SYRACUSE, N.Y. — It turns out you can win an NCAA tournament game without making a single 2-point basket for an entire half.
West Virginia proved it was possible and pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in recent NCAA tournament memory.
When it was over, and No. 2 West Virginia had shocked No. 1 Kentucky, 73-66, in the East Region final at the Carrier Dome, Devin Ebanks flung the basketball into the crowd and stood on the scorer’s table, his arms raised in triumph.
**Fanhouse’s Brett McMurphy broke the news that Darryl “Truck” Bryant was cleared to play in the Final Four.
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jhawk4 / March 28, 2010
Now that kentucky fans can come back down to earth… im curious to see what you guys are hearing/feeling about players leaving early.
Wall,Cousins and Patterson are gone.
What about Bledsoe? In my opinion, Bledsoe could go if he wanted to, but might benefit from another year. my guess now is 50/50
ive also heard Ortons name being thrown around. He should definitely stay another year! he would vastly improve his stock if he did.
unfortunately, the NBA drafts on potential alone and that drives these kids to leave school too early. the same thing is going to happen to Xavier Henry. Kid could definitely benefit from another year, but its probably not going to happen.
Thoughts?
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RockChalkWoody / March 28, 2010
Bledsoe should stick around and work on freethrows.
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ZonaWildcat / March 28, 2010
I think Wall, Cousins, Patterson, AND Bledsoe are gone. I think Orton will throw his name out there and see what kind of response he gets but I think he’ll be back.
It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of recruiting class Calipari pulls in again this year. Now way it will be as talented as this group that is leaving, but with the Kentucky brand behind him I have no doubt it will be another top 10 class.
But than you have another Kentucky team dominated by youth and Cal has to start all over again. Getting ONE one and done player is enough, but when you get 2 or 3 each year you can’t build a stable and successful program. While every other team has the experience edge coming back next year, Kentucky will be a team dominated by 18 year old freshmen.
I know Selby and Lamb have both said they won’t make their decision public until the Jordan classic, but it will be interesting to see what they do once Knight makes his, which I hope is real soon. Than all the dominos will start falling.
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pastaboy / March 28, 2010
Brandon replaces Wall …… Bledsoe will stay ….so will Orton ….. next years team should be more like the Memphis teams …less size ….more up and down ….top 5 team again ….30 wins again ….. more athleticism ….. Cal had his style guys waiting at Memphis …..Miller and these guys aren’t his style …..but all in all a pretty good season.
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JonHuskyMS / March 28, 2010
you hope Bledsoe stays….
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Michael / March 28, 2010
Fellas, check out the UK blogs if you want a good laugh. They are convinced it was mass conspiracy against UK and Calipari. Everyone is to blame but the actual UK team and its players.
KU had a much harder bracket and for the most part made no excuses after it lost.
http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=48&f=1030&t=5788200
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jhawk4 / March 28, 2010
More up and down? its hard to imagine a more up and down team than this UK team. Wall was the best in america in the open court.
If Bledsoe stays, UK will have another dynamic backcourt, Knight (likely) and Bledsoe will be great, where UK will run into trouble is replacing 2 studs like Cousins and Patterson. Cousins and Pattersons ability to dominate the glass was the reason UK was so good this year. Big shoes to fill for Orton and Enes Kanter.
I would also expect Hood to see some time next year, seeing as they need a dependable 3 point shooter. Dodson, Miller and Liggins are too inconsistent
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memtiger87 / March 28, 2010
Pasta,
Another great job of coaching by Calimari! Huggins schooled him once again. Kentucky had the most talent in the tournament (thank you Memphis) and fell flat on their face. Had to say I love it! What a choker!
I’d take Pastner over this toad any day. Let’s see who has the better team next year, my guess is both teams will be top 10. Hopefully we can play Kentucky in the NCAA next year, his lack of coaching ability will be worth a few points.
Great job with the free throws!
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BostonCat / March 28, 2010
and you hope he leaves.
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BostonCat / March 28, 2010
of course you do. because pastner is your current coach! lol. but no one else would! especially not to run a big time program.
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JonHuskyMS / March 28, 2010
why would i care either way?
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ZonaWildcat / March 28, 2010
Yeah Pastner is going to have to get the experience before any big program will take him, but I will tell you this; Josh can recruit! His current class is testament to that.
4 years playing for Lute Olson than becoming his assistant coach for several more and going on the recruiting trail with him has really paid off. Josh will be a great coach one day. His dream job has always been Arizona and I’m sure he’ll be there one day.
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MuchLuck / March 28, 2010
There’s no comparison between Calipari and Pastner. Pastner is the future. Calipari is the past……then the disappearing past, then the past again….then the disappearing past…..always one step away from the investigation……
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HallBall / March 28, 2010
These Arizona fans or whatever have one hell of imagination. First Arizona Is the favorite to land Selby, Lamb or Jack If not all three now Josh Pastner Is deeply In love with the Arizona but yet still found a way to turn down the job and stay In Memphis. I guess next what your going to tell me Is that one third of the student-body at UCLA is going to enroll Into Arizona next summer because Arizona Is everyones dream destination, let you tell It. On a realistic note I know how much distain some of you have for Kentucky but saying that you would rather have Pastner as coach instead of Calipari Is just plain stupid. Kentucky lost to a way more experienced West Virginia team loaded with seniors and juniors who knew how to make the big shots when needed and not to mention Calipari has said the samething after every game quote ” We are a very youung team” so he knew that talent would eventually get overcome by experience if not careful. Congrats to WVU keep the Big East In It fellas….
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UAWildcat / March 28, 2010
HallBall- Pastner was not offered the Arizona job. In fact he was not even considered. Pastner would jump at the chance to coach at his Alma Mater. That being said I hope Pastner never has the chance to coach UA because I would lime to have Miller in Tucson for 25 plus years. Maybe you should be worry about who Seton Hall can hire to clean up the mess Gonzo left instead of the UA blow hards that think Pastner is the second coming of Christ and that Calipari is the anti-Christ
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ZonaWildcat / March 28, 2010
Dude you are a FUCKIN idiot! You obviously know jack shit about anything college basketball related according to your posts, now you come on here and look even more like a jackass in saying that Josh Pastner TURNED DOWN ARIZONA? bwahahaha OMFG dude you are retarded.
Do you even know who Josh Pastner is? Do you realize he is FROM Tucson, graduated from Arizona, was a walk-on for 4 years playing for Lute Olson, than became an assistant coach under Lute Olson? Lute Olson was AND STILL is like a father figure to Josh and Josh has said many times that Coach Olson is his mentor and life coach.
Josh has expressed many times that he wanted to be the one to take the reigns once Lute retired and that Arizona was his dream job. Just like Calipari’s dream job was to coach at Kentucky, Josh has always wanted to be the head coach for Arizona. He loves the community, Tucson, the fan base, and everything about our program.
I bet you don’t even know WHY he went to Memphis to be an assistant for Calipari do you? Once Lute was getting ready to retire and he was looking to bring in his replacement to learn from him, Josh thought he would be promoted to first assistant and get the opportunity to become the next head coach.
Of course Lute wanted someone with a little more experience and brought in other guys, Kevin O’Neil and a couple others, while Josh stayed at the same position he was at. Knowing he wasn’t going to be the next head coach he applied to be assistant for Calipari. Knowing that Josh can recruit Calipari brought him in right away.
When Lute was officially through with coaching, there were a shitload of articles written in the Tucson papers interviewing Josh about the job, and he said that he would take it in a heartbeat if we offered it to him. A lot of the fans over here wanted Josh to be offered the job, but we needed someone who was a little more experienced and we went a different route.
Josh would leave Memphis in a heartbeat if we offered him the job right now. Anyone who knows Josh Pastner and his connection to our program knows this. So why don’t you go to another blog and talk shit somewhere else because you don’t know squat about basketball with your useless posts.
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ZonaWildcat / March 28, 2010
Yeah HallBall is a retard, you should know this based on ALL his posts.
Just ignore him like JessieWildcat.
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beardown3232 / March 28, 2010
I am going to officially end the debate about Josh Pastner and where his allegiance lies.
I lived in Tucson while Josh Pastner was an assistant coach and I personally remember meeting him multiple times during community gatherings. There is no denying he loves Tucson.
I currently live in Saint Louis and when I saw way back in November that KU would be playing Memphis in STL, I quickly got tickets for the game. I got good seats right next to where the teams come out on the court and when I saw Pastner come out, I started chanting ARIZONA. He immediately looked up at me and waved and smiled. This is a completely 100% true story.
Although that may not say a lot, I think it shows where his heart lies that right before the biggest game of his career, a game where Memphis lost by 1 point, when he first walked out onto the court and all his attention should have been focusing on the game, the second he heard Arizona, he diverted all his attention to the source.
Even after taking the Memphis job, Pastner said he had interest of coming back to coach at Arizona later in his career. Mark My Words, he will come back to coach at Arizona and will go down as one of the greatest if not the greatest college basketball coach of all time. He was coaching his father’s AAU team when he was in middle school. He is a prodigy and fortunately for Arizona, a man named Lute Olson picked up on this kid not because of his talent but because of his coaching skills. And while we are all debating whether Arizona will get Selby or Lamb, Pastner just got the number 1 recruiting class in the country.
There is no coach in the universe I would rather have than Josh Pastner and there is no school in the universe that Josh Pastner would rather be at than Arizona. And as much as love Sean Miller, I think we should have let Lute Olson be in control of who he wanted his successor to be.
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beardown3232 / March 28, 2010
Memphis, you better treat him pretty dam well.
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beardown3232 / March 28, 2010
Last thing, I found the stupidest article of I ever have read stating that Pastner may be in the mix for the Iowa job because Olson coached.
(Come on, do you really think Pastner would leave Memphis to go coach in the middle of farm land.)
But as stupid as it is, us Arizona fans have to thank Iowa universities for two things. First, they gave us Lute. Second, they shut up Rock Chalk Woody for a few weeks.
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memtiger87 / March 29, 2010
Pastner said hello to a guy that yelled “Arizona” and we have substantiated proof that he is going to Arizona? Wow? I don’t know how long he will coach at Memphis, but I think it will be for some time. He’s getting great players and it is an excellent job that will pay as much as anyone in the country. I think Arizona has a very good coach and recruiter now and I don’t see him leaving in the next 5 years or so.
Are you saying you would rather have Calipari as your coach than Pastner? His floor skills (as displayed against WVU) are weak. He is a good recruiter, but so is Pastner. At least you aren’t worried about vacating another season with Pastner.
I still have to say how happy I am to see Calipari fall on his face once again. This team was, without a doubt, the most talented team this year. He got schooled once again by Bob Huggins, who owns him. “It is what it is”
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BostonCat / March 29, 2010
35-3, sec regular season title, sec tournament champs, elite 8, top 5 team all year….all doing it starting 3 freshman, 4 freshman in the top 6 rotation and a new coach/system. beating roy williams, rick pitino, jim calhoun, tom crean, kevin stallings, bruce pearl, etc. yeah…horrible coach! lol
typical memphis fan that is so blinded by their jealousy that you warp reality to make yourself feel better. pastner was out classed all year, i mean you lose to SMU you have issues. but keep the faith.
its funny watching tiger fans attempt to make themselves relevant.
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CUSA_NEWS / March 29, 2010
What’s funny is that bostoncat didn’t mentioned all those supposed big teams were all in their down year. They didn’t even make the tourney for kripes sake! L’ville barely made it!
The proof will be in the puddin nxt yr when UNCs are back at the top of their game, we will see what cal can do then. My money is on the frshmen choking…. again.
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BostonCat / March 29, 2010
just our freshman or your freshman too for next year? oh wait…thats right no one cares about Memphis.
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ZonaWildcat / March 29, 2010
This was Josh’s first year as a head coach. I think he did pretty damn good!
And now he has the number 1 recruiting class coming in for next year, I’d say he is off to a pretty good start.
Josh will be a great coach with a few more years experience. He has always been able to recruit, now he needs to perfect his coaching and he will be hard to beat.
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ChicagoUK / March 29, 2010
I say this with absolutely no bias:
No one cares about Memphis. Calipari put them on the map. Pastner is off to a great start and he will likely keep Memphis on the map until another job comes calling. I am certain he would jump to Arizona if Miller moves on. It would not be surprsing to see him leave for a Ole Miss, Iowa sorta-gig either. C-USA teams are never on TV.
I hope the best for Memphis but that is the truth.
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DrDick / March 29, 2010
Memphis went to Final Fours before Calipari and could be back next year with their recruiting class. Pastner is a great coach & recruiter and does not have the BAGGAGE like Calipari.
John Calipari is Kentucky’s problem. Cal is a two time cheater and a slimeball for taking recruits. Just wait until the NCAA slaps UK with a long probation and they must VACATE all their wins. Everybody knows Calipari is a cheater except for the UK fans who now defend him.
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memtiger87 / March 29, 2010
Who cares about Memphis? I’d say the members of the best recruiting class of 2010. That’s right pal, best in the country!
Our conference is weak. No doubt about it. As far as jobs go, it is one of the better. We have great facilities, excellent local talent, and Memphis will pay top dollar. How long will Pastner stay? I can’t say for sure, but now that the Calipari scandal has left, we will get an elite coach when that time comes. Since the “Calipari Rule” was passed (LOIs with out clauses), we will actually have good players around even if the coach leaves. Memphis was in bad shape after Calipari left, we had an NCAA investigation (thanks Calipari) and the old coach raided our recruits (thanks Calipari). Since we got rid of Coach Calipari, the king of vacated final fours, our program will not have those issues.
Anyway, Kentucky blew it with the best talent in the field. No way WVU should have been remotely close, but Huggins out coached Calipari once again (I think he is 8-1 or so against him).
So let’s just see who has the best season next year. Have you seen our 2010 roster? Will Barton, Jelan Kendrick, Joe Jackson, Tarik Black, Chris Crawford, Wesley Witherspoon, Will Coleman, Angel Garcia and possibly Elliot Williams. Maybe another top recruit… This team is loaded!
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jhawk4 / March 29, 2010
nbadraft.net has Bledose as a “likely to go” and Orton as 50/50.
also, Cole Aldrich declared for the draft today, which comes as no surprise to any KU fans
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BostonCat / March 29, 2010
and no one will care. you are memphis and you play in conference usa. repeat that as many times as necessary until it sinks in.
you are memphis and you are in c-usa.
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RockChalkWoody / March 29, 2010
beardown, it’s too bad that not even making the Not Invited Tournament didn’t shut you up. Great story about Pastner looking up at you and waving & smiling, though. Did you guys cuddle or spoon after the game?
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memtiger87 / March 29, 2010
Oh poor Bostoncat. You and Calipari didn’t win the big one. This after keeping the good Kentucky recruits and taking Memphis’. The good thing if Calipari leaves UK, he can’t have them sign conditional LOIs. Probably three of his one and dones are done! Gotta start from scratch again. He can keep using that youth excuse during his stay at Kentucky. But he’ll probably stick around for a few years and leave when the investigation begins. It won’t be his third final four vacated, since you only made elite 8 with the best talent in the tournament.
I’m sorry you don’t care about Conference USA. The conference might not be on TV a lot, but Memphis gets it’s fair share. You can watch them play many times on ESPN next year!
What can I say? Calipari can blow it to Kansas with 2 minutes left (your welcome Rock Chalk Woody) and can’t beat Huggins. Sad…
I’ve got some ideas. Practice threes and FREE THROWS. Maybe pressure a team with on point guard (and one that has four fouls). Some of the poorest coaching I’ve seen. Maybe feed Cousins. I don’t know, but you’ll have a new cast of characters next year. I’ll bet you sign some good ones, I think Knight and Leslie are for sure. But, you won’t have more talent than this year and Choke Calipari will find a way to blow it again.
Have fun, and have fun with the sanctions!
Memtiger87 out!
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BostonCat / March 29, 2010
i really do understand why you live in your own little world. why except really?
not only do i not care about c-usa. NO ONE does. and its it “might not” be on tv. its NOT on tv.
i’ve got some ideas….if your a fan of school that rivals ITT tech, dont talk trash.
maybe josh will grow and develop as a coach be able to beat SMU next year. maybe. small steps.
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CUSA_NEWS / March 29, 2010
Bledsoe will leave since he hasn’t been goin to class since December.
Btw, ur team just hot beat by a team whose starting pg did NOT play, backup w/one arm was more than enough.
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memtiger87 / March 29, 2010
Bostoncat, nice reply RETARD! SEC again without a final four team? Maybe if Kentucky could join the Horizon league. Oops, Memphis didn’t make it in 2008 either since pencil neck Calipari managed to get ANOTHER final four vacated.
Have fun with that d- bag! What a loser!
You make me laugh… Yeah, we lost to SMU. The last coach bolted with all of our recruits, then blew it against Hugs. Lets see if SMU wins this year……
Buh Bye Bledsoe… ITT tech just might have the players to beat you guys next year!
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BostonCat / March 29, 2010
so absurd to see a fan base turn on a coach that put them on the map after 9 years. a coach that they loved and defended at every turn. but of course none of them will admit it.
crazy jilted lovers. its hard to find a more pathetic and desperate fan base. they want so bad to be recognized and never will.
35-3, sec title, sec tourny champ, elite 8. i’ll take that no problems, so would anyone. you can have your NIT appearance from an under performing team in a conference that is lower then mid-major level.
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memtiger87 / March 29, 2010
Just keep telling yourself that you are happy with the NCAA tournament… Right…
At least he didn’t blow the championship with 2 minutes left! Huggins just owns the guy!
Good luck starting over next year. Hey, when are the sanctions coming????
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BostonCat / March 29, 2010
35-3
wins over unc, uconn, iu, ul, tenn twice, vandy twice, uf twice.
sec regular season title
sec tournament title
elite 8
yeah…whats to be happy over? LOL
this is how stupid some of you are. you know its a great year but you just want to frame uk/cal and the word failure together no matter how ridiculous it is just to make YOURSELF feel better. it makes me laugh. please keep going.
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memtiger87 / March 29, 2010
Like I said… Great job! Hugs makes it 8-1…….
Wall, Cousins, Patterson, Bledsoe… Gone like a fart in the wind.
Funniest thing I ever saw was WV mocking Kentucky in the end. That was hilarious man….. Or maybe it was 6-2 Mazulla guarding Cousins. I’m still laughing!
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BostonCat / March 29, 2010
i understand why you are so interested in the game. i mean pastner cant even win in the crappy c-usa with twice as much talent as any other team. there is basically no hope. the only thing you can do is obsess over uk.
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OldTerp / March 29, 2010
UK just got REALLY cold at a bad time; I don’t think it was a case of Huggins outcoaching Calipari. Both are good coaches whose teams had great years. I do think Huggins is a better game coach, but I give Calipari a lot of credit for getting that team to jell so early in the season and keeping them going. Young teams can get tense when the stakes get high and I’m not sure any coach can overcome that.
Yeah – I think Bledsoe should stay. He’s a good player but probably not ready for the NBA. Wall is probably the first pick and Cousins will go in the top 5. Not bad for two 19 year-old kids.
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HallBall / March 29, 2010
Lol Count on this ZonaCat guy to come up with some outlandish stories to make you laugh. First of all must I remind you youre on a Big East Blog, why the hell would I care about anything that goes on In Tuscon or anything else that goes on In that pile of dirt over there. Now on to this Lute Olson being a father figure to Pastner and him loving the community and all this other crock of crap your trying to sway my way, tell me Is this Information based on your “shitload” of articles youve read about Pastner or there Is a secret relation between you and Lute Olson that we dont know about. Its obvious the community nor the University of Arizona doesnt think as highly about him as much as he cares about the community or that wouldnt have hired a guy from the eastcoast to coach the program. Sean Miller more experience than Pastner, you may be right I mean Xavier Is in the A10 another competitive conference on the eastcoast compared to C-USA which we all know Is the weakest conference In the south by far but you are the same guys who said Pastner Is a better “Coach” than Calipari so does than make Miller a better coach than Calipari also? That was a rhetorical question, HELL NO! Compare seasons, Arizona 16-15 no postseason tourney, Memphis 23-9 In a always weak C-USA with loses to Southernn Methodist and Ole Miss and Kentucky 32-2 with a elite eight berth and a SEC outright and tourney championship but who am I to say this after all I dont know much about college basketball, this coming from this from the biggest a**clown I know from “Zona” LOL
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HallBall / March 29, 2010
Worry for what, we didnt go 16-15 this year remember!
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HallBall / March 29, 2010
Oh god, If another person mentions next years recruiting class one more time. Maybe Will Barton and company could help Memphis beat Southern Methodist and re-establish the Tigers as the national powerhouse It was for the nine years that the “Anti-Christ” was there LOL
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HallBall / March 29, 2010
The abso-LUTE truth LOL
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HallBall / March 29, 2010
I guess you Memphis guys really hate Calipari huh?
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HallBall / March 29, 2010
Theres no way WVU should have been close, I hope your joking. So I guess with a lineup like Devin Ebanks, D’Sean Butler, Kevin Jones, “Truck” Bryant, Joe Mazzulla, Wellington Smith and Pennsbury native and distant friend of mine Dalton Pepper have nothing to do with It. Calipari got out coached but the Cats got out played by a more experienced WVU team, thats the benefit of having a good number of kids that are third and fourth year players than having a team full of In Dick Vitale’s words “Diaper Dandies”
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UAWildcat / March 30, 2010
Can we drop the Calipari is a cheat crap. He is probalbly a cheat or atleast walks a very thin line. Like all of the other top coaches do. Self, Roy Williams, Pearl, Izzo, Howland, Miller and so on all cheat or walk the thin line to get the best recruits they can. It’s just that simple.
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ZonaWildcat / March 30, 2010
Hahaha you see how this HallDouche still knows NOTHING about college basketball? Wow!
First off my WHOLE response was based on this sentence of yours..
“First Arizona Is the favorite to land Selby, Lamb or Jack If not all three now Josh Pastner Is deeply In love with the Arizona but yet still found a way to turn down the job and stay In Memphis.” – HallBall
That sentence right there tells me you know jackshit about the situation!
And where in the hell did I say he was a better coach than Calipari? You just pull shit out of thin air to make you sound more intelligent but you fail every time.
And yes Arizona went with a more seasoned coach because our fans and boosters wanted someone who had more experience, and so did Lute Olson.
Yes, we struggled, but before Miller got there we only had 6 players on scholarship and only 3 of them were even decent players. Miller pulled in a top 10 recruiting class and landed 5 players right away.
Pastner had more to work with than Miller did, the cupboards were bare when Miller got there, he had no one. Pastner just had to convince his current players to stay on board once Calipari bolted.
And this is a college basketball blog NOT just a big east blog you dumbass! If it were just a big east blog than why in the hell does Adam Zagoria have an “Arizona” category on his blog?
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ZonaWildcat / March 30, 2010
Oh and learn how to make paragraphs you dumbass!
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ZonaWildcat / March 30, 2010
Seriously dude, do us all a favor and go walk straight into oncoming traffic!
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ZonaWildcat / March 30, 2010
When you have 3 players who are projected Top 10 lottery picks and you have another in Bledsoe projected to go around #12 in the draft, yeah you should be kicking some major ass!
That is a team loaded with talent and they played well together. Calipari was out-coached, no doubt about it!
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ZonaWildcat / March 30, 2010
When you vacate a season where you went the national championship, wouldn’t you?
How about the UMASS fans, I bet they hate him too!
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ZonaWildcat / March 30, 2010
Wall is projected to be the #1 draft pick, Cousins is projected at #4, and Patterson is projected at #9.
Last time I saw it Bledsoe was around #12, he may have dropped a little bit, but I’m sure he’ll bolt to the NBA too. He is definitely a first rounder, Top15 actually, so I would be surprised if he did stay.
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ZonaWildcat / March 30, 2010
How many of those coaches you just mentioned had 2 final 4 appearances vacated at TWO different schools?
Nuff said
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pastaboy / March 30, 2010
Memphis ‘s fast break looked like 5 men running from a burning building …including Dorsey ….Cousins loafed most of the time
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pastaboy / March 30, 2010
getting outcoached by Bob Huggins is no disgrace ……Cal never had a glue guy this year ( Antonio Anderson ) ….besides zero from 20 from the trey? W,Va should have won by 40
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pastaboy / March 30, 2010
172 and 16 in 5 years and the guy catches hell ….lol …..he’ll win his share of Nc’s ….Memphis better start worrying about what Doogie Howser is going to do with the top recruitng class in the country ……No excuses this year guys ….Cal stole our team won’t play this year …. with the players you have coming in lets see that top seed and CUSA undefeated season ……ball’s in your court
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pastaboy / March 30, 2010
I hope Bledsoe goes ….this 2 PG thing just didn’t look right …… In 08 Rose took over the team …didn’t see that with Wall ……. get a long lean defensive glue guy to go wiith Brandon …..
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UAWildcat / March 30, 2010
Worry about the mess that Gonzo left for Willard to clean up.
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OldTerp / March 30, 2010
Terrence Ross would be a good SG for UK, just not sure of his defense. It sounds like he wants to go wherever Terrence Jones end up, but who knows with this kid. He was gung-ho when he gave a verbal to Maryland, but then changed his mind when he started getting better press. He was going to a school in Arizona but then changed his mind and moved home. Seems like a decent guy; I just hope he doesn’t think he can be a one & done player.
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pastaboy / March 31, 2010
One thing Lee Trevino said about choking ……and not winning the big one……before you choke you got to be good enough to put yourself in a position to choke and in a position to win the big one . Pastner ain’t that good ….Cal is
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memtiger87 / March 31, 2010
Nice one, pastaboy.
Are you counting his vacated season? That one doesn’t count any more. I didn’t say that was his second, did I? You said the tigers were going 7-9 in conference USA and would have a losing season. Not quite right. 24-10 with that roster was pretty good. Let’s not give Calipari a break on years 1-4. He was the coach wasn’t he? I doubt he was given less a team than Pastner had this year.
Next year, there are no excuses. He’s actually got more than one scholarship player coming in this year (2 if you count late signee DJ Stephens). They have announced a few out of conference games, including Kansas, Tennessee, Gonzaga, Georgetown and LSU. Said Butler might be on the schedule. We’ll just have to see how good they will be. But, you can’t argue about his recruting when the shadow of sanctions are gone.
It isn’t Calipari’s Kentucky class. That was probably the best class ever since he made sure they signed LOIs with out clauses. But who cares about that toad anyway, all of those guys are going to the NBA. We’ll just have to see if we can make a top seed. I think we will be very good.
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MidnightLute / March 31, 2010
Sean Miller is the only NCAA coach that can STAND Calipari (probably vice versa). Sure they’re both giant cheaters, but UA and UK fans argue over who’s the biggest cheater is entertainingly stupid.
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tsmooth / March 31, 2010
Memphis is an elite program. Top 10 easily, right now.
Calipari didn’t put Memphis on the map. Memphis was already on the map. Tic Price just put it on a hiatus.
Pastner is a good coach, and will stay at Memphis as long as Memphis supports him and the bball program with funding and trust.
Calipari isn’t a good floor coach. He can get the players; he just can’t coach them up. That’s what his assistants do.
Pastner recruits well, scouts, coaches, and is the hardest working coach I have ever been around.
CUSA is not below a mid-major conference. Houston and UTEP were both in the NCAA this year, and Memphis will be in it as a top 4 seed next year.
Memphis got at least 5 games broadcast nationally this year with a depleted roster, and will easily have 10 games on nationally next year.
wins over unc, uconn, iu, ul, tenn twice, vandy twice, uf twice. – Those wins may look good on paper, but IU had 10 wins this year, UNC is in the NIT and y’all barely beat them in a down year, L’ville was in a down year along with UCONN, Vandy played horribly in the Tourney versus Murray State, and Florida is a major tease. You forgot to mention that TN beat UK, BostonCat.
Memphis hasn’t been recognized and never will? Do you recall a certain championship game and Elite 8 run of 3 years straight? Or how about that top 10 ranking we’ll have next year? Your comments are asenine, and show how uneducated you are about any other program beside your beloved Cats. I don’t recall y’all being this cocky when Billy G or Tubby were there.
Hard to judge Pastner after just one year of coaching with a roster of holdovers and also-rans due to Calipari leaving and taking recruits. But, contrary to what it may seem, I am not bitter about Cal. I’m glad he RESTORED Memphis’ tradition after the Tic Price year and the end of the Larry Fince era. I’m bitter towards how he left the program. The way he handled that was a disgrace and violated nearly all understood rules in the HOW TO LEAVE A PROGRAM PROPERLY HANDBOOK.
Pastner got 24 wins out of a team that played 7 guys, one of which hobbled on one leg, one had only played basketball for 4 years, 4 that had been beated down by Calipari, and 1 that transferred and started but was a reserve for Duke. Just sayin’.
And before you say I don’t know jackshit, I write for Tigersportsreport.com, and keep up with everything related to sports. Do you get paid to cover and know everything about a team? Didn’t think so.
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pastaboy / April 1, 2010
11 of those wins were against initial teams without logos ….the schedule was dumb downed …..he couldn’t win when he had to…….next year no excuses ….no Cal this or depleted that ….next year Pastner will have the talent …..the schedule ….the pre season top 20 ranking ….we’ll see what happens ….my prediction is dissappoinment ….despair ….gloom ….. frustration …..and a realization that Memphis with top 10 talent is no place for on the job training of a guy hired as a panic stricken last second effort to thwart probably the worst hiring effort in the history of mankind …….Wow indeed .
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tsmooth / April 1, 2010
please tell me those 11 teams. Again, you’re commenting about stuff you have no idea about. Pastner had to scrap together a schedule. Most coaches schedule a year ahead of time. He didn’t have that luxury.
Seriously? Worst hire ever? Despair? Gloom? I guess you haven’t been in Memphis since Paz took over. The city is happy again. More together than when Cal was here. Paz and staff will have plenty of talent next year, more than Kentucky, but it will not end in despair. I believe you said the same last summer, and I corrected you then as well. I should take your idiotic posts as encouragement because you predicted a .500 team and we ended up being 24-10. So thanks for the good wishes!!
Oh, and btw, Pastner isn’t a coach going for job training. He was coaching before he was shaving. He scouts better than Cal, adjusts his team better, and is a better floor coach. Going 24-10 with this year’s team was a major accomplishment, and showed that Paz could coach. Please, try again to degrade Memphis.
Cal was good while he was here. He got top talent, but couldn’t develop it or coach it. He’s a helluva recruiter. I’ll give him that. Kentucky wants talent, and they got the right guy, but he can’t do anything with it.
I wonder if UK fans realize that they have the highest paid coach in the history of the NCAA,, but he has never made the Final Four. Hmmm….
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HallBall / April 3, 2010
If this isnt a Big East Blog your not a jackass. So what Arizona has a category in the column but any with half a brain that follows this blog knows this Is a Big East oriented blog. Whens the last time you seen anything posted about Arizona besides the Doron Lamb and Josh Selby let down? Lol
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HallBall / April 3, 2010
So I guess Pastner Is better at developing players, please….
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tsmooth / April 4, 2010
actually, Pastner is.
Kemp improved more in one year under Pastner than 3 under Cal. His shooting percentages went up, and his assist to turnover ratio was off the charts.
Pierre finally lost much needed weight, something Cal couldn’t get him to do.
Will Coleman significantly improved throughout the year. He added post moves and started to judge rebounds better, get better position, box out, and keep the ball up. Cal never taught Dorsey/Dozier/Taggart that at all. They all came in and didn’t get better.
Mack finally became more than a shooter. He became a lockdown defender and slashed to the basket more.
Sallie slashed more, and took better shots.
Spoon progressed way more in half a year under Paz than one year under Cal.
Did you see any improvements from a Kentucky player this year? No. Wall didn’t add anything to his game, and Cousins still has an attitude problem.
Next stupid comment, please.
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