I was reading the Was Austin Nichols the greatest Tiger ever? thread. I haven't posted in awhile as life has real problems and issues besides those bandied back and forth here. Tricky Ricky, Johhny Mac, Justin Wimmer, Bill Cook, Ben Spiva were all talented white boys but Austin Nichols can flat out play. I really like his skill set and compared his hands with Keith Lee. He is in a class above all these others I've seen in person, save maybe Ricky McCoy and McDowell/Isabell. Nichols is much like Isabell but more sound fundamentally.

IMO CJP didn't use him correctly. Austin should have been out top in a high low set as a triple threat option as he is an exceptional passer. Problem is we ran no such set.

Secondly CJP doesn't seem to know how to develop team strategies offensively or defensively. Its all a matter of trying to beat your man or get the fastbreak bucket. In the halfcourt set we have always looked lost.

Austin should have been at the FT line and either shot that shot for 70% or rolled to the basket once he passed the ball to the weak side or down low to another big or breaking player for a rebound or ally oop. Pressure would have come off our guards or AN would have buried shot after shot from 15-17'.

I chalked some of our clumsiness to player selfishness, last year no experienced D1 guards which still begs the question of why CJP never utilized the hi-low as his offense ala Keith Lee/Derrick Phillips etc.

BTW, what offense did we run? Frankly we looked like one of the most undercoached Tiger teams I've ever seen. I love CJP and think he is a great person with limited basketball knowledge when it comes to making adjustments or x's and o's.

I've never understood why he didnt hire a coaching guru and do the recruiting and be the very positive face of the program. Instead CJP has tried to do it all and I wonder if it is a matter of ego. He needs a true strategist on his bench, it critical situations he is more lost than Cal in the last 2:09 of the 2008 NC game.

I really do love Josh and think he has tons of positives but the negatives have caused us to underachieve year after year and he has not tried to right it. Granted the players haven't helped much with cohesiveness, but if they had someone on staff they did believe in I suspect the results would have vastly improved and Austin Nichols would still be here.

I'm hoping Papa Lawson can really coach and that Josh is forced to let him do his thing. If that happens, we may be ok assuming Tarrant pans out and Shaq shows up this year having had a diet of gunpowder over the summer.

AN left a huge hole inside but Shaq and Hawkins should be able to play with most bigs. Hopefully Nick Marshall will be able to spell either of these guys for a few minutes. Nick King was a huge loss but Pastner didn't know how to use him either. Trashon Burrell should step up at the 3 with Dedric and KJ Lawson. Markel Crawford will definitely take one guard position and Ricky Tarrant should take the other.


So:
Ricky Tarrant Kedron Johnson
Markel Crawford Trashon Burrell
Dedric Lawson KJ Lawson
Chris Hawkins Dedric Lawson
Shaq Goodwin Nick Marshall

Looks like we are basically 2 deep with 9 players. You can see the gap inside caused by the AN departure. We have talented players up and down this roster but getting them to play as a unit will be the issue. Maybe Damon Stoudamire can help get these guys to buy in and he a Robert Kirby will actually coach this team on the floor.

I still think Tarrant and MCrawford makes for a very talented backcourt. Burrell can swing between the 2 and 3. Dedric Lawson I hope is as good as advertised. I'm hoping Chris Hawkins becomes a Chris Massie type player and that Shaq give it his all this last season. Shaq could set the tone an he has survived all the chatter and stood tall honoring his committment. It would be fitting to see him lead this team into a NCAA run. Am I drinking the koolaid? Maybe but this team has a lot of potential despite losing AN and Nick King.

We had four players transfer, including one who stood to graduate early and possibly get drafted this year, and the question should be addressed, WHY? Nichols is not one of the greatest Tigers ever, but he was our best returning player, and he bailed due to a perceived lack of leadership from CJP with the team. Suffice to say he knows more what is going on in the locker rooms than you or I regarding chemistry and player development. It must be bad for this young man to transfer in the manner he did.

Be honest, which Tiger player has really improved under the CJP tenure? Which team improved as the year went along? Have we had any "up" years? Maybe this will be the one but odds are we are in for more disappointment. (I really hope I'm wrong) I hope CJP turns this around and stays here for life but the substandard production and development cannot continue much longer.

CJP should be feeling real heat this season. It is time for him to put up or shut up, despite his likable nature, I dont buy my tickets year after year to watch college kids acts like they dont know how to play a team sport. I've seen Memphis fly too high to watch them crash and burn under the leadership of a hotshot who is beginning to appear to be all show and no dough.

I'm not a hater but I'm sure I'll be criticized for speaking the truth as I perceive it. I'm also no kool aid drinker, there is too much wrong with this program not to perk up when players like Nick King and Austin Nichols, hometown Memphians, are transferring out to get away. Feel free to bash away, I've just spent too much for too long not to make a comment. I will not be back to argue with anyone, jmos. I wish it weren't this way, I really do.

I don't think Chris Hawkins is going to be playing any more for us.

(08-30-2015 11:11 PM)MemphisTigerPawr Wrote:  I was reading the Was Austin Nichols the greatest Tiger ever? thread. I haven't posted in awhile as life has real problems and issues besides those bandied back and forth here. Tricky Ricky, Johhny Mac, Justin Wimmer, Bill Cook, Ben Spiva were all talented white boys but Austin Nichols can flat out play. I really like his skill set and compared his hands with Keith Lee. He is in a class above all these others I've seen in person, save maybe Ricky McCoy and McDowell/Isabell. Nichols is much like Isabell but more sound fundamentally.

IMO CJP didn't use him correctly. Austin should have been out top in a high low set as a triple threat option as he is an exceptional passer. Problem is we ran no such set.

Secondly CJP doesn't seem to know how to develop team strategies offensively or defensively. Its all a matter of trying to beat your man or get the fastbreak bucket. In the halfcourt set we have always looked lost.

Austin should have been at the FT line and either shot that shot for 70% or rolled to the basket once he passed the ball to the weak side or down low to another big or breaking player for a rebound or ally oop. Pressure would have come off our guards or AN would have buried shot after shot from 15-17'.

I chalked some of our clumsiness to player selfishness, last year no experienced D1 guards which still begs the question of why CJP never utilized the hi-low as his offense ala Keith Lee/Derrick Phillips etc.

BTW, what offense did we run? Frankly we looked like one of the most undercoached Tiger teams I've ever seen. I love CJP and think he is a great person with limited basketball knowledge when it comes to making adjustments or x's and o's.

I've never understood why he didnt hire a coaching guru and do the recruiting and be the very positive face of the program. Instead CJP has tried to do it all and I wonder if it is a matter of ego. He needs a true strategist on his bench, it critical situations he is more lost than Cal in the last 2:09 of the 2008 NC game.

I really do love Josh and think he has tons of positives but the negatives have caused us to underachieve year after year and he has not tried to right it. Granted the players haven't helped much with cohesiveness, but if they had someone on staff they did believe in I suspect the results would have vastly improved and Austin Nichols would still be here.

I'm hoping Papa Lawson can really coach and that Josh is forced to let him do his thing. If that happens, we may be ok assuming Tarrant pans out and Shaq shows up this year having had a diet of gunpowder over the summer.

AN left a huge hole inside but Shaq and Hawkins should be able to play with most bigs. Hopefully Nick Marshall will be able to spell either of these guys for a few minutes. Nick King was a huge loss but Pastner didn't know how to use him either. Trashon Burrell should step up at the 3 with Dedric and KJ Lawson. Markel Crawford will definitely take one guard position and Ricky Tarrant should take the other.


So:
Ricky Tarrant Kedron Johnson
Markel Crawford Trashon Burrell
Dedric Lawson KJ Lawson
Chris Hawkins Dedric Lawson
Shaq Goodwin Nick Marshall

Looks like we are basically 2 deep with 9 players. You can see the gap inside caused by the AN departure. We have talented players up and down this roster but getting them to play as a unit will be the issue. Maybe Damon Stoudamire can help get these guys to buy in and he a Robert Kirby will actually coach this team on the floor.

I still think Tarrant and MCrawford makes for a very talented backcourt. Burrell can swing between the 2 and 3. Dedric Lawson I hope is as good as advertised. I'm hoping Chris Hawkins becomes a Chris Massie type player and that Shaq give it his all this last season. Shaq could set the tone an he has survived all the chatter and stood tall honoring his committment. It would be fitting to see him lead this team into a NCAA run. Am I drinking the koolaid? Maybe but this team has a lot of potential despite losing AN and Nick King.

We had four players transfer, including one who stood to graduate early and possibly get drafted this year, and the question should be addressed, WHY? Nichols is not one of the greatest Tigers ever, but he was our best returning player, and he bailed due to a perceived lack of leadership from CJP with the team. Suffice to say he knows more what is going on in the locker rooms than you or I regarding chemistry and player development. It must be bad for this young man to transfer in the manner he did.

Be honest, which Tiger player has really improved under the CJP tenure? Which team improved as the year went along? Have we had any "up" years? Maybe this will be the one but odds are we are in for more disappointment. (I really hope I'm wrong) I hope CJP turns this around and stays here for life but the substandard production and development cannot continue much longer.

CJP should be feeling real heat this season. It is time for him to put up or shut up, despite his likable nature, I dont buy my tickets year after year to watch college kids acts like they dont know how to play a team sport. I've seen Memphis fly too high to watch them crash and burn under the leadership of a hotshot who is beginning to appear to be all show and no dough.

I'm not a hater but I'm sure I'll be criticized for speaking the truth as I perceive it. I'm also no kool aid drinker, there is too much wrong with this program not to perk up when players like Nick King and Austin Nichols, hometown Memphians, are transferring out to get away. Feel free to bash away, I've just spent too much for too long not to make a comment. I will not be back to argue with anyone, jmos. I wish it weren't this way, I really do.

Austin was not a great shooter from 15' so he sure wasn't going to hit 70% from the FT line...Heck he shot 60% from the FT line with no one covering him.

Austin is a good player who was on a bad team last year...He had the green light and he took a ton of shots.

"Be honest, which Tiger player has really improved under the CJP tenure?"

Austin Nichols

Make the next question hard. You're going to kill the curve.

(08-31-2015 12:19 AM)macgar32 Wrote:  

(08-30-2015 11:11 PM)MemphisTigerPawr Wrote:  I was reading the Was Austin Nichols the greatest Tiger ever? thread. I haven't posted in awhile as life has real problems and issues besides those bandied back and forth here. Tricky Ricky, Johhny Mac, Justin Wimmer, Bill Cook, Ben Spiva were all talented white boys but Austin Nichols can flat out play. I really like his skill set and compared his hands with Keith Lee. He is in a class above all these others I've seen in person, save maybe Ricky McCoy and McDowell/Isabell. Nichols is much like Isabell but more sound fundamentally.

IMO CJP didn't use him correctly. Austin should have been out top in a high low set as a triple threat option as he is an exceptional passer. Problem is we ran no such set.

Secondly CJP doesn't seem to know how to develop team strategies offensively or defensively. Its all a matter of trying to beat your man or get the fastbreak bucket. In the halfcourt set we have always looked lost.

Austin should have been at the FT line and either shot that shot for 70% or rolled to the basket once he passed the ball to the weak side or down low to another big or breaking player for a rebound or ally oop. Pressure would have come off our guards or AN would have buried shot after shot from 15-17'.

I chalked some of our clumsiness to player selfishness, last year no experienced D1 guards which still begs the question of why CJP never utilized the hi-low as his offense ala Keith Lee/Derrick Phillips etc.

BTW, what offense did we run? Frankly we looked like one of the most undercoached Tiger teams I've ever seen. I love CJP and think he is a great person with limited basketball knowledge when it comes to making adjustments or x's and o's.

I've never understood why he didnt hire a coaching guru and do the recruiting and be the very positive face of the program. Instead CJP has tried to do it all and I wonder if it is a matter of ego. He needs a true strategist on his bench, it critical situations he is more lost than Cal in the last 2:09 of the 2008 NC game.

I really do love Josh and think he has tons of positives but the negatives have caused us to underachieve year after year and he has not tried to right it. Granted the players haven't helped much with cohesiveness, but if they had someone on staff they did believe in I suspect the results would have vastly improved and Austin Nichols would still be here.

I'm hoping Papa Lawson can really coach and that Josh is forced to let him do his thing. If that happens, we may be ok assuming Tarrant pans out and Shaq shows up this year having had a diet of gunpowder over the summer.

AN left a huge hole inside but Shaq and Hawkins should be able to play with most bigs. Hopefully Nick Marshall will be able to spell either of these guys for a few minutes. Nick King was a huge loss but Pastner didn't know how to use him either. Trashon Burrell should step up at the 3 with Dedric and KJ Lawson. Markel Crawford will definitely take one guard position and Ricky Tarrant should take the other.


So:
Ricky Tarrant Kedron Johnson
Markel Crawford Trashon Burrell
Dedric Lawson KJ Lawson
Chris Hawkins Dedric Lawson
Shaq Goodwin Nick Marshall

Looks like we are basically 2 deep with 9 players. You can see the gap inside caused by the AN departure. We have talented players up and down this roster but getting them to play as a unit will be the issue. Maybe Damon Stoudamire can help get these guys to buy in and he a Robert Kirby will actually coach this team on the floor.

I still think Tarrant and MCrawford makes for a very talented backcourt. Burrell can swing between the 2 and 3. Dedric Lawson I hope is as good as advertised. I'm hoping Chris Hawkins becomes a Chris Massie type player and that Shaq give it his all this last season. Shaq could set the tone an he has survived all the chatter and stood tall honoring his committment. It would be fitting to see him lead this team into a NCAA run. Am I drinking the koolaid? Maybe but this team has a lot of potential despite losing AN and Nick King.

We had four players transfer, including one who stood to graduate early and possibly get drafted this year, and the question should be addressed, WHY? Nichols is not one of the greatest Tigers ever, but he was our best returning player, and he bailed due to a perceived lack of leadership from CJP with the team. Suffice to say he knows more what is going on in the locker rooms than you or I regarding chemistry and player development. It must be bad for this young man to transfer in the manner he did.

Be honest, which Tiger player has really improved under the CJP tenure? Which team improved as the year went along? Have we had any "up" years? Maybe this will be the one but odds are we are in for more disappointment. (I really hope I'm wrong) I hope CJP turns this around and stays here for life but the substandard production and development cannot continue much longer.

CJP should be feeling real heat this season. It is time for him to put up or shut up, despite his likable nature, I dont buy my tickets year after year to watch college kids acts like they dont know how to play a team sport. I've seen Memphis fly too high to watch them crash and burn under the leadership of a hotshot who is beginning to appear to be all show and no dough.

I'm not a hater but I'm sure I'll be criticized for speaking the truth as I perceive it. I'm also no kool aid drinker, there is too much wrong with this program not to perk up when players like Nick King and Austin Nichols, hometown Memphians, are transferring out to get away. Feel free to bash away, I've just spent too much for too long not to make a comment. I will not be back to argue with anyone, jmos. I wish it weren't this way, I really do.

Austin was not a great shooter from 15' so he sure wasn't going to hit 70% from the FT line...Heck he shot 60% from the FT line with no one covering him.

Austin is a good player who was on a bad team last year...He had the green light and he took a ton of shots.

I was going to post the exact same thing about FT %.

Austin was not in Keith Lee's league. Not even close. Funny thing is the geniuses that all said that he was the next Lee are the ones that are now bashing him for leaving all in favor of an underachieving coach. This place continues to be comic relief.

(08-31-2015 12:39 AM)Smith Wrote:  "Be honest, which Tiger player has really improved under the CJP tenure?"

Austin Nichols

Make the next question hard. You're going to kill the curve.

DJ Stephens for the win. Best shot blocker to suit up for Memphis in quite a few years.

"He gets less talented players"

What makes you think that?

(08-31-2015 08:19 AM)NJ1 Wrote:  Following Fuente makes me think--

Fuente talks so much about execution and discipline. He gets less talented players to do more because they are always where they're supposed to be and run the stuff to perfection (at least that's the idea).

It makes me wonder with Pastner's teams whether perhaps the consistent "looking lost" in the half court sets and consistent underperformance vis-a-vis talent level isn't necessarily a result of poor strategy, but possibly poor discipline and poor execution.

Of course that's 100% on the coach as well (to either instill and demand the discipline, or dismiss the players that won't buy in) so this is not an attempt to defend Pastner or to make an excuse... I just wonder whether his nice-guy persona prevents him from demanding the level of execution needed to carry out what might be perfectly OK half court sets, etc.

Read the CA article on how fuente runs practices and scrimmages. It's based on how TCU does it and the major theme is discipline, structure, and teammate accountability.

(08-31-2015 12:39 AM)Smith Wrote:  "Be honest, which Tiger player has really improved under the CJP tenure?"

Austin Nichols

Make the next question hard. You're going to kill the curve.

Austin improved because he's a talented player and DJ improved because he was given a chance to showcase his extremely unique gifts. DJ did things you can't teach like his leaping ability, timing, work ethic etc. Austin is just a high level player and serious coaching, combined with quality schemes and sets on offense and defense with take him to an extremely high level.

(08-31-2015 09:05 AM)NJ1 Wrote:  Again, it might also be a function of who responds well to soft discipline and positive-thinking types of enablement. Some kids respond to that. Maybe relatively few. DJ seemed to; Austin seemed to.

OTOH, if you have kids who need to be checked a bit, or kept in line, I wonder if Pastner is the best fit to get the most out of those kinds of kids.

Fuente came in with a system and it does not look like he has varied from his system since he got here. He truly believes in what he is doing and is going to stick to it.

Pastner does not currently have a system that he strongly believes in and it changes constantly. So if the coach does not strongly believe in what he is telling the players to do they tend to sense that.

(08-31-2015 08:59 AM)450bench Wrote:  

(08-31-2015 12:39 AM)Smith Wrote:  "Be honest, which Tiger player has really improved under the CJP tenure?"

Austin Nichols

Make the next question hard. You're going to kill the curve.

Austin improved because he's a talented player and DJ improved because he was given a chance to showcase his extremely unique gifts. DJ did things you can't teach like his leaping ability, timing, work ethic etc. Austin is just a high level player and serious coaching, combined with quality schemes and sets on offense and defense with take him to an extremely high level.

His footwork reminded me of Keven McHale's. But at 6-8 or 6-9, I'm not sure he's got a place in the NBA.

All I can say is the basketball program is what it is. Trying to figure out Pastner’s system & tactics is like trying to find the unknowns of a black hole.

For me the bottom line is either the team wins enough big games to advance or they don’t. This is as simple as it gets.

(08-31-2015 09:14 AM)holyterror Wrote:  

(08-31-2015 08:59 AM)450bench Wrote:  

(08-31-2015 12:39 AM)Smith Wrote:  "Be honest, which Tiger player has really improved under the CJP tenure?"

Austin Nichols

Make the next question hard. You're going to kill the curve.

Austin improved because he's a talented player and DJ improved because he was given a chance to showcase his extremely unique gifts. DJ did things you can't teach like his leaping ability, timing, work ethic etc. Austin is just a high level player and serious coaching, combined with quality schemes and sets on offense and defense with take him to an extremely high level.

His footwork reminded me of Keven McHale's. But at 6-8 or 6-9, I'm not sure he's got a place in the NBA.

He would have his lunch stolen daily in the NBA.

(08-31-2015 09:14 AM)holyterror Wrote:  

(08-31-2015 08:59 AM)450bench Wrote:  

(08-31-2015 12:39 AM)Smith Wrote:  "Be honest, which Tiger player has really improved under the CJP tenure?"

Austin Nichols

Make the next question hard. You're going to kill the curve.

Austin improved because he's a talented player and DJ improved because he was given a chance to showcase his extremely unique gifts. DJ did things you can't teach like his leaping ability, timing, work ethic etc. Austin is just a high level player and serious coaching, combined with quality schemes and sets on offense and defense with take him to an extremely high level.

His footwork reminded me of Keven McHale's. But at 6-8 or 6-9, I'm not sure he's got a place in the NBA.

Reasonable. He's a high level college player and with the right coaching, now, who knows.