July 13, 2004

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2004-05 Outlook
A Conversation With Coach Calipari

What's the Memphis Tiger basketball outlook for 2004-05?
I'm worried that we finally have a team full of players. You now have other teams around the country going through what we were going through the past three years, with players either not coming or leaving early. We had four players do that, and if those four were playing for us, we'd be the consensus No. 1 team in the country right now. We'd be way beyond No. 1.

But, that's not what is happening in college basketball. Now, other programs that have lost kids after a year or have kids that skip to the NBA, they're having to deal with it like we did.

So, we now have a full team, but I call them a collection of players. Our job is to get them to place their own personal agendas on the shelf, bring them together and make them a great team. We've been able to formulate great teams here the last four years. I think every team we had became a good team by the end of the year.

The challenge is to mold this collection of players into a team, but we're doing it this year with three freshmen and a junior college transfer possibly getting good minutes. One or two newcomers may even start. You also have a sophomore and two juniors playing integral roles. You're looking at a young team, but one that is talented.

I would imagine that we would be ranked anywhere between No. 10 and No. 20 in the preseason polls. Early on, we may not be there, but as the season rolls on, this could be one of those teams that could make a run.

Give us a team breakdown for 2004-05.
We will have Darius, Anthony, Jeremy, Tank, Clyde and maybe even Rodney in the backcourt. At the three spot, Rodney, Waki, and Sean will see time, while at the four, we will have Sean and Waki. If we wanted to go bigger, we could play Richard or Arthur at the four. In the middle, we have Richard, Duane, Kareem and Arthur, and we also have Almamy and Simplice, who could also play the four.

We're deep up front with size, and yet we're still athletic. The only thing is that we're not going to know how much we will miss Antonio Burks until we get started. He was a tremendous leader and impact player. He made everyone around him better.

We have guys that are playing for themselves in their minds, and our coaching staff has to teach them to how to make others around them better while also improving their game. That's the challenge of coaching.

With the team's depth up front, will the 2004-05 Tigers have a post presence similar to when Chris Massie was here?
It was a unique situation with Chris Massie. Marcus Camby, who I coached at UMass, was a better shot blocker, better defender and better athlete, but he wasn't the scorer inside that Chris was.

None of our frontcourt newcomers are capable of Chris Massie numbers. But, Richard Dorsey is tremendous. He is close to 260 pounds and could play at 270. He is a (Detroit Pistons) Ben Wallace type of player. He jumps 40 inches, is active around the basket and wants to be good.

Almamy has been out because of injuries, but this is his opportunity. Simplice can back guys up. He is 6-9, but he needs to gain weight and become a player that just bulldozes people. Everybody knows what Arthur can do. He's helped us more and more each year. He has been limited because of his knees and other injuries. Hopefully, we'll see Duane step it up in his final year. I'd like to see him add some weight and show he can play through the pain and establish himself. We also have Kareem Cooper, who at 7-feet, is our tallest post player.

With Antonio Burks gone, who takes on the leadership role(s) for this team?
Our seniors, Sean and Rodney all could lead. When you lead, you are serving everyone else. You are not leading so they serve you. It's hard, especially if your agenda is you. If you have that agenda, you can never lead. No one will follow if they know the leader is leading for himself. So, we've got to work on that.

Players like Darius and Richard have to learn to follow before they can become leaders. They have to know what it takes to be a great teammate before they can lead. But, before it's all said and done, they could lead.

Right now, this team is influx. We have several new players coming in, some established guys, athletic players, a deeper frontcourt and a full team of 12-13 players and a couple of walk-ons. Those are things we just haven't had since we've been here.

Give us what you have on the 2004-05 schedule.
The conference schedule - which is great for our fans - has Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette, DePaul, Southern Miss, TCU, East Carolina and Tulane at home. That's a great home league schedule. But, we have to go on the road at UAB, USF, Charlotte, Saint Louis, Louisville and Southern Miss, where we always struggle.

As for the non-conference schedule, I'll put it up against any in the country. We have Providence, which will be a top-15 team, and Mississippi, an SEC team that will have an RPI no lower than 60, at home. We have Purdue and either Texas or Temple on the road. We will also face Maryland, a top-five team, in Springfield, Mass., and either Oklahoma State or Pittsburgh - both could be top five - in the Jimmy V Classic. We also have East Tennessee, a top-25 team; Austin Peay, a postseason team the last two years; Middle Tennessee and Arkansas State, both teams that are close to receiving postseason bids; and Louisiana Tech on the schedule.

You are entering your fifth year in 2004-05. Is this program where you envisioned it being?
I feel good about where we are. I feel good about what we are doing academically and on the campus. When you look at a program and getting it in order, you first look at academics. All three of our rising seniors - Arthur Barclay, Duane Erwin and Anthony Rice - are on line to graduate.

Next are the facilities. We are re-working the Finch Center, our practice facility. We had some water damage a couple of months ago, but it turned out to be a good thing since now we will have the opportunity to remodel some areas. After the remodeling, our practice facility will be one of the top five in the country. We are also moving into a new arena, the FedExForum, this year. The locker room at the FedExForum will be as nice as any in the country on the collegiate level, and would probably be in the top five in the NBA. It is 3,500 square feet and will include a locker room, lounge, video room and offices. We've also been around seventh or eighth in the nation in average attendance the past four years.

We're on national television numerous times throughout the year. Five or six years ago, Memphis averaged only four national television appearances per season. The last three years, we averaged nearly 13 national television appearances per season, in addition to regional and local television games. This year, we may be on national television 15 or 16 times.

I also feel good about our recruiting. We've been in the top 10 in recruiting every year since we've been here. Kids want to come here and play for this staff. Kids know our facilities and want to play in Memphis.

All those things - graduating your kids, being on national television, ranked in the top 25, winning games, ranked in the top 10 in attendance and recruiting - show we are moving in the right direction. We've got the house in order right now. Going into year five, we're where we need to be.

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Preview/Review Notes

Tiger Tidbits
* Sean Banks has been invited to trials for Team USA's World Championship for Young Men in mid-July.
* The Tigers have a 2-2 record when opening a new home arena since 1929. Memphis won its new home openers in Memorial Gym (1929-51) and Mid-South Coliseum (1964-91), and dropped its first games in the Field House (1951-64) and The Pyramid (1991-2004).
* Anthony Rice needs 200 points to become the 39th 1,000-point scorer in Tiger history.
* The 2004-05 season is the 20th anniversary of the Tigers' 1984-85 squad that advanced to the NCAA Final Four in Lexington, Ky.
* Duane Erwin needs 16 blocked shots to move into the top 10 on the Memphis career blocked shots chart.
* SLAM magazine loves the Tigers. Darius Washington Jr., and Waki Williams have already been featured in SLAM, and Sean Banks and Rodney Carney will be in SLAM later this summer.

Tigers Changing Home Dens
The 2004-05 Tigers will move down the Memphis riverfront from its 13-year home in The Pyramid - located on the north side of downtown - to their new residence, the FedExForum, which is located behind Beale Street on the downtown's south side. Memphis will play all of its 2004-05 home contests in the new arena, and the 2005 Conference USA Tournament (Mar. 9-12, 2005) will be held there as well. The listed capacity for basketball is 18,400.

The FedExForum, which will also be the home for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, will house a state-of-the-art locker room for the Tigers. In addition to the players' locker room, the Memphis area will also have coaches' locker rooms, training room, players' lounge and a video room.

The Tigers played in The Pyramid from the 1991-92 season through last year and posted a record of 173-42 (.805 winning percentage). Memphis went undefeated at The Pyramid in 2003-04 with a 15-0 mark.

Streaking Tigers, Part I
Memphis may be moving to a new homecourt, but it will take a 21-game homecourt win streak - that began at The Pyramid in 2002-03 - to the FedExForum. The Tigers' current homecourt win streak is the fourth-longest in the nation entering 2004-05. Stephen F. Austin enters next season with the country's longest homecourt win streak at 30, followed by Austin Peay (29) and Wisconsin (28).

Tigers Are Top Recruiters
For the second time in its four-plus seasons at Memphis, the John Calipari staff has put together the nation's top recruiting class. The 2004 class was rated as the nation's best by Hoop Scoop magazine. Rounding out the top five were Kentucky, Lamar, Oklahoma State and Florida. Other Conference USA schools ranked in the top 40 were Louisville (No. 9), Cincinnati (No. 17) and Marquette (No. 33).

Memphis' 2001 class was also ranked No. 1, while the Tigers' other two classes were rated in the top 10.

In other recruiting-related items, Tiger assistant Tony Barbee was named one of the nation's top 25 recruiters by Rivals.com, while Barbee and Derek Kellogg were rated among the nation's top 50 assistant coaches by Hoop Scoop.

Five In A Row In '05?
That's what the Tigers are hoping for. In the 2004-05 season, Memphis will attempt to post double-digit league wins for the fifth-consecutive year. The Tigers are the only C-USA program to have double-digit victories the last four seasons. Memphis had 10 wins in 2000-01, 12 in 2001-02, 13 in 2002-03 and 12 in 2003-04. The 47 league victories since 2000-01 - head coach John Calipari's first season in Memphis - are the most by any Conference USA team over the last four campaigns.

Streaking Tigers, Part II
For the fourth-straight year under head coach John Calipari, the Tigers put together a lengthy winning streak. In 2003-04, Memphis won 11 straight in conference play. The streak began on Jan. 17 with a 91-69 win over Charlotte and continued through Feb. 24 with a 74-56 victory over Southern Miss. Included in that win streak were wins over Louisville, Marquette, UAB and Saint Louis.

The 11-game win streak was tied for the sixth longest in Tiger basketball history, and was also tied for the 21st longest in the nation in 2003-04.

Under Calipari, Memphis has compiled three of the top-10 longest wins streaks (single season) in Tiger history. In addition to last year's run, Calipari's 2002-03 squad put together a 12-game win streak, which is tied for fourth-longest in history. The 2001-02 Tigers won 10 straight, which is tied for ninth. In Calipari's first season in 2000-01, the Tigers put together an eight-game win streak.

Calipari Looking For 100
Head coach John Calipari enters the 2004-05 season with 93 victories (93-39 record) at Memphis, needing only seven to reach the 100-win milestone as the Tiger mentor. Calipari has averaged 23 wins in his first four seasons, and is the only head coach in Memphis basketball history to record 20 or more victories in each of his first four years. Calipari is also the only head coach in Tiger hoops history to lead the program to four postseason appearances in each of his first four seasons.

Tigers Ranked In Top 10 In Attendance In 2003-04
For the fourth-consecutive year, Memphis finished the season ranked among the nation's top 10 in attendance, according to figures released by the NCAA office. The Tigers, ranked 10th in the nation in paid attendance, had 15 home games in 2003-04 and attracted a total of 231,481 fans (15,432 per game) during their final season at The Pyramid. Kentucky led the nation in paid attendance, averaging 22,710 fans per game in 2003-04.

Since head coach John Calipari took over in 2000-01, the Tigers have been ranked among the nation's top 10 in attendance each year. The 2001 squad averaged 17,110 to rank sixth nationally, while the 2002 team averaged 16,225 to rank 10th. Last year (2003), Memphis ranked seventh with an average of 16,643 per contest.

Record-Setting Rice
Senior Anthony Rice will begin his final collegiate campaign with his sights on the Memphis career three-pointers made record. The 6-foot-4 guard enters 2004-05 with 160 treys, which is No. 2 on the Tiger career chart. Rice needs only four to take over the top spot from Marcus Moody (1998-2001), who hit 163 treys. The Atlanta, Ga., native is also ranked among the Tiger career leaders in three-point attempts (No. 2; 435) and three-point percentage (No. 5; 36.8 percent). Junior Rodney Carney is also on the career three-pointer made list at No. 8 with 109 treys.