Tigers all business in Maui

By Adam Douglas

Sports Editor

 

The University of Memphis Tigers basketball team was hard at work on Thursday preparing for their next opponent, Michigan, in the Maui Invitational. And while the players practiced, third-year head coach Josh Pastner was working to make sure Memphis doesn't have any letdowns on their three-day Hawaiian "business trip," as he called it.

"Obviously that was a good win the other day, but we've got to get a lot better," Pastner said, referring to the Tigers win against Belmont on Tuesday. "Going into Maui, we've got to clean some things up. There's no doubt about that, because we're playing a good Michigan team."

Pastner and the Tigers know there are a lot of things that need improvement. And with just one day remaining before their 9 a.m. flight, coaches and players alike are echoing the same serious sentiments about the three-game stretch.

"This is a business trip," Pastner said. "We're there to do a job. If you want to take a vacation, do it on your own time – I'm not in a vacation mood."

The Tigers know that they will be tested by a tough Michigan team that they feel will likely be better than its No. 17 ranking.

Beating the Wolverines is the first step in solidifying the Tigers' status as a top 10-team, said sophomore guard Will Barton.

"Winning the Maui Invitational will be real big for us," he said. "I think we will gain a lot of respect, because that's something that we're lacking as a team around the country."

Michigan will feature one of the best pound-for-pound guards in the country in Tim Hardaway, Jr. The 6-foot-6 sophomore combo guard is great at slashing and pulling up for jumpers.

But he does have weaknesses, some of which will be addressed defensively by sophomore Tigers guard Joe Jackson, who played with Hardaway on the Team USA Under-19 team over the summer.

"He can shoot it from anywhere; he's good at pulling up and can go left and right with the ball," Jackson said. "He plays like a prototypical two-guard in the NBA. His weakness is probably beating somebody off the dribble. He's not one of the quickest guards – but he's one of the biggest."

The Tigers and Wolverines open the Maui Invitational on Monday at 2 p.m. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.