Tigers freshman Thomas to return for sophomore season

AP: Photo by: Lance Murphy

 

     As widely reported, University of Memphis Tigers freshman and former McDonald's high school All-American Adonis Thomas announced he'll return for his sophomore season on Wednesday. Citing 'unfinished business' as his reason to give fans and supporters of the program one more season, Thomas felt it was better for him to stay.

"I stayed because it was the best decision for my family and for the team we have coming back," Thomas said. "I was wavering because of the injury that I had and the scouts didn't really get a chance to evaluate me the way that they needed to."

Not only did Thomas's ankle play a big part in him deciding to play another year, but scouts were saying that his stock wasn't as high because he wasn't exposed enough. Thomas noted that he was expected to be anywhere from a late first-round pick to not even being selected at all.

But also, Thomas also feels as though he let city of Memphis down because they didn't get to see him play a lot of games.

"I felt like I owe the city another year," Thomas said. "The injury just held me back this year. I wasn't able to be a part of the team. There's a lot of unfinished business left, and I hate losing."

One person who is relieved that Thomas is returning is head coach Josh Pastner. Pastner, who is entering his fourth year as Tigers head coach, knows how important this announcement is to the future of the team.

"We're extremely pleased and excited to have him back," Pastner said. "That just makes our team much better, but it will also do much for Adonis as he continues to grow as a young man and as a basketball player - a real positive for Memphis, there's no doubt about that."

Tigers' fans probably should get too comfortable seeing Thomas beyond next season. If his sophomore season goes the way he and everyone anticipates, then he could be the next two-and-done after next season, following the footsteps of sophomore Will Barton, who announced his intentions to turn pro last week.

"Going to the (NBA draft) lottery is something that every basketball player dreams about," Thomas said. "I want to do everything I can do to put myself in the position to go lottery next year."

Barton chooses NBA

Adam Douglas

 

     As expected, University of Memphis Tigers sophomore guard Will Barton declared for the 2012 NBA Draft, foregoing his final two years of eligibility. His announcement came just six days after the 8-seeded Tigers were bounced from the second round of the West Region of the NCAA Tournament by 9-seeded Saint Louis, 61-54.

"I told coach after the (Saint Louis) game that I was going to go ahead and decide," Barton said. "I want to make a decision and not play around with coach (Josh Pastner) emotions. He needs to know what the team will look like and he needs to know who to go and recruit."

Head coach josh Pastner was with Barton as he told notified everyone of his decision. Pastner says he was going to support Barton in whatever he chose to do.

"We talked about it throughout the week, he and I communicated," Pastner said. "We gathered all the information and relayed it to Will and I was going to back him no matter what - he has made a great decision and will have a long time career at the next level."

Barton said his decision wasn't based on where he felt he would get drafted; it was based on his dream ever since he was a kid. He also stated that his younger brother, Antonio, helped him make up his mind but it was tough.

"The only thing I ever wanted to do was to be an NBA player," Barton said. "It was never about where I would be drafted or anything like that. I always just wanted to shake David Stern's hand."

Barton knows that he still has a lot to prove to NBA scouts. He also knows that he left empty promises to the fans of the Memphis Tigers, but assures everyone that he will always be a Tigers long after his playing career is over.

"That's what really made my decision real tough for me," Barton said. "It was about leaving this program, my teammates and coaches. I hope the real Tigers fans understand that this decision was best for me and that this place is my second home. I will come back after I leave. I will never forget these past two years - they have been the best two years of my life."

Barton departs the basketball program leaving an indelible mark. He scored over 1,000 points in just two seasons. He almost averaged a double-double (18.9 points, 8.1 rebounds per game) from the guard position and was the Conference USA Player of the Year this past season. But what fans won't ever forget is how he failed to make good on bringing Memphis a national championship like he promised.

"I almost wanted to stay," Barton said. "Watching all those NCAA Tournament games made me want to come back next year, so I had to quit watching them. But my brother said, 'you're ready to go pro' and that's all I needed to hear."

Tigers end season on sour note

     It was a somber, bitter mood in the dejected locker room of the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team (26-9), as they ended their once-promising season in losing fashion in the second round of the NCAA tournament to the Saint Louis Bilikens (26-7), 61-54 in Columbus, Ohio.

The 8th-seeded Tigers were favored in the game, but routinely looked frustrated against the Billikens' defense, which came into the contest as one of the top scoring defenses in the country.

"Offensively, our shots weren't falling, said Adonis Thomas, freshman guard/forward for the Tigers. "We got frustrated, but we should have keep being positive and kept shooting the ball. We got down after a few of our shots weren't falling."

Thomas was one of the few Tigers that actually stepped up and talked after the game. Most of the players had towels over their heads, others openly refused to talk. But the one person everyone wanted to hear from, sophomore guard Will Barton because many think he will forego his final two years of eligibility and go pro, spoke and probably took the loss to the Billikens the hardest.

"Today was my fault man," Barton said tearfully. "I let the team down, the coaches down, the city of Memphis down. Nobody wanted this game more than I did - I probably wanted too much. I didn't rebound like I normally do, didn't score points like I usually do. I made bad decisions shooting dumb shots. I just don't know what to say right now - I'm never going to forget this loss."

The Tigers had SLU on the ropes, up by eight points midway through the second half. But just when one would think Memphis was going to make a run and open up the game like in the previous seven contests, Saint Louis head coach Rick Majerus called timely timeouts.

"When you only have four assists for the whole game, you're not going to win a lot of games," said Josh Pastner, head coach for the Tigers. "We reverted back to some of our old habits by not making the extra pass. You know my thing is the open man is the go-to man. But you've got to give credit to Saint Louis and Rick for winning the game."

Will Barton led the Tigers with 16 points. Senior Wesley Witherspoon finished his Tigers career just four points shy of becoming the 48th Tiger in school history to score 1,000 career points.

Stunned Tigers recieve No. 8 seed in NCAA Tournament

Leroy Watson Jr.

A somber Ferrakohn Hall stares in disbelief as Memphis is announced as a number 8 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament

 

 

 

     

The University of Memphis Tigers basketball team (26-8), winners of seven straight games, as well as being the regular season and Conference USA Championship, drew a No. 8 seed in the West Region in this year's 2012 NCAA tournament and will play the No. 9 seed St. Louis Billikens in Columbus, OH.

Tigers supporters, friends, family, players and coaches were all on hand with the media in Southeast Shelby County at the Clubhouse at Southwind to watch the unveiling of the tournament brackets. Though everyone knew Memphis was guaranteed to be in the tourney, thanks to winning the 2012 C-USA tournament, but no one expected what came next. The Tigers were surprised by--and disappointed with--the draw that they got.

"The chip on our shoulder just got a little bigger," said Will Barton, sophomore guard for the Tigers and reigning Conference USA Player of the Year. "When I first saw our name, I thought they were going to say somebody else. And then when they said Memphis and then the other team, I thought they made a mistake - it's just a slap in the face and that makes us just go out and play harder."

Barton's sentiments were not not exactly echoed by everyone on the team. C-USA's back-to-back tournament MVP, sophomore point guard Joe Jackson thinks Memphis should have nothing to worry about.

"I look at it as if we got a gift," Jackson said. "Who does Saint Louis have? Who does Michigan State (the No. 1 seed in the West Region) have? So the way I look at it, we got a gift."

The Tigers shouldn't overlook a Saint Louis team that went 25-7 in the Atlantic-10 Conference and is coached by former Utah head coach Rick Majerus. Rather they should focus on the task at hand and try to make a deep run in the tournament.

"No matter what seed you are, everybody's good," Pastner said. "I've watch Saint Louis a few times and they're a good team. Rick Majerus is one of the best coaches out there - they're well coached."

Memphis is set to play St. Louis on Friday in Columbus, Ohio at approximately 5:50 (CDT). The game will be televised on TBS.

 

 

 

Tigers complete Back-to-Back C-USA Championships

Adam Douglas

 

     An up-and-down, see-saw battle in the first six minutes of this contest, turn out to be a no-contest as The University of Memphis Tigers (26-8) blitzed the Marshall Thundering Herd (21-13) 83-57 for their second consecutive Conference USA Championship Tournament title.

Marshall hung in there with Memphis for the better part of the first half, but once the Tigers turned on the defense, the Thundering Herd was no match for the athletic Tigers. The last five Tigers opponents have fallen in the same fashion - a blowout.

"That was obviously a well-played game. Marshall is a very, very good team," said Josh Pastner, head coach of the Tigers. "They are very well coached, and they have a lot of good players. But, the thing for us is that we did some good things defensively. I think Marshall is an NCAA Tournament team. They deserve to be in the field as does Southern Miss - you can even make a case for UCF, too."

One thing is for sure - the Tigers will be dancing for the second straight time and with the C-USA's Tournament MVP, sophomore guard Joe Jackson, peaking and playing the best basketball of his young career right now. Jackson averaged 15.3 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals during the tournament run. He also led the Tigers with 19 points and six assists in the championship victory over Marshall.

"I honestly thought Tarik (Black) deserved the MVP," Jackson said. "He's been playing his butt off the last five or six games. It wasn't about winning the MVP for me, I just want to win games."

There were four other players in double figures to go along with Jackson; Will Barton, Wesley Witherspoon, Ferrakohn Hall and Chris Crawford all reached double figures. But it wasn't the offensive output that was nearly as impressive as the defense of Memphis. They held Marshall to just 35.5 percent (22-of-62) from the field for the game. And the Thundering Herd also shot poorly from the free throw line, going 8-of-18 (44.4percent).

"We ran into a team that is playing as well as any team in America," said Tom Herrion, head coach for Marshall. "That team might be the most improved team in the country in the last three or four weeks. We battled and I'm proud of my kids, but we didn't close the deal."

Up next for the Tigers is the NCAA tournament, and with the way the team has been rolling lately, head coach Josh Pastner believes his teams deserves a high seed.

"I believe right now, that there's no doubt in my mind that we should be a No. 5-seed in the tournament," Pastner said. "I think we've earned a right to be a five-seed - but whomever we play, we'll have to be ready."

 

 

 

Tigers shut down UTEP 65-47

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

The crowd was electric. The atmosphere was a typical University of Memphis game and the Tigers (24-8) held serve at home as hosts of the Conference USA Tournament as they beat the UTEP Miners 65-47. Three Tigers scored in double figures and they were again stingy on defense as they held the Miners to just 34.0 percent shooting (17-of-50) on the game.

“That was a good win, UTEP’s a really good team,” said Josh Pastner, head coach of the Tigers. “They made it a grind it out game and we grinded it out and found a way through the defense to get the win – it wasn’t pretty but we got the W.”

Sophomores Joe Jackson and big man Tarik Black led the Tiger attack. Jackson scored 17 points, dished out four assists and had five steals, while logging 35 minutes at the point. Black was impressive from the floor, collecting a double-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and playing a team-high 36 minutes. Sophomore guard Chris Crawford also cracked double-digits with 11 points, seven assists and five boards.

“I’ve been doing better with fouls by watching film and learning new ways to move my feet and positioning,” Black said. “The proof is in the pudding with how I’m playing – I’m getting better.”

Reigning C-USA Player of the Year Will Barton didn’t have his normal stellar game. Barton got into foul trouble early, causing him to sit. And with getting a technical foul after an altercation with UTEP’s Cedrick Lang, those earlier fouls kept him off the floor for a significant part of the second half. He finished with seven points, three rebounds and three assists.

But the Tigers stayed the course and managed to build on a 5-point halftime lead to eventually create a 14-point edge that UTEP would cut down to six. The resolve of the Tigers allowed them regain momentum and pull away late, thus winning by a double digit margin of 18.

“Will just had an off game today,” Pastner said. “It was just one of those things that maybe he was too ready and too pumped up to play. I don’t know if it had anything to do with winning the Player of the Year or what. But he just had an off day today.”

Freshman Adonis Thomas did see some action, but after being out for the better part of two months, he showed some rust. Thomas finished the game playing eight minutes and scoring two points. Sophomore Antonio Barton also saw playing time after missing the Tigers’ regular season finale at Tulsa due to a foot sprain. Antonio played just 11 minutes, scoring four points.

The Tigers return to action tomorrow to play the winner of the UAB/UCF game. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.

Tigers gear up for C-USA tourney

Head coach Josh Pasnter talks to media

about the upcoming Conference USA tournament

 

     Few were on hand to see the open to the public practice of the regular season Conference USA champs - The university of Memphis Tigers basketball team. Though they won't know who they're opponent is until late Wednesday evening, players and coaches seemed to be very loose heading into Thursday's quarterfinal game against the winner of UTEP/Houston.

"We've had good days of practice on Monday and Tuesday and I've really liked our approach," said Josh Pastner, head coach of the Tigers. No matter whom we play, whether its UTEP or Houston, we've got to be ready to play - we just got to keep it going."

There were a couple of reasons why the team seemed to be so happy and looked like they've got that swagger back during the early morning practice - freshman Adonis Thomas and sophomore Antonio Barton. Both were back at practice, and participating in full drills, after it seemed that both had suffered season ending injuries - Antonio's foot and Adonis's ankle. So players are happy to have the team at full strength again.

"Everything's good, I give all the glory to God," Thomas said. "I want to come back better than I was before the injury. I knew I was just getting to where I wanted to be when I went down. My conditioning is good, I can get up and down the court, but defensively I got to pick it up because this is a good defensive team and I got to contribute the way that they are."

The good news didn't stop there. Sophomore guard Will Barton won the conference's Player of the Year award, an award that was his for the taking. . The 6-foot-6 guard led the team and Conference USA in scoring with an 18.7 average is also ranked among the league leaders in rebounding, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, assists, steals and minutes played. He is the only guard ranked in the top-10 of C-USA's rebounding leaders.

He is one of nine players in Tigers history to reach the 1,000-point plateau in only two seasons. The Baltimore, Md., native has 10 double-doubles this season and is one of three players in the nation to average at least 16.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

"I just want to thank the league for making me player of the year," Barton said. "I also want to thank my coaches and teammates as well because it's really a team award even though I won it as an individual. My teammates helped me out by setting me up and getting me the ball, my coaches had faith to run plays for me - so I want to thank the whole Memphis staff, the program and league for making me player of the year."

Tigers cruise past Tulsa 78-66

The University of Memphis Tigers (23-8, 13-3 in Conference-USA) returned back to dominance of C-USA as they won the regular season title outright for the first time in three years this afternoon, cruising to a 78-66 victory over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in Tulsa, OK.

Tigers star sophomore guard Will Barton, whom many believe is this year's C-USA Player of the Year, backed up those sentiments with a career-high 30 points and nine rebounds as the Tigers turned a three point halftime lead into an 18-3 second half run and build a lead as big as 26 at one point.

Three Tigers scored in double figures. Along with Barton's efforts, sophomore point guard Joe Jackson added 16 points and five assists, while senior forward Wesley Witherspoon chipped in with a nice 13 points and nine rebounds - nearly missing a double-double. The 30-point barrage by Barton put him in elite company as only one of 47 Tigers to score at least 1,000-points in his Tigers career - and only the ninth to do so in two seasons.

At 23-8 and winners of 8 of their last 10, the Tigers await an NCAA tournament nod, but first is the C-USA tournament held this year in Memphis. The Tigers do have a first-round bye as the No.1 seed for the C-USA tourney, and will now turn their focus to the winner of the UTEP/Houston game on Wednesday.

The Tigers should return back to full strength next week during the tournament. Former McDonald's All-American guard and forward Adonis Thomas is expected to return from late-season ankle surgery that has kept him out the last 15 games. And Will Barton's younger brother, Antonio, will also return to the starting lineup after missing the last two games with a mild foot sprain.

Tipoff for the Tigers' quarterfinal game will be at 6:30 p.m. (CT).