2010-2011 College Basketball Predictions: Memphis
November 9, 2010
Last season was definitely a transition year for the Memphis Tigers Men’s basketball team. Under the guidance of first-year University of Memphis head coach Josh Pastner, the Tigers scrambled to a 24-10 record and fell just shy of being invited to the NCAA Tournament, instead ending up in the NIT tournament to close out the year.
While they may have struggled to put up wins last year, they definitely are moving forward instead of going backwards, as they landed one of the top recruiting classes in the NCAA for this year. With Will Barton, Joe Jackson, and Chris Crawford are all talented players joining Memphis, they deservedly earned a spot in the AP’s preseason poll, ranking 19th overall in the nation.
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After their season-ending loss against Ole Miss in the NIT last season, Will Coleman guaranteed a national title this season for the University of Memphis. While that might be a pretty big stretch, there are plenty of reasons why Memphis should have some high expectations heading into the this year.
Memphis only has four games this year against programs that are presently ranked in the Top 25. If they want any hope at being granted a high seed in the NCAA Tournament in March, Memphis will have to win at least three of those four contests. Josh Pastner showed promise of becoming a great head coach last year, and it seems likely he will be even better in his second season with the team.
Front Court: Senior Will Coleman is one of two starters from last season’s team that is returning, and he will be very important to the Tigers’ success this season. After posting 7.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest last season, Coleman will have to improve if he is going to come through on his national championship prediction. If he can match or improve upon his 53.9% field goal percentage that he posted last season, he should be able to put up 12-15 points per contest this season if he sees enough minutes.
Wesley Witherspoon, the team’s other returning starter, will also likely see most of his time on the court in the front court. He will be another major key to how far this team goes this year. Joining Coleman and Witherspoon in the front court will be freshmen Tarik Black and Hippolyte Tsafack, along with junior Angel Garcia, who missed a majority of last year with a torn right ACL, but has recovered and is ready to start the new year.
Back Court: The Tigers back court is mostly filled with younger players, headlined by freshman WIll Barton, who will likely be one of the best players on the Memphis roster this season. Barton is the top-ranked shooting guard in the incoming freshman class according to ESPN’s rankings. He is an excellent shooter, and should be one of Memphis’ top-scorers this season.
Memphis native Joe Jackson should another solid contributor to the team, and will likely be Memphis’ starting point guard. He posted 32.3 points per game as senior in high school, and his scoring talents should fit nicely into Memphis’ offensive scheme.
Chris Crawford will also have high expectations in his first season with the Tigers, as Rivals.com has him ranked as the 16th best shooting guard in the country. After averaging a district best 19.7 points per game in his senior season at Sheffield High School, Crawford should be another premiere scorer for Memphis. If Jelan Kendrick can return from his indefinite suspension and deliver a decent contribution to the team, Memphis could have one of the best back courts in the nation.
Stephen’s Prediction-1st place in Conference USA: Memphis has all of the parts to run through a fairly down conference, with their only major hiccups coming in the four games they take on rated opponents. Away games at No. 7 Kansas and No. 12 Gonzaga are definitely the most difficult games on their schedule, and if they can somehow win those on the road, they could finish the year with only a couple of losses.
Their game at UTEP on Feb. 26 will also be a game to circle, as the Miners went 15-1 in C-USA last year and were the only team to finish ahead of the Tigers in the standings. The Tigers should unquestionably make an appearance in the NCAA tournament in March, and with such a talented group of young players, should grab a fairly decent seed.
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