Tom “Whatever It Takes” Bradbury

[PointGuard 70]

Season 3, Games 21 thru 24

 

Game #21 @ Cincinnati: In our 2nd away game of the week, we took one of the 2nd place teams in the conference. Again we came out and played a strong 1st half, taking a 35-24 advantage into the locker room. And again we came out onto the floor in the 2nd half and simply stood around when Cincinnati had the ball, letting them score at will and drop 45 points on us in the 2nd half. They picked away at our lead and eventually tied us. Then they nimbly catapulted over us and planted a 69-63 loss on us. SG Lamont Holiday scored 12 and PF Ruben Rohwer added 11. C Joey Brown grabbed 11 rebounds, but uncharacteristically hit just 3 of 13 from the field and scored only 8 points. In the last 2 games, the guys seem to be playing as if in a daze in the 2nd halves. PF Lee Bain scored 10 and grabbed 11 boards for Cincinnati. Our 2nd straight loss dropped us into the 3 way tie for 1st place with Cincinnati and Connecticut. Gonna be some hard practices this coming week. (18-3, 10-2, 1st place tie, Ranked #3, RPI: 8)

Award: C Joey Brown was named the AAC’s Player of the Week on the basis of his strong game against Temple.

Game #22, Houston: We jumped out with the lead at the outset of this game and by the end of the first half we led 39-24. Our 2nd half play was again less than stellar although we held on for a 74-61 win. C Joey Brown scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds. PF Ruben Rohwer, SF Johnnie Campbell, and SG Lamont Holiday scored 13, 12, and 10 points respectively. (19-3, 11-2, 1st place tie)

Game #23, South Florida: Even though South Florida has been rather weak this season, there still was a gnawing fear that we had lost our edge while playing on the road. And we struggled offensively in the first half. Although the score was tight the entire half, we came away with a 26-22 lead at the break. In the 2nd half, our defense remained solid and our offense came to life a bit. We steadily extended our lead and won easily 64-48. C Joey Brown only scored 10 points but pulled down 16 boards and had 4 steals. PF Howie Tyler woke up from a scoring drought to knock down 15 points. PF Ruben Rohwer scored 12 and reserve Trey Frazier added 10. (20-3, 12-2, 1st place tie, Ranked #5, RPI: 7)

Note: C Joey Brown was selected as a semifinalist for the Norton Award.

Game #24, Connecticut: This game pitted the two teams presently tied for the conference lead so the winner would take sole possession of first place. We played lock-down defense in the first half and we took the lead at the onset and gradually expanded it. At the half, we were up 34-23. In the 2nd half, we maintained our margin and even increased it slightly,beating the Huskies to the tune of 71-56. It was a two-man show for us with C Joey Brown scoring 26 points and pulling down 15 rebounds while PF Ruben Rohwer scored 25 points and grabbed 11 boards. So those two players scored 51 of our 71 points and had 26 of our 44 rebounds. (21-3, 13-2, 1st place)

[PointGuard 70]

Season 3, Games 25 thru 27

 

Game #25 @ Central Florida: We smoked Central Florida in the first half and came away with a 36-15 halftime lead. Some of our margin was shaved off during the 2nd half, but we were never in danger and came away with a 68-55 victory. C Joey Brown finished off his rock-star week by scoring 28 points and picking off 14 rebounds while getting 4 steals. Ruben Rohwer scored 12 points and had 6 rebounds and 6 assists plus 3 steals. (22-3, 13-2, 1st place, Ranked #5, RPI: 6)

Awards: C Joey Brown was selected as the AAC Player of the Week and PF Ruben Rohwer won the AAC Freshman of the Week award.

Game #26, SMU: We were at the top of our game defensively, taking a 29-19 halftime lead and then putting the Mustangs away 64-42. We held their shooting to 39% and forced them to turn the ball over 21 times. We played our bench extensively in this game. SG Lamont Holiday led our scoring with 17 points. C Joey Brown scored just 10 points but played only 17 minutes. PF Terry Jones subbing extensively for Ruben Rohwer, scored 10 points. (23-3, 14-2, 1st place)

Game #27 @ Tulsa: We closed out the regular season on the road. The first half was all ours and we pulled away to a 35-19 halftime advantage. We let up in the 2nd half and Tulsa dropped in 51 points and pulled extremely close. We barely held them off for a narrow 74-70 victory. PF Ruben Rohwer scored 23 points plus grabbed 9 rebounds. PG Howie Tyler scored 10 and had 4 steals. (24-3, 15-2, 1st place, Ranked #5 in the polls, RPI: 6)

Injury: C Joey Brown sustained a broken nose, thus dealing us a severe challenge as we go into the post-season tournaments. Trying to replace his 18.6 ppg and 10.9 rpg is not possible.

Note: Counteracting the bad news about his injury, C Joey Brown has been named a finalist for the Norton Award.

[PointGuard 70]

Underclassmen declaring for the NBA Draft

 

We got the bad news that freshman PF Ruben Rohwer has declared for the draft. It’s not surprising since he came to us as a very highly rated player and developed strongly in the 2nd half of the season. 

Fortunately no one else, in particular C Joey Brown, declared for the draft. Even though Brown is a finalist for the Norton Award, it’s unlikely he will win it this year. Therefor he may be coming back so he will have a crack at it as a junior next season.

[PointGuard 70]

American Athletic Conference Tournament

 

Game #28, Tulsa: Karim Towns started at center in place of injured Joey Brown. The first half was sharply contested, but we moved away late in the half and were up 38-31 at the break. We weren’t able to pull away, but played steadily in the 2nd half and came away with a 75-64 victory. SG Lamont Holiday stepped up with an impressive game, scoring 26 points. PF Ruben Rohwer and C Karim Towns both scored 11 points and PF Terry Jones came off the bench to add 12 points and haul down 9 rebounds. For Tulsa, SF Terrence Lee drilled the basket for 27 points. (25-3)

Injury: PF Adrian Bains broke his wrist and will be out until the beginning of next season.

Game #29, Temple: We put together a strong first half and dominated the Owls by a score of 47-29 at the intermission. We kept them at bay the rest of the way and won convincingly 77-63. C Karim Towns played a great game, scoring 20 points and pulling down 8 boards. SG Lamont Holiday hit for 15 points and three players (SF Johnnie Campbell, PG Howie Tyler, and reserve guard Trey Frazier) each scored 10 points. PF Ruben Rohwer was held scoreless. After the game, the media speculated that he had given up on the team since he's declared for the draft. (26-3)

Game #30, Connecticut: Fittingly the championship came down to the two best teams. We won both previous games against the Huskies, but that was with Joey Brown anchoring the team. We carried on our dominance by squelching Connecticut in the first half to take a 41-22 lead at the half. We then continued to trounce them in the 2nd half and won big, 84-54 to take the American Athletic Conference Championship. PF Ruben Rohwer came back from his poor last game to score 13 points and grab 9 rebounds. C Karim Towns was out top scorer with 16 points. PG Howie Tyler tossed in 14 points and SF Johnnie Campbell added 13. (27-3, Ranked #5, RPI: 6)

[PointGuard 70]

Stats and Top 10

 

Memphis Tigers Player Stats for 2017-2018 season:



Memphis Tigers Team Stats for 2017-2018 season:

PPG: 74.2 (4th in nation); Opponents: 59.5
RPG: 34.3 (5th in nation); Opponents: 27.5
APG: 14.7 (13th in nation); Opponents: 12.2
BPG: 2.8 (13th in nation); Opponents: 2.3
SPG: 8.3 (133rd in nation); Opponents: 6.3
FG%: 44.8% (129th in nation); Opponents: 38.2%
3P%: 41.7% (13th in nation); Opponents: 31.6%
FT%: 68.7% (308th in nation); Opponents: 74.0%
TOPG: 12.5 (17th in nation); Opponents: 16.9

Top 10 Teams in Media Poll at end of 2017-2018 season:

[PointGuard 70]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bloomington 

PG are u showing off?  

Starting to think cheating is worth it if you can be in the hunt for the national title year after year with no consequences....thus far 

[The above quote copied from Wolverine Studios forum]

 

 

Yes, I'm bribing as many players as I can to see if (and when) I will got caught. While other teams have been put on probation, the game (errr, I mean the NCAA) has turned a blind eye toward Memphis.

If I could, I'd make my bribe calls from the desk phone of the president of Wolverine Studios (errr, I mean the NCAA). 

[PointGuard 70]

Post Season Tournament Selections

 

NCAA Selection Show:

#1 Seeds: Oregon, Kentucky, Indiana, UCLA

Memphis is the #2 seed in the Buffalo Regional and will play #15 seed Montana State

Cincinnati is the #11 seed in the Milwaukee Regional and will play #6 seed Gonzaga


NIT:

Temple is the #1 seed in the East Regional and will play #8 seed Texas State

Connecticut is the #1 seed in the Midwest Regional and will play #8 seed Louisiana Lafayette (Connecticut was jobbed by the NCAA selection committee)

SMU is the #4 seed in the West Regional and will play #5 seed Western Carolina

[PointGuard 70]

NIT and CBI tournament results:

 

NIT games involving AAC Teams:

 

Temple edged Texas State 63-60 in round 1

Connecticut beat Louisiana Lafayette 76-66 in round 1

SMU whipped Western Carolina 66-61 in round 1

 

Temple won 82-70 over Nebraska in round 2

Connecticut floundered in the 2^nd half and lost to Central Michigan 75-73 in round 2

SMU fell to Georgia 74-62 in round 2

 

Temple destroyed McNeese State 86-63 in round 3

 

Temple fell apart in the 2^nd half and lost to Central Michigan 63-58 in the semifinals.

 

NIT Championship Game: Xavier-68, Central Michigan-55

 

CBI Championship Game: Brigham Young-84, Troy-62

[PointGuard 70]

NCAA Tourney:

 

Cincinnati upset #15 Gonzaga 83-75 in round 1

 

Game #31, Montana State: In round 1 we moved out to a 44-31 lead at the end of the first half.  We continued to extend our lead in the 2^nd half and won 85-63.  We got balanced scoring throughout our lineup with PF Ruben Rohwer scoring 15, PG Howie Tyler adding 14, reserve Adam Johnson scoring 12, SG Lamont Holiday scoring 11, and 3 other players nearly getting into double figures.  C Joey Brown came off the bench for 14 minutes but was clearly off his game.   (28-3)

 

Cincinnati was topped 86-83 in the final moments of their game against Illinois in round 2

 

Game #32, Syracuse: In round 2 neither team could take control in the first half.  We came away with a 39-37 halftime advantage.  Syracuse came out in the 2^nd half playing great defense and opened a 12 point lead.  We finally began producing offensively and fought back but were unable to pull out the game, losing 65-62.  PG Howie Tyler topped our scoring with 12 points, SG Lamont Holiday added 11, and C Karim Towns scored 10.  For Syracuse, PG Jacob Robin scored 19 and C Marcus Brown had a double-double (10 points and 11 rebounds).  The loss of Joey Brown obviously sabotaged our NCAA Tourney dreams. (28-4)

 

NCAA Championship: Indiana-65, Oregon-61

[PointGuard 70]

Spring Recruiting

 

We made home visits to 4 recruits, but only 2 seemed impressed. We offered a $5000 bribe to SG Bryan Smith (and he was tempted and said it will factor into his decision; already was +++ and we were 4th on his top 10 and that didn’t change). We also offered a $5000 bribe to PF Julius Monfre but he didn’t want it (we were already ++ and 9th on his top 10 and he later decided he didn’t want to play for Memphis--sometimes you win, sometimes you lose!). 

Later we made a $2000 bribe offer to C Cary Jones (he was tempted and said it would factor into his decision)—we were already +++ and 8th on his Top 10 list. We also made a $5000 bribe offer to C Jason Keating (he was tempted and said it would factor into his decision)—we were already +++ and 10th on his Top 10 list. And we made a $2000 bribe offer to PF Eugen Smodlaka (he was tempted and said it would factor into his decision)—he was already +++ and we were 4th on his Top 10 list.

We made scholarship offers to SG Bryan Smith and PF Eugen Smodlaka and both accepted.

Recruits who accepted Scholarships to Memphis:

PG Jared Keady, 6-3 JC So, Orange, VA, 2.5 GPA. 17.3 ppg, 6.5 apg, 7.1 rpg, 3.7 spg, 2.8 bpg. A very good scorer with a very nice outside shot; great passer and ball handler; outstanding defender; good at stealing the ball. Ranked #47, Overall Rating: A. We will be buying him a $2,000 entertainment center after he arrives.

PF Angelo Craft, 6-8 HS Sr, Lebanon, TN, 2.9 GPA (1070 SAT). 19.5 ppg, 3.9 apg, 7.6 rpg, 2.1 spg, 2.7 bpg. Great scorer resulting from outstanding inside shooting; strong rebounder and passer; very athletic; could work harder; has had some attitude and discipline problems. Had a decent showing at the Indy Elite Camp and in the Top 5 at the Memphis Hoop Summit. Ranked #38, Overall Rating: A.

SF Greg Brooks, 6-7 HS Sr, Tenafly, NJ, 3.1 GPA (1040 SAT). 29.0 ppg, 5.2 apg, 13.0 rpg, 2.6 spg, 4.1 bpg. The top SF in the recruit pool. An outstanding scorer with a sweet outside shot and he shoots well inside as well; Excellent defender and rebounder; great at stealing the ball and a very strong shot blocker also; excellent passer; a hard worker. Was in the top 25 at the Indy Elite Camp. Ranked #8, Overall Rating: A. We need to funnel $10,000 his way when he gets here...$10K well spent!

SG Austin Hunter, 6-1 JC So, Harvey, ND, 2.5 GPA. 18.9 ppg, 6.5 apg, 7.2 rpg, 2.5 spg, 1.9 bpg. A big scorer who is a very good outside shooter; excellent passer and very good ball handling skills; excellent rebounder; strong defender; a hard worker who doesn’t have many problems with injuries. Ranked #32, Overall Rating: A.

SG Bryan Smith, 6-3 HS Sr, Bloomington, MN, 2.5 GPA (990 SAT). 16.6 ppg, 3.8 apg, 2.8 rpg, 1.9 spg, 1.6 bpg. Excellent outside shot and also a good inside shooter and very good scorer. Great ball handler. Strong athletically. A hard working kid who has has some attitude and discipline problems. Ranked #146, Overall Rating: B. We will spend $5,000 on getting him together with a school celebrity.

PF Eugen Smodlaka, Int’l, Croatia, 2.7 GPA (1180 SAT). 16.1 ppg, 1.7 apg, 12.4 rpg, 2.3 spg, 3.4 bpg. Excellent outside shooter with a good inside game as well. Very good scorer. Outstanding rebounder. Very good shot blocker. A hard worker. Ranked #133, Overall Rating: B. We will buy him a $2,000 entertainment system when he arrives at school.

[PointGuard 70]

Awards

 

C Joey Brown was named as a 2nd Team All-American

 

C Joey Brown was selected as the AAC’s Player of the Year

 

PF Ruben Rohwer was selected as the AAC’s Freshman Player of the Year

 

C Joey Brown was named the AAC’s Defensive Player of the Year

 

C Joey Brown was a 1st Team All-Conference player for the AAC

 

PF Ruben Rohwer was a 1st Team All-Conference player for the AAC

 

SG Lamont Holiday was a 2nd Team All-Conference player for the AAC

 

Tom Bradley was the AAC’s Coach of the Year

[PointGuard 70]

 

•  
•  
•  

Season 3 Draws to a Close

 

Jobs: Nearly 20 colleges showed interest in hiring Tom Bradley as head coach including several that were from the Pac-12, Big 10, AAC, and Southeastern Conferences. But he opted to remain at Memphis.

Season Review: There were mixed results this season since Tom Bradley succeeded in 3 goals (winning the conference tournament, winning 20+ games, and signing a 4-star player) but failed on 2 goals (reaching the NCAA Final Four and maintaining school prestige). His job security at Memphis remains rock solid though.

A request was made to improve facilities and it was approved. When completed our facilities will be rated as A-.

Team prestige is 78 and Conference prestige is 69.

[PointGuard 70]

Season 4 Kicks Off

 

Top Recruiting Classes

With last year’s bumper recruiting crop, do you think we had one of the Top 25 Recruiting Classes? Hell yeah, we did! Where do you think we ranked? 21st? 13th? 8th? Guess again! Our recruit class was ranked as the 5th best in the nation! We were topped only by Michigan State, Stanford, Arkansas, and Kentucky. Our signing of high school stand-outs Brooks, Craft, Smith, and Smodlaka impressed the raters. Our signing of two JC standouts (Hunter and Keady) didn’t count, but even made our recruiting class that much stronger.

Following us in the rankings were: UCLA, Florida, Maryland, Duke, Louisville, Syracuse, Illinois, Arizona, Wake Forest, Gonzaga, Oregon, Kansas, Georgia, North Carolina, LSU, Notre Dame, Auburn, Utah, New Mexico State, and Alabama.

Yeah, it cost us an extra $19K, but a program grows where money flows.

Initial Outlook

We’re strong at 4 of the 5 positions. Our weakest position this year with be at PF. If Ruben Rohwer wouldn’t have left early for the pros, we’d be rock solid at every position. We have 3 walk-ons still on the team. We have 3 seniors on scholarship. Fortunately none of our players decide to transfer. We are considering cutting one of the walk-ons to give us a vacant roster spot if there is a great transfer player and then go all out to land him. 

One pre-season poll ranks us 6th and the other ranks us 7th. 

Pro Draft

PF Ruben Rohwer, who declared for the draft after playing one season for us, was the 1st player drafted in the Pro Draft!

Recruiting

We buy the basic editions of the National Report and the Southeast Report. We decide to attend the the Indy Elite Camp and the Memphis Hoop Summit. We have 4 scholarships that we will be able to offer this season. Ideally I’d like to land a guard, small forward, and big man plus the best available additional player at any position.

[PointGuard 70]

•  


•  


•  

Transfer Sessions

 

We do a preliminary review of the transfer players but can find no single player that stands out enough for us to spend money. There isn’t a player on whom we want to use one our valuable scholarships. Therefore we opt out and do nothing during the transfer sessions.

[PointGuard 70]

 

Norton Award Nominations

 

Junior center Joey Brown was nominated for the Norton Award again this year. In addition, incoming JC shooting guard Austin Hunter was also nominated.

 

[PointGuard 70]

 

 

NCAA

 

Fortunately the NCAA is asleep at the switch. No teams are on probation this year. Good thing! That means we can go all out on the bribe front. Bribes R Us! While we’ll keep it on the down low, I see no need to hold back on offers. The NCAA has not as much as sniffed at our program. That's not admitting it smells, of course! 

[PointGuard 70]

Recruiting Skullduggery

 

In mid-August we decide to try to improve and solidify our position on some of the top recruits’ list of favorite schools. We attempt to influence the following players:

 

(a) #1 ranked recruit PG Chris Kern...his parents are well-off. He’s very interested in us (+++) but we’re not on his Top 10 list. We offer $10000 cash but he’s insulted by it. His interest in us immediately drops to ++. [Michigan St]

 

( #2 ranked recruit SF Dickey Jacobs...family has monetary issues. He’s showing some interest (++) but we’re not on his Top 10 list. We offer a $10000 cash inducement. He’s interested and says it will factor into his decision. His interest level in us immediately improves to high (+++). [Oregon]

 

© #3 ranked recruit PF Kenneth Miller...family is poor financially. He’s very interested in us (+++) but we aren’t in his Top 10. We offer $10000 cash but he’s not interested. His interest in us drops to ++. A couple weeks later his interest rose back to +++. [Florida]

 

(d) #4 ranked recruit PF Anthony Anderer...his parents don’t feel we’re the right school for their son but they are financially poor. He’s showing some interest (++) in us but we’re not in his Top 10. We offer a $10000 bribe. We offer his $10000 to come to our school. He’s interested and says it will factor into his decision, but his interest level remains the same. Two weeks later his interest moved up to +++. [Notre Dame]

 

(e) #7 ranked recruit SF Wesley Jones...he comes from a middle class family. He’s shown some interest (++) in us but we’re not on his Top 10 list. We offer to set up for him to hang out with a local personality ($5000 cost). He says it’s a tempting offer which will factor into his decision. His interest level in our program immediately rises to +++. [Oregon]

 

[Note: School names in brackets indicate where the recruit eventually made a commitment]

[PointGuard 70]

Preview: “Money makes the world go around...the world go around...the world go around"

 

Well, f - - k, so much for our generosity “factoring into their decision”. Since all of these recruits opt for “greener” (heh, heh) pastures, over the next weeks we pick up where we left off and toss out the following lures:

(f) #11 ranked C Richard Thomas...he comes from a family that has few finances. He’s from Tennessee but has only shown limited interest in us (+). We offer $5000 aimed at setting up opportunities to hang out with a local personality. He finds that tempting and says it will factor into his decision regarding our program, but his interest level doesn’t budge. [stanford]
(g) #14 ranked recruit PG Tezale Morrison. He comes from a lower middle class family. He’s showing some interest in us (++) but we aren’t on his Top 10 list. We offer the opportunity to hang out with a local celebrity ($5000) but he’s not interested. His feelings toward us seem to remain the same, though. [Wake Forest]
(h) #32 ranked recruit SG LaRon Bailey. His family has financial problems. He’s very interested in our program (+++) and we’re 8th on his Top 10 list. We offer a $2000 entertainment system. He’s not impressed but there’s no immediate change in his thoughts toward us. [Kentucky]
(i) #17 ranked recruit PG Troy Cox. He’s part of a middle class family. He’s very interested in our program (+++), but we aren’t on his Top 10 list. We offer the opportunity to hang out with a local celebrity ($5000) and he’s tempted and says it will factor into his decision. [Memphis]
(j) #6 ranked recruit SG Dan Epps. He’s from a lower-middle class family. He’s very interested in our program (+++) but we aren’t on his Top 10 list. We offer $10000 in cash and he’s finds it tempting and says it will factor into his decision. [Texas]
(k) #18 ranked recruit C Jermaine Perry. His family is very well off and our offer to hang out with a local celebrity sinks like a rock. His +++ interest in our program immediately drops to ++. [Kentucky]
(l) #12 ranked recruit PF Veini Kyllonen. He’s from Finland and his family has very little money. He shown modest interest in our program (+). We offer $10000 in cash and he’s very tempted and says it will play a role in his decision, but his interest level remains unchanged. The next week, following a visit to our campus, his interest level shot up to +++. [Ohio State]
(m) #22 ranked recruit SG Devin Jennings. His family is lower-middle class. He was very interested in our program {+++), but we were not in his Top 10. We offered $10000 in cash and he was tempted and felt it would play into his decision. [Kansas]
(n) #47 ranked recruit PF Greg Webber. His family has little money. He is very interested in our program and we’re #8 in his Top 10 list. We offer $10000 cash. He’s tempted and says it will factor into his decision. There is not change in his interest or our ranking. [Kansas]
(o) #35 ranked recruit SG Jesse Moore. His family is extremely poor. We first offer $5000 and he feigns disinterest, but when we increase our offer to $10000, he is tempted and says it will factor into his decision. [North Carolina]

[Note: Schools in brackets indicate where the recruit eventually made a commitment]

[PointGuard 70]

Scholarship Offers

 

Sequentially here is a recap of the players to whom we made scholarship offers this fall and the programs they ultimately chose [in brackets]:

 

SF Dickey Jacobs [Oregon]

SG Dan Epps [Texas]

PG Troy Cox [Memphis]

C Richard Thomas [stanford]

SF John Jones [Memphis]

PF Veini Kyllonen [Ohio State]

C Dupree Miner [Wake Forest]

C  Darren Heide [Gonzaga]

SG Devin Jennings [Kansas]

PF Greg Webber [Kansas]

SG Jesse Moore [North Carolina]

SG John Tarver [Oregon]

 

So during the fall recruiting season, we land just two players:

 

PG Troy Cox, 6-0 HS Sr, Fairbanks, AK.  2.9 GPA.  18.7 ppg, 8.1 apg, 5.9 rpg, 5.3 spg, 0.6 bpg.  Excellent outside shooter and scorer, Great passer and very good ball handler, Outstanding defender, Strong rebounder, Quick hands yielding lots of steals, Tremendous work ethic, Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems.  Ranked #23 in the nation. Overall rating: A.   (Note: We dutifully set aside $5,000 to fulfill our end of the bargain after he arrives on campus.)

 

SF John Jones, 6-7 HS Sr, Oroville, CA.  2.4 GPA.  16.7 ppg, 2.7 apg, 5.2 rpg, 3.2 spg, 1.2 bpg.  Sweet outside shot, Excellent scorer, adroit passer, Strong rebounder, Solid defender, Very good at stealing and blocking, tremendous work ethic, not a leader but doesn’t cause problems, few problems with injuries, In the top 25 at the Indy Elite Camp. Ranked #45. Overall rating: A.  (Note: No money that we need to set aside since we never offered this kid a bribe.  I’ve heard he’s a country music fan and is a pretty damned good singer, so maybe he hopes to break into the business by driving over to Nashville during school vacations.  Maybe not such a bad idea since he’s obviously no stellar scholar.)

 

Landing those two players means two of our more important positional needs will be beefed up.  But still two scholarships remain to be filled and it’s likely we won’t get those filled until this coming spring.  We lick our wounds, and makes plans to keep working on the remaining available recruits and see what we can do.  Since most all our bribe offers didn’t come through, that money returns to our treasury and becomes available should we decide to make some further inducements.

 

In November, we decide to offer a scholarship to James Childs, a talented high school senior from Virginia.  His GPA is low though, so he may not qualify after taking his SAT.  But if he accepts and doesn’t qualify, we will just get the scholarship back to offer in the spring, so we have nothing to lose by going after him now.

 

We still have one remaining scholarship to offer, but will continue to build interest before extending an offer to anyone.

[PointGuard 70]

 

Let the Season Begin...

 

Non-conference Schedule

@ New Mexico
UTEP
@ St. Bonaventure
#2 KENTUCKY
OREGON STATE
@ North Carolina State
BRADLEY
TENNESSEE
#23 ARIZONA

Memphis Tigers Roster for Season 4

Starters:

PG—Howie Tyler, 6-4 St from Gresham, SC...8.8 ppg, 3.5/4.0 stars
SG—Austin Hunger, 6-1 Jr from Harvey, NC...JC last season, 4.0/4.5 stars
SF—Greg Brooks, 6-7 Fr from Tenafly, NJ...high school last season, 3.5/4.5 stars
PF—Angelo Craft, 6-8 Fr from Lebanon, TN...high school last season, 1.5/4.0 stars
C—Joey Brown, 6-8 Jr from New Martinsville, WV...17.4 ppg and 10.1 rpg last season, 4.5/4.5 stars

Reserves:

PG—Jared Keady, 6-3 Jr from Orange, NJ...JC player last year, 2.5/4.0 stars
PG—Abraham Althoff, 6-1 Jr from Nashvill, TN...2.6 ppg last season, 2.5/2.5 stars (walk-on)
SG—Lamont Holiday, 6-1 Sr from Elmwood Park, NJ...11.7 ppg last season, 3.5/4.0 stars
SG—Bryan Smith, 6-3, Fr from Bloomington, MN...high school last season, 0.5/1.0 stars
SF—Adam Johnson, 6-8 Sr from Roan Mountain, TN...3.5 ppg last season, 2.0/3.5 stars
SF—Bradley Ides, 6-6 Sr from Munford, TN...didn’t play last season, 2.0/2.5 stars (walk-on)
PF—Adrian Bains, 6-8 from Atlanta, GA...0.4 ppg last season, 1.5/3.0 stars
PF—Ufuk Oztorun, 6-6 Fr from Turkey...high school last season, 2.0/4.0 stars
PF—Lionel Samnick, 6-6 So from New Tazewell, TN...1.0 ppg last season, 1.0/1.0 stars (walk-on)
PF—Eugen Smodlaka, 6-8 Fr from Croatia...high school last season, 1.0/3.5 stars

[PointGuard 70]

Season 4, Games 1-4

 

Game #1 @ New Mexico (0-0): We pulled away immediately and stormed to a 44-22 halftime lead. We then just simply held the Lobos off in the 2nd half and won easily, 76-59. C Joey Brown scored 22 and hauled down 12 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks scored 12 and SG Austin Hunter added 11 in their first games as Tigers. PG Howie Tyler had triple 6’s...points, rebounds and assists. New Mexico’s SG Jeff Hannah tossed in 26 points. (1-0)

 

Game #2, UTEP (0-1): We again scored first and never relinquished the lead. By the end of the first half we led 42-24. We played a dispirited 2nd half but won 66-54.C Joey Brown scored 15 and had 8 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks scored 11. PF Adrian Bains played strongly coming off the bench and scored 13 points. SG Austin Hunter scored 9, and had 8 assists, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. (2-0, Ranked 7th nationally) 

 

[C Joey Brown was selected as the AAC’s Player of the Week]

 

Game #3 @ St. Bonaventure (0-1): In the first half, we completely forget to play defense and trail 49-44 at the break. A half-time scorching talk causes the team to focus on defense in the 2nd half, but that focus results in our players failing to produce sufficiently on offense and we head home with a bitter 86-79 loss. St. Bonaventure hits 12 of 25 3-pointers and SF John Marks and SG Bryan Hutson combine to score 40 points against us. C Joey Brown scores 22 points and grabs 8 rebounds. SG Lamont Holiday also scores 22 points and he picks off 7 rebounds. PG Howie Tyler and PF Angelo Craft both score 11 points with Tyler racking up 5 assists and 4 rebounds. (2-1, Ranked 18th in the polls) 

 

[sG Lamont Holiday was selected as the AAC’s Player of the Week]

 

Game #4, #2 KENTUCKY (5-0): Coming off the last loss, we take on a very tough regional foe. The Wildcats took an early lead but we fought back and captured a 34-28 halftime advantage by employing a devastating defense. In the 2nd half we steadily pulled away from Kentucky and scored a big-time win to the tune of 76-63. SG Lamont Holiday again came off the bench to lead our scoring with 21 points in just 17 minutes of time on the court. PG Howie Tyler scored 17. SG Austin Hunter tossed in 14 points and scored a double-double by hauling down 10 rebounds while dishing out 8 assists to nearly achieve a triple-double. C Joey Brown got into foul trouble and played only 14 minutes, scoring 11 points. All of Kentucky’s starters played between 30 and 36 minutes, but they were unable to break us. Our fans went wild after the game. (3-1)

[PointGuard 70]

Preview: Season 4, Games 5-8

 

Game #5, OREGON ST. (1-4): It took us a while to get going, but midway through the first half we took control and by the break we had a 44-35 lead. Then we applied a strangling defense and pulled away for an easy 80-65 victory. Austin Hunter led our scoring with 18 points and C Joey Brown scored 15 plus grabbed 9 rebounds. PF Adrian Bains scored 12 and PG Howie Tyler added 10 while dishing out 6 assists. (4-1, Ranked #19 in the polls...What the heck? After beating the #2 and we drop down lower in the polls! Like Rodney Dangerfield...we don’t get no respect I tell you, no respect at all. RPI is now 37th highest in the country)

Game #6 @ North Carolina State (2-3): The lead flip-flopped back and forth throughout the first half but we escaped with a slim 41-39 lead. The guys did their own psyching up during halftime and came out with a vengeance. They steadily pulled away and we won with ease, 81-63. All 5 of our starters scored in double figures. We were led by C Joey Brown who scored 14 but was a beast on the boards, hauling down 17 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter topped our scoring with 17 points plus handed out 6 assists. After scoring in double figures in his first 2 games, SF Greg Brooks scored just 12 points in the following 3 games, but came on big tonight with 16 points. PF Angelo Craft put in 12 points and PG Howie Tyler had 11 points. We held a 38-31 rebounding advantage and only turned the ball over 6 times (compared to the Wolfpack’s 15 turnovers). (5-1)

 

Game #7, BRADLEY (3-3): We pulled away early and took a 52-29 lead to the locker room. We then coasted through the 2nd half in a 80-53 blowout victory. C Joey Brown tossed in 23 points while pulling down 7 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists. SF Greg Brooks scored 15 and grabbed 9 boards. PF Angelo Craft added 11 points. Again we dominated the boards, 41-20 and held a 15-5 turnover advantage. (6-1, Ranked 14th in the polls with the 26th best RPI in the nation)

 

Game #8, TENNESSEE (4-3): This is a bitter intra-state battle. We feel we have something to prove. We stomped the Volunteers 52-30 in the first half, but then had to hold off a hard charge by Tennessee in the 2nd half to achieve a 77-64 win. C Joey Brown dominated with 25 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 7 steals. Following a weak effort in our previous game, SG Austin Hunter tossed in 21 points. PG Howie Tyler scored 12 points. Again we held a big advantage in turnovers (18-7). (7-1, Ranked #12 in the polls and our RPI is 34th best in the country)

 

[Team incident: Following the game, Jared Keady and Joey Brown got into it. I talked to both of them after the incident and both were apologetic and said they’d try harder in the future to avoid any similar situations.]

[PointGuard 70]

Emark wrote [as posted in the Wolverine Studios forums]:

 

That Joey Brown, I tell you he's gonna bring your program down...dismiss him and move on 

 

Seriously, do you have many guys that create issues?

BTW, Joey Brown is a men among boys it seems.

These two guys get into it after a WIN...sheez!

With this team I have not had many personality conflicts or guys who are on the extreme low end with respect to their relationship with the coach or teammates. Maybe the guys on this team are too busy spending their bribe money to get into it with each other. 

But in other dynasties, I've had problems...low relationship which sometimes has resulted in transfers, repeated incidents (particularly after losses).

[PointGuard 70]

Season 4, Games 9-12

 

Award: For the previous week C Joey Brown was named the National Player of the Week as well as the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week.

Game #9, ARIZONA (5-5): We jumped out to an immediate lead and never relinquished it. By the end of the half we led 39-20 and there was no doubt about the ultimate outcome. Our defense was lock-down solid. We smothered them, allowing few easy shots. We eased off a bit in the 2nd half, but never let them back into the game, winning 71-50. C Joey Brown had a big double-double (17 points and 16 rebounds). SG Austin Hunter led our scoring with 19 points. SF Greg Brooks nearly had a double-double, scoring 10 while hauling down 9 rebounds. PF Angelo Craft added 12 points. Not only did we out-shoot the Wildcats, but we held a 44-29 rebounding advantage and turned the ball over just 9 times compared to Arizona’s 15 turnovers. (8-1, Ranked 10th in the polls with an RPI that is 18th best in the nation.)

Ready for Conference Play

So the team finishes pre-conference play with an 8-1 record and is ranked #10 with an RPI that’s 18th best in the country.

Player Stats:

Scoring: C Joey Brown-18.2 ppg, SG Austin Hunter-13.0 ppg, PG Howie Tyler-9.3 ppg, SF Greg Brooks-8.8 ppg, SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday-8.7 ppg, PF Angelo Craft-7.4 ppg, PF Adrian Bains-5.1 ppg.

Rebounding: C Joey Brown-10.4 rpg, SF Greg Brooks-5.0 rpg, PG Howie Tyler-4.2 rpg, SG Austin Hunter-4.1 rpg, SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday-3.6 rpg, PF Angelo Craft-3.6 rpg, SF Adam Johnson-3.3 rpg.

Assists: PG Howie Tyler-3.6 apg, SG Austin Hunter-3.4 apg, C Joey Brown-2.7 apg, SF Greg Brooks-1.7 apg, SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday-1.3 apg, SF Adam Johnson-1.1 apg.

Game #10, @ Connecticut (3-6): UConn took held an early small lead, but midway through the first half, we asserted our dominance and built a 37-25 halftime lead even though both teams were hitting under 30% of their FG attempts. The refs called 35 fouls against the Huskies and sent us to the line 59 times where we dropped in 43 free throw attempts. Since we continued to shoot poorly from the field, those trips to the line saved our bacon. We won 77-65. C Joey Brown scored 45 points (hitting 25 of 35 FT’s) plus snagged 18 rebounds. SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday dropped in 19 points. (9-1, 1-0, 1st place tie)

Game #11, TULANE (4-6, 1-0): We roared out to a 52-29 halftime advantage. We then expanded our lead it he 2nd half and finished stomping the Green Wave 82-54. We controlled the boards to the tune of 36-22 and held a 22-9 turnover advantage. C Joey Brown had another big double-double with 20 points and 17 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks poured in 19 points and SG Austin Hunter added 13. (10-1, 2-0, 1st place tie, Ranked #8 in the polls and our RPI now 10)

Award: C Joey Brown was again named AAC Player of the Week. (Not all that surprising since he scored 65 points and pulled down 35 rebounds in the 2 games this past week)

Game #12 @ Houston (6-5): We took control early in the 1st half and were in complete dominance by the end of the half, 55-31. We expanded our lead a little in the 2nd half and blitzed the Cougars 89-61. Our rebounding advantage was 36-19 and our turnover advantage was 23-11. Another big (and totally COMPLETE) game by C Joey Brown who scored 31 and pulled down 14 rebounds while dishing out 6 assists, getting 3 steals and 1 block (the guy has always been a force, now he's turning into a freakin' beast). PF Angelo Craft scored 17 and PG Howie Tyler dropped in 16 points. (11-1, 3-0, 1st place tie)

[PointGuard 70]

Season 4 Games 13-16

 

Game #13, SOUTH FLORIDA (4-8, 1-2): Following some games in which we had dominated offensively, we put together a defensive gem against the Bulls. We made them earn their shots and pulled away for a 41-19 halftime lead. We continued in the 2nd half and won 67-37. C Joey Brown had another double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds. SF Greg Brooks scored 13 while SG Austin Hunter and PG Howie Tyler both had 11 points. (12-1, 4-0, 1st place tie, Ranked #6 in the polls with a RPI that is 5th best in the country.)

 

Award: C Joey Brown again was named AAC Player of the Week.

 

Game #14, CENTRAL FLORIDA (12-1, 4-0): This game pits two teams with exactly equal records. The Central Florida Knights have surprised everyone by how well they’ve played this season. After losing their season opener, they’ve reeled off 12 straight wins. All four of their conference games thus far have been lop-sided victories. We came out and used our home-court advantage to gain an immediate lead that we never relinquished as our defense sparkled. At the half, we had a 38-20 edge. Our final winning margin of 69-50 could well be turned around when we journey to their gym late this season. C Joey Brown knocked down 23 points and had 8 boards. SG Austin Hunter scored 11 points but also had 8 assists and 7 rebounds. (13-1, 5-0, 1st place)

 

Game #15 @ Temple (10-4, 3-2): Against a tough team on their home court, we fought hard but the lead throughout the first half whip-sawed back and forth and we came out on the short end of a 45-43 halftime score. But we came out in the 2nd half with a fire in our eyes and built a 13 point lead. The Owls shaved away some of that lead but we escaped with an 81-75 win. PG Howie Tyler was razor-sharp from the field and scored 22 points. C Joey Brown scored 16 points and hauled down 18 rebounds. SG Austin Hunter added 12 points. Temple had 5 players scoring in double figures. We won this game by going to the line 54 times (where we scored 36 points) (the Temple fans were irate with the refs) and dominating the boards 42-22. (14-1, 6-0, 1st place, Ranked #4 in the polls while possessing the 3rd best RPI in Division I)

 

Award: C Joey Brown continued to own the AAC Player of the Week award.

 

Game #16, CINCINNATI (10-5, 4-2): Our offense was crisp in the 1st half and we ran away to a 50-27 halftime advantage. We cruised in the 2nd half but posted asolid 81-60 win. SG Austin Hunter scored 17 points but ran into foul trouble which severely limited his minutes. SG/SF/PG Lamont Holiday filled in for him and poured in 20 points as well as dishing out 6 assists and grabbing 5 rebounds. Cincinnati hounded C Joey Brown limiting him to just 6 points, but he made up for that by pulling down 18 rebounds. PG Howie Tyler added 12 points. For Cincinnati, SG Yannis Angelou scored 21 points to lead all scorers. (15-1, 7-0, 1st place)