Tigers face tough UCF ‘D’
Sports Editor
David Minkin
Freshman quarterback Taylor Reed avoids a Tulane defender and throws for a touchdown in last weekend’s Conference USA win against Tulane.
Coming off an impressive 33-17 win on the road at Tulane, The University of Memphis Tigers football team (2-6, 1-3 in Conference USA) will look to build on that momentum as they go on the road once again to take on the Golden Knights of UCF in Orlando, Fla. The Tigers were led by defensive and special teams units that caused turnovers and helped create points for a struggling offense that has yet to find their stride this season. But second-year head coach Larry Porter thinks his team is starting to come around.
"I am very proud of the young men that are in our locker room," said Porter at his weekly press luncheon. "It basically validated what we have been saying all along, and that is that we must continue to push and press and stay the course on the things that we fundamentally believe in. And what was the difference in that game as opposed to the others that we have had in the past three or four weeks, I thought the difference was the ability to really respond to negative momentum."
The Tigers had all three phases working in last week's game against Tulane – offense, defense and special teams. And if they want to come away with a much needed second win in a row, then all three must show up again against a tough C-USA opponent in Central Florida. The Golden Knights boast one of the top defenses in the country, allowing just 16.3 points against per game (12th), a rushing attack that averages 171 yards per game (48th) and a passing offense that is ranked 51st with an average of 237.3.
"UCF is in an unfamiliar position in terms of what they have experienced in the past in being 3-4, losing the last two games," Porter said. "You still see a very quality team. Defensively, they are ranked top five in the country in total defense. They try to control the line of scrimmage, and the linebackers are very active and very productive.
Freshman quarterback Taylor Reed, who was 14-for-26 for 213 yards and two touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, will be welcoming back junior wide receiver Marcus Rucker who has been out the last few weeks due to injuries. Rucker's playing time, though, will probably be limited. So Reed and the Tigers will count on senior Tanner Rehrer and a host of young receivers.
"The thing about our team this year is we're family," Rehrer said. "We fight like family. We eat like family. We're just always trying to be relentless out there and just keep on coming."
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Tigers face tough UCF ‘D’
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
With talent aplenty, Tigers bench goes deep
Sports Editor
David Minkin
The U of M men’s basketball team before tipoff of a game last season. The team will benefit from a more well-rounded roster this season.
This year's University of Memphis men's basketball team, unlike the past two seasons, expects to be good.
Not only do they boast some of the best talent in the country with a few former McDonald's High School All-Americans, but they bring a No.9 ranking into the season. And one of the biggest reasons is their depth. But third-year head coach Josh Pastner said it's still tough to evaluate this year's team, which was the third youngest in the country last year.
"Guys are competing, guys are getting after it, but it's hard to judge right now because we're beating up each other," he said. "I think we look good, but we're only playing ourselves."
Though the season won't officially start until Nov. 15 when the Tigers open up against Belmont, players are very eager to play against Lemoyne-Owen College next Wednesday in an exhibition match. The Tigers will no doubt have a deep roster this season, but Pastner says he doesn't yet know how his starting five will look once it takes the floor in a real game. What he does know is how deep they will be. So picking starters will be something of a puzzle for him and his staff.
"We talked about it a little bit today," he said. "Just out of fairness, I want to give our guys a little more time. But the way our talent is, we're not going to be a five-starting team – those are just the facts."
So with this team being deep as it is, there shouldn't be a problem when someone gets into foul trouble. Last year's undersized team struggled to rebound the ball effectively, but Pastner said he will ensure such Tigers' deficiencies are addressed this season.
"Every day we keep a plus-minus chart on everything the guys do," he said. "Every day in practice, the two stats I'm talking about are defensive and offensive rebounding, along with assists-to-turnover ratio. I don't talk about nothing else."
One of the main cogs in the Tiger offense will be sophomore Joe Jackson, who said that though he's more than ready for the responsibility, his teammates will be ready to step up as well.
"Our team is so loaded that it's like playing another team in practice," he said. "We have a lot of weapons. Adonis (Thomas) can post guys, Will (Barton) can slash and shoot, Chris (Crawford) can pass and shoot and Wesley can handle the ball just as good as me, so if we play the right way, we can win easy."
Lady Tigers climb to No. 4 in poll
Sports Editor
U of M media relations
The University of Memphis women’s soccer team celebrates after scoring a goal during a match last week.
The Lady Tigers are ranked No. 4 in this week's Soccer America poll, marking the team's second straight week as one of the top five teams in the country. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll ranked The U of M No. 8 in its 10th poll of the season.
"We try not to get caught up in the rankings," said head coach Brooks Monaghan. "But as a coach, it makes you feel proud to take a look at where this program has come from where it was."
Memphis has been ranked in the top 10 in both the NSCAA and Soccer America polls for six straight weeks. With the best win percentage (.972) among all NCAA Division 1 Women's Soccer teams, Memphis (17-0-1) continues to rewrite the record books with this week's program-best rankings in the national polls. Despite not landing atop the polls, the Lady Tigers show no signs of slowing down in their quest for an unbeaten season.
"I don't think we get caught up in not being No.1," Monaghan said. "I know those other teams that are ahead of us are undefeated too, but I don't think it affects us one bit."
Memphis closes its regular season schedule at the University of Alabama-Birmingham on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Postseason play begins on Nov. 2 with the Conference USA Tournament hosted at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Tigers drown Green Wave 33-17
Tigers pull ahead early in New Orleans, thwart Tulane’s second-half comeback attempt to snap 16-game
Sports Editor
David Minkin
Freshman cornerback Bobby McCain intercepts a pass in the third quarter before returning it 79 yards for a touchdown.
Entering last Saturday's game against Tulane, The University of Memphis Tigers football team had lost 23 of their last 25 games dating back to the 2009 season. They also owned a dubious 16-game Conference USA losing streak, with four of those losses suffered this season. But the Tigers (2-6, 1-3 in C-USA) put those streaks to an end as they defeated the Tulane University Green Wave 33-17 in New Orleans.
"I would like to compliment our team for coming out and staying focused and playing a 60-minute game," said head coach Larry Porter. "We were able to counterpunch and fight off some negative momentum, which gave this team some energy and more passion to fight through for 60 minutes."
That "negative momentum" came after halftime, when Tulane captured the lead midway through the second half against a Tiger defense that controlled the tempo from the outset. Down 14-10 at the break, Tulane took the second-half kickoff and drove 80 yards on only six plays to regain the lead, 17-14. Tulane quarterback Ryan Griffin was perfect on the drive, going 4-of-4 on passing for 77 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown strike to Wilson Van Hooser.
The turning point of the game happened when Tigers cornerback Bobby McCain intercepted Griffin on Tulane's next possession, returning the ball 79 yards for a touchdown. A blocked extra point left the Tigers with a 20-17 lead.
After blocking a Tulane punt attempt the next possession, Tigers quarterback Taylor Reed gave Memphis a 26-17 lead after scoring on a one-yard touchdown. Kicker Paulo Henriques missed the extra point attempt.
Redshirt senior Billy Foster would add to the lead by scampering 22 yards for another touchdown, putting the Tigers up 33-17 late in the fourth quarter and dashing any hopes for a comeback by Tulane.
"It feels good to get a ‘w' on the road, and to top it off this was a conference game," said senior linebacker Terrance Thomas, who had a team-leading 14 tackles in the game. "Practice will be more fun this week, the enthusiasm will be there and everyone will come out with the will to practice."
The Tigers' performance, though leading to a win, was still flawed.
Tulane gained more total yards than The U of M (459-289), had more first downs (26-15) and a greater time of possession (32:46 to 27:14). Despite those shortcomings, some players still had high hopes for the rest of the season.
"Truth be told, if we win out, we can still go to a bowl game," said sophomore tight end Justin Henderson.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Tigers will debut ranked No. 9 in coaches’ poll
Sports Editor
The University of Memphis men's basketball team is ranked No. 9 in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll released on Thursday. The Tigers return all players, except graduating senior forward Will Coleman, from last year's squad that finished 25-10 on the season with a berth into the NCAA tournament and losing to Arizona in the second round.
The Tigers will boast two players on the John R. Wooden Award pre-season watch list in sophomores Will Barton and Joe Jackson. Sophomore forward Tarik Black also joins Barton and Jackson on the pre-season All-Conference USA team.
North Carolina was selected No. 1 in the poll, receiving 30 of 31 first-place votes. Kentucky, which received the other first-place vote, is ranked No. 2. Ohio State, Connecticut and Syracuse round out the top 5. Vanderbilt, which went 23-11 last season, is ranked No. 7.
As it stands right now, the Tigers will face three opponents on their schedule that are ranked in the Top-25 in Michigan (18), Louisville (8) and Xavier (15).
Michigan, which Memphis will face in its championship-round opener of the Maui Invitational on Nov. 21, opens the season at No. 18. If the Tigers advance deep in the tourney, they could face more opponents ranked in the Top-25 this season.
Memphis will begin their season against Belmont on Nov. 15th at 11 a.m. as a part of ESPN's 24-hour college hoops tipoff marathon.
Tigers on parade
Sports Editor
The talent, glitz and glamour of Memphis Madness lured a capacity crowd to FedExForum on Friday night as The University of Memphis Tigers basketball team officially kicked off its 2011-2012 season. Doors opened for the free event at 5:30 p.m., and with the anticipation of seeing Rick Ross and this season's Tigers basketball team, some attendees were waiting in line as early as 1:30 p.m.
"First of all, you've got to give all the credit to the fans for coming out and supporting their team," said Josh Pastner, men's basketball head coach. "The fans are the best in the country and this has become an event."
The event that Pastner was referring to was the fact that the main act, Rick Ross, had gotten sick on his plane and had to be rushed to the hospital in Birmingham, Ala. It was said that the rapper had two seizures and couldn't make the trip. But in a matter of minutes, Pastner was able to bring in another rapper to replace Ross, Yo Gotti.
"My prayers go out to Rick Ross," Pastner said. "But only in Memphis can you replace an ‘A-list' guy with another ‘A-list guy.' He was plan B, and if he said no, plan C was to try to see where Justin Timberlake was at and what he was doing, or Drumma Boy, or could we get Lil Wayne in here – but we had to get someone. And Yo Gotti did us an unbelievable favor because he loves Memphis so much."
The festivities started with the women's team introductions and a short scrimmage. After hearing from women's head coach Melissa McFerrin and pre-season Conference USA Player of the Year Brittany Carter, the men took center stage. They opened with intros and a spectacular pyrotechnics display, followed by three-point and dunk contests and ending with a scrimmage.
Sophomore guard Antonio Barton won the three-point contest. Junior D.J. Stephens won the dunk contest, judged by celebrity judges Penny Hardaway, Thaddeus Young, Drumma Boy, Andre Iguodala, Elliott Williams and Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph.
But his dunks didn't impress everyone.
"I really won the dunk contest again (this year) because D.J. wasn't even in the dunk contest," said Will Barton, sophomore guard. "At first he wasn't supposed to do nothing. Then he was supposed to do just one dunk and sit down. So technically I won because you can't win something that you're not in."
The Tigers began full practice on Sunday. They host Lemoyne-Owen in their season-opener on Nov. 2.
Pirates sink Tigers with big 2nd half
Football team plunges to 1-6 record
Sports Editor
Through three quarters, the University of Memphis football team put up a good fight against East Carolina University. It wasn't enough, as the Tigers (1-6, 0-3 in Conference USA) eventually folded to the Pirates, 35-17, The U of M's 17th loss in its last 19 games.
Though the Tigers played well in the first half with senior quarterback and Wake Forest transfer Skylar Jones running the offense, the Pirates' offensive attack overwhelmed Memphis' defense in the second half. ECU carved up the Tigers defense for more than 400 yards of total offense.
"I want to thank ECU for playing a 60-minute game," said Tigers head coach Larry Porter. "We didn't play a full ball game and as a result in the second half, they pulled away from us."
The Tigers led 10-7 at the half, though both teams had yet to find their stride offensively.
With a 54-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Johnson taken away after review in the first half, the Tigers were forced to settle for a field goal from junior Paulo Henriques. The would-be touchdown was a momentum-killer for the Tigers.
"Certainly you want to have seven points instead of three," Porter said. "But by it being so early in the game, you never want to take points off the board."
Jones completed 10 of 18 passes for 124 yards and threw two interceptions. He started in place of freshman Taylor Reed, who was nursing a sore back, and sophomore Andy Summerlin, who was out with an ankle injury. Though a third-string quarterback, Jones said that as the most experienced of the trio, he has to play better.
"I got a little greedy out there in throwing those interceptions," he said. "I just need to be (better) in my decision-making. Mistakes are going to happen; you just have to bounce back. Hopefully I showed coach that I am capable of making explosive plays."
Though Jones did look like he had the potential to lead the Tigers the rest of the season, if need be, Porter wasted no time in saying who would be the starter this weekend against Tulane University in New Orleans.
"Taylor (Reed) is our starting quarterback," he said. "Certainly Skylar opened our eyes, and we'll see what we can do with him as we go forward."