes everything about being home. Even when we go on trips he can wait to go home.”
Jackson, who chose the Tigers over Kansas and Tennessee, will join fellow 2010 guard Will Barton of Brewster (N.H.) Academy to form a tremendously strong backcourt for head coach Josh Pastner beginning next season.
The 5-foot-11 Jackson is the No. 5 point guard and No. 12 overall player in the Class of 2010, according to Rivals.
He reportedly wrote this on his Facebook page: “I am committing TONIGHT at the Larry Finch Center at 6:30 pm. Come support me and one of the biggest decisions (of) my life. … Kansas, TN, Memphis. What (will it) be?”
Patino said Jackson could have a similar impact on Memphis as Penny Hardaway once did.
“I think it will be the same way as when Penny Hardaway decided to stay in Memphis,” Patino said. “It’s the biggest thing to happen to this city in a while.”
Jackson told me last month at the Boost Mobile event in New York that he liked Memphis because the home crowd would support him.
“A lot of people [are] going to be in your ear…telling you you can be this or you can be that,” he said. “I know you could, but that would be a good thing too, though. All the fans would be behind my back. I would never have to worry about anything.”
He said he was still strongly considering Memphis despite the sanctions that saw Memphis vacate its 2008 Final Four appearance in the wake of the Derrick Rose scandal.
“I kind of knew about it before,” he said. “I already knew what went down so I was just waiting on them to get rid of that season because I knew there was a lot of funny stuff going on.”
Patino said Jackson will bring some much needed stability to Pastner’s program as he takes over in the post-John Calipari Era.
“I think he brings them back some stability of what they’re trying to accomplish,” Patino said.
“The transition going on between Calipari and a young coach with no experience in the coaching ranks but plenty of experience in the business. He brings stability, the character and the leadership. He continues to embrace the city.”
Patino said Jackson started to make the decision “about a week ago.” Pastner then met with Jackson and his grandmother, Lillie Cox, on Wednesday night in their home.
“He thought about going to Tennessee and Kansas and visiting and then he talked to his grandmother,” the coach said. “His grandmother is 75 years old. She raised him and his two younger sisters and brother. She is the key instrument of Joe’s upbringing. She’s doing a tremendous job.”
Patino said he respected Jackson for making the decision to stay home.
“I think the thing I respect the most about him is he could’ve made a selfish decision,” Patino said. “He could’ve taken the high rode and gone to Kansas or Tennessee. They would’ve offered just as much for a kid of that age.
“But to decide to stay home because of family and because it’s important to the city, it’s a rare thing. To put himself second, that’s why I’m proud of him the most. He took other people into consideration.”
FREE THROWS
Long Island Lutheran coach Brian Carey has been replaced by assistant John Buck. Speaking of Luhi, Villanova coaches came to watch talented junior guard Achraf Youcoubo today and Georgia Tech was in on Wednesday..Tremendous story here about Joe Young, who committed to Providence despite the fact that his father, Michael Young, is an assistant with Tom Penders at Houston. Penders says he will continue to recruit the kid…Providence head coach Keno Davis will check in with Devon Collier during open gym today at St. Anthony, and then Davis heads out to Long Island to meet with J.J. Moore’s family…Elizabeth (NJ) St. Patrick guard Kyrie Irving will reportedly visit Texas A&M Oct. 9, following his visits to Duke (Sept. 25) and Indiana (Oct. 2). Indiana has an in-home with the Irvings on Sunday…Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier Journal reports the following in-home visits for Kentucky coach John Calipari:
Wednesday – Tobias Harris
Thursday – Doron Lamb
Saturday – Adreian Payne
Sunday – Stacey Poole
Monday – Brandon Knight
Tuesday – Josh Selby
Tuesday – Kyrie Irving
Sept. 22 – Terrence Jones
Demling says Louisville coach Rick Pitino has these visits:
Saturday – Tobias Harris
Sunday – Rod Odom
Monday – J.J. Moore
**Mike Anthony of the Hartford Courant says UConn is involved with Brandon Knight, Cory Joseph, Roscoe Smith, Josh Selby, Rod Odom, Jeremy Lamb, Kyrie Irving and Tobias Harris.
“We’re in very good shape, but we have to be careful because all of the sudden Jamal [Coombs-McDaniel] looks like a terrific three-man,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun told Anthony. “Let’s understand what we have so we’re going forward properly. Without early commitments, it’s only becuase we’re involved with some of the best kids against some of the best programs. It’s that simple. And there are a couple kids who maybe you haven’t heard quite a lot about but we think you’re going to hear an awful lot about.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.
JessieWildcat / September 11, 2009
AZ,
This is a very good pick up for Josh P.
Congrats….
You will have some great guards next year.
Note:
So, even Joe knew about the funny ,illegal actions that was going on with Memphis.
This is NOT surprising, at all.
“I kind of knew about it before,” he said. “I already knew what went down so I was just waiting on them to get rid of that season because I knew there was a lot of funny stuff going on.”
So, if everyone from Memphis knew about the “FUNNY STUFF” going on….
WHY did the NCAA turn its head.
Yes, the penalities to Memphis were a complete JOKE.
The penalities were so LIGHT and laughable.
No scholarship impacts. No games on TV were impacted.
NO post season tournament …well, they may not make it anyway (so, it is not really a penality.)
Secondly, Memphis appeal LOOKs even more foolish.
Everyone knew abou the FUNNY BUSINESS going on with Cali.
Lets SEE if Memphis does SOMETHING RIGHT- finally.
PULL BACK the appeal.
Note:
DID CALI KNOW about the ROSE thing? (change of grades, test scores)
Rose’s own state , Univ of Ill, knew about it and DID NOT take Rose.
I would have to agree with those which say…YES YES YES.
Did the Memphis AD know about the ROSE thing?
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Outsider / September 11, 2009
Dude, Shut the F up man.
You are not a sports writer. you have absolutely no clue what you are talking about and you are making yourself look like an idiot. You bring nothing to the table when you make these accusations or baseless comments.
Can we please ban this guy. I get tired of reading his diarrhea.
And I say this as a non-Memphis fan…
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JessieWildcat / September 11, 2009
Dude,
You are a Memphis fan or a Cali-www fan.
Don’t hide behind…OUTSIDER.
Wait….YOU are pastaboy……LMAO.
Note:
AZ….was the reference to “FUNNY StUFF”.
A reference to the rumors of some forthcoming BAD news about UK ??
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Boris / September 11, 2009
There’s no evidence that Cal or anyone at Memphis or Illinois knew about Rose and his SAT. (In fact there’s no evidence that Rose didn’t take his SAT, though his reaction and the circumstances make it likely that he didn’t.)
But the NCAA didn’t have to prove Cal knew, they simply had to prove that an ineligible player played. Once the test score was revoked by ETS, Rose became ineligible.
It would be nice if the same punishments were meted out to other programs. Corey Maggette admitted to taking money, which made him ineligible. I’m unaware of any penalties for Coach K or Duke. That’s a pretty obvious double standard.
As a Memphis fan, I can take the punishment. The selective punishment is infuriating, however.
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blasphemy / September 11, 2009
Hey AZ, Hey AZ. I NEED you AZ!!!! Come to me!!!!! Jessie do you ever talk about anything other than Rick Pitino, Calipari, Memphis, or Kentucky? you sound almost like you care about them more than your own Arizona program. By the way, I have money that says everyone here likes pasta better than they like you. One dollar bet? Oh, hows the treatment for your borderline personality disorder coming? Madonna has a song with your name on it. lol
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Boris / September 11, 2009
Congrats to Pastner, who is shaping up to be a hell of a recruiter. Jackson, Barton, E. Williams and Sallie could be the best backcourt in the nation in 2010. It doesn’t look like Memphis will sink into obscurity like a lot of people assumed.
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blasphemy / September 11, 2009
(Not a facetious comment)
I know how you feel on the Maggette deal. Hopefully the Memphis program will get the wins back. If they don’t however, it is beyond me how anybody would accept Duke’s Final Four when Maggette was playing. If Memphis loses its appeal, and Duke’s Final Four isn’t stripped, I would hope that the NCAA’s infractions committee would disband (among other things I would want to happen should this occur). I feel for Memphis and Memphis fans right now, and my heart is out to their program and though I hope for them to get the wins back, if they don’t however, I hope Duke’s Final Four is stripped immediately. I wish Memphis luck and would also like to congradulate them on the nice set of guards they will have for the 2010-2011 season.
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blasphemy / September 11, 2009
(Not a facetious comment)
I’m not sure about best given 4 of the best point guards and most of the best SG/SF wing players in the 2010 class have yet to commit. Also, we have yet to see who will leap to the NBA after this coming year. Other than that, yes it will be a very good backcourt. Did I say very enough times? Probably not.
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JessieWildcat / September 11, 2009
Boris,
Come on.
EVEN, Joe J. knew there was “FUNNY STUFF” going on.
ONE THING FOR SURE, there will NOT be “FUNNY STUFF” with the new Memphis coach- Josh P.
ROSE…
Univ of Ill took a BIG TIME pass on Rose.
They knew about the grade changes…because the High School provided notification to this univ. ( Memphis also received notification.)
Univ. of Ill knew of the test scores and the potential issue there as well.
Univ of Ill took the most prudent approach.
No one is above the program.
And they TOOK a PASS.
Cali took the gamble and got caught.
Risk vs reward…..NCAA takes the Rose season away from Memphis.
This was expected.
Note:
I agree there is a double standard.
In reference to Coack K and the Corey TAKING MONEY thing.
Some say, the NCAA has a special EYE for Cali and www. Maybe?
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JessieWildcat / September 11, 2009
Boris,
Memphis does have some impressive guards.
If they can get the player from Atlanta….he surely like to visit Memphis alot.
That would be a WOW guard recruiting class.
Josh P has done very well with guard recruits.
I guess it first started with Mike Bibby and a national championship.
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blasphemy / September 11, 2009
Jessie, you wouldn’t understand nothing is absolute. You get these schema’s in your head and you can’t shake them. Did it ever occur to you that Joe Jackson’s “a while” might mean “a couple of months”? Seriously Univ. of Illinois took a “pass”? Prove it, an article with proof that Rose was ready to commit to Illinois and Illinois said no BECAUSE of your suspicious SAT score. Just a bit of proof would be nice. You know, proof, the thingy that helps win arguments and change perspective.
/
blasphemy / September 11, 2009
Started and ended. When was the last time zona made any noise in the post season? 1998? The year UK won the championship? Just curious, I don’t follow UA at all.
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JessieWildcat / September 11, 2009
Boris,
I wanted to elaborate on the NCAA having a double standard.
THE NCAA does not have a double stanadard.
You do have a very good point.
Why was DUKE- Coach K treated differently with the Corey M. CASH MONEY?
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JessieWildcat / September 11, 2009
Boris,
The NCAA does NOT have a double standard.
if the case of Duke and Coach K…..CASH MONEY TO Corey M, Duke was able to ESCAPE.
If I can suggest, YOU maybe looking at this case from the wrong angle.
The NCAA has procedure and is systematic in its handling of cases such as Duke-Cash Money to Corey M.
Look at from the ACCUSER’S perspective:
In the DUKE case, the accuser:
DUKE has a big time law school.
And has many ,many alumni which are top lawyers.
By “top:, I mean….slimmy . Real simmy.
Imagine having 100 top attorney’s ,alumni, which are more than eager to assist in the defense against the NCAA vs Duke.
Are you getting the picture.
Duke wins and NCAA looses.
Law takes over and Duke uses its legal alumni to win.
Let me use another example of the DUKE legal strength.
Do you remember when the DUKE lacross team, raped and/or sexuallly assaulted a young woman, were the approx. charges.
Duke went to court and fought it tooth and nail.
Do you really believe if a YOUNG lady is in a room with 20+ sexually active men….that she would not be scared and say NO.
Say NO once.
Surely she said NO.
BUt, what happened here……Duke attorney’s did there thing.
Look what is happening with U$C.
It will take another 10 years before a decision is made.
Why?
There is no time constrain on Due Process?
Once, Pete retires- the thing will be resolved with the ncaa.
Lastly, if I was UK, Cali….I would not be surprised if the SAME attorneys handling the U$C things are hired That would be the safe thing to do.
If www has not already recommended that to Uk- AD.
Look at it from the accuser STAND POINT.
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MuchLuck / September 11, 2009
Patino said he respected Jackson for making the decision to stay home.
“I think the thing I respect the most about him is he could’ve made a selfish decision,” Patino said. “He could’ve taken the high rode and gone to Kansas or Tennessee. They would’ve offered just as much for a kid of that age.
“But to decide to stay home because of family and because it’s important to the city, it’s a rare thing. To put himself second, that’s why I’m proud of him the most. He took other people into consideration.”
I’m assuming, Patino, by “high rode” you meant “high road”. I’m also assuming, when you compare the three programs, you are referring to geographical considerations. In that case, be advised that Tennessee is the only one of the three that would have a “high road” as it is pretty far up in them thar hills. Kansas is pretty flat. Not many high roads there. I guess if Jackson needs a high road during his time at Memphis, he can visit you. Things seem pretty high there.
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JessieWildcat / September 11, 2009
So, what is the BIG NEWS about UK?
Does the SUDDEN departure of Bilal Batley have something to do with it?
UK or Cali has not provided any word on the SUDDEN departure.
The Weems hiring may of added to the fire.
Is there new info. on the Memphis thing?
some new details.
did Cali get a briefing on the invalid test scores…
Cali was not aware of the rumor of Rose’s test scores?
Here’s a transcript provided by the Francesa show:
Did you know about anything going on with Derrick Rose?
“No, but here’s my point in all this: no question those are black marks and I’m really disappointed, I wish that rules were changed, they were changed five years later with the Camby stuff. The rules were changed so those games wouldn’t have been vacated five years later. Back then it was even hard and fast…”
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TheFinger / September 11, 2009
i know i don’t stand alone in thinking JP couldn’t pull it off on his own, but he has proved us all deadly wrong. he is quickly assembling a roster that should dominate the conference and make noise deep into the dance. time will tell if he has what it takes in the coaching category.
he CAN get ’em, but the question remains — can he GET ’em there?
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LS / September 12, 2009
To put a New York spin on this, he’s already light-years ahead of Norm Roberts in terms of recruiting, but if like Norm he proves completely incapable of X’s and O’s, the talent will stop listening to his pitch.
Unfortunately for Redmen fans, kids didn’t buy into Norm’s pitch before he revealed himself to be completely incompetent teacher and strategist.
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UAWildcat / September 12, 2009
2001 championship game, 2003 elite 8, 2005 elite 8, 2009 sweet sixteen and let’s no forget 25 years in a row in the NCAA’s.
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pastaboy / September 12, 2009
The accomplishment here is not that JP signed JJ …..but rather that he convinced him to commit early ……great job . If he can keep JJ 2 years and get him drafted before Cal’s next one and done phenom ….it could bode well for the long term . Nice to see JP not allowing the Memphis program to fade into mid major obscurity …..based upon recruiting at least ….. now he must show everyone that he can coach and win . Its all about W’s and L’s .
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jhawk4 / September 12, 2009
great pickup for memphis. I was keeping my fingers crossed for KU to get him. Damn.
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blasphemy / September 13, 2009
Don’t you mean the defendant’s stand point? Oh, I forgot you don’t actually read anything you post because if you did you would realize how ignorant it is. Have a nice day!
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blasphemy / September 13, 2009
(Not a facetious comment)
Oh, ok. Didn’t know you all won one in ’01. Sorry if it seems I’m dragging UA into the mud. I’m not trying to, I just got carried away insulting Jessie as much as possible. I really don’t like that person and I will try harder in the future to not get carried away.
Though for the record, I meant “noise” to imply a Final Four appearance or better though nothing wrong with an Elite Eight. This is because Final Four appearances stick out quite a bit more to the general population of college basketball fans.
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blasphemy / September 13, 2009
(Not a facetious comment)
You all have Knight visiting, what are you so upset about lol? I’ll take Knight 10 out of 10 times over JJ. I’d pick Irving 10 out of 10 times over JJ for that matter. I didn’t like Jackson’s “mouth” a whole lot because he spoke some bull. (eg : He ‘claimed’ that Calipari said to him “you’re my #1 guy.” Would anybody in their right mind believe that given Calipari never offered him a scholarship?) Now, this is not to say he isn’t talented, its simply that I find Kyrie Irving and Knight both better and more stable than JJ. I wish him well at Memphis but glad he isn’t a Wildcat. Your thoughts?
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jhawk4 / September 13, 2009
Blasphemy-
here is the way i see it…
KU will have 3 or 4 Scholarships open for next year depending on what Henry decides to do. lets say they have 4.
1. SG/SF Royce Wooldrige (already commited)
2. Adrien Payne or Terrence Jones (both big men. need 1 to help replace Aldrich)
3/4. Harrison Barnes? (to replace Henry) Selby? Knight? Lamb?
We lose a PG (Collins) C (Aldrich) G/F (Henry) and a F (Little), but we have 3 more point guards on the team with T.Taylor, CJ Henry and E. Johnson, so PG’s aren’t a huge need. I would rather have Knight and would love to have Knight, but i have a hunch he is next in line at UK. hopefully we get him, but thats the feeling i get. I really liked J Jacksons game, he reminded me of Russell Robinson except JJ scores a little more. which is why i thought we could get him and have a E Johnson/J Jackson backcourt once Taylor leaves. very similar to a Chalmers/Robinson backcourt in 08.
The more pressing need is a forward, so the guy ill be really upset if we dont get Barnes or T Jones. I think KU needs to land 1 of the 3— Knight, Selby, or Lamb.
The ideal situation is 1. Wooldrige, 2. Barnes, 3,Payne or Jones 4 Knight/Selby/Lamb.
if we do that ill be thrilled
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blasphemy / September 13, 2009
(Not a facetious comment)
Ok, thanks for the info. I wasn’t exactly sure what the situation was at KU. I hope you all or Indiana get Barnes because I really don’t want him at Dookie U. (God I hate Duke) Anyways, it seems you all are better in numbers in the PG department then we are. If I’m not mistaken, you forgot another great PG though in Cory Joseph. I’m thinking he still has KU on his list. Anyways, it seems the ’10 class will have more balance to all positions then the 09 class did. Was it just me or were there only 3-4 great PG’s in this past class? And a helluva of SG’s and or big men. Anyways, Selby won’t sign until spring (almost 100% certain) so you all still have some time to get in there with him.
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jhawk4 / September 13, 2009
yeah i think self will go after Knight and Lamb full throtlle and then if we dont get them we might be able to snag Selby late. Knight and Lamb are both visiting late night, and traditionally that has been a very influential tool in getting guys to commit, so hopefully we get 1 or the other early.
and i agree the 10 class seems way better overall than the 09 class in my opinion, maybe not with quite the star power at the top but definitely with way better balance.
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pastaboy / September 14, 2009
Knight is going to Caltucky …… no way he plays for Self the Stiff .
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jhawk4 / September 14, 2009
if you’ll look at my previous post, i share your sentiment about Knight. if i had to guess i bet he goes to UK, but we cant ever be sure! maybe KU will get him.
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Big Ben / September 14, 2009
Russell was a 22PPG guy his senior year in high school (~20 per game the year before). I think you’re close with the comparisons between RR and Jackson, but Russell was definitely a great scorer in high school. If he has gone to a lesser program he would have scored plenty.
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jhawk4 / September 14, 2009
Ben-
Russell was a big time scorer in high school and i think we recruited him to be a scoring 2, but his offensive game did not look as polsihed when he got to KU, and i think Jackson is more polished and will be able to step in and score immediately. You are right though, at a program with less talent, robinson would have scored more. excellent point sir!
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JessieWildcat / September 15, 2009
AZ,
Did you hear the additional news on Calicat VIOLATIONS?
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JessieWildcat / September 15, 2009
AZ,
The VIOLATIONS were mentioned last WEEK.
And JT picked up the ball and ran with it….
“Last week, there was mention of Kentucky Wildcat violations.
Yes, many violations.
UK ONLY reported ONE to the public.
BUT, the COUNT is up to THREE, officially.
(Can you guess how many NCAA official are at Lex….watching Cali and ..www….over or under 10?)
“Former University of Kentucky basketball staffer Bilal Batley received a “letter of admonishment” for committing a secondary violation of NCAA rules, the school acknowledged Tuesday.
In response to an open-records request from the Herald-Leader, UK said that Batley violated an NCAA rule on July 2 when he “participated countable athletically related activities with a student-athlete.”
Batley, who followed new head coach John Calipari from the University of Memphis, shagged rebounds for a current player. He also advised the player to shoot from particular spots on the floor, the UK letter dated Sept. 1 said.
Batley, whose title was men’s basketball administrative assistant, violated NCAA Bylaw …. when he interacted on the court with a current player,….
Batley has resigned and returned to his native Houston ….
In response to the open-records request, UK revealed TWO other secondary violations involving the basketball program earlier in the year.
Former assistant Tracy Webster violated a rule by engaging in a conversation with a prospect before April 22, which was prior to the permissible contact date.
He received a letter of admonishment. “..
WHO WAS THIS PLAYER/RECRUIT??
“Another violation occurred May 26 when a current player — whose name was redacted in the open-records release — had his name used in an advertisement for The Reggie Warford Basketball Camp.
The player was unaware of the advertisement,….” source:Jerry.Tipton
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JessieWildcat / September 20, 2009
As a FINAL NOTE……….
Todd Lee, Univ Of Kentucky, stated in a negative fashion about Memphis and U Mass…..when discussing the institutions willingness to allow Coach John C. to bend and twist the rules…
“… in a meeting with the new coach, Todd sent a message: Kentucky is not Memphis nor UMass.
“I don’t remember ever saying it that openly,” the UK president said ”
If you are thinking it, EVERYONE is going to know.
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