Bluff City Classic: Thursday

Thursday night the suns played. The team consisted of Antonio Barton, Chris Crawford, Jelan Kendrick, Drew Barham, DJ Stephens, and 5 others who will not play for the Memphis Tigers. Luckily, the coach of that team subbed five players at a time, so anytime one Tiger was on the floor, they were all on the floor.

Chris Crawford was absolutely amazing. He has a great feel for the game and is very unselfish. He looked like he would make a better point guard than either Antonio Barton or Jelan Kendrick. He dished out somewhere between 5-7 alley oop passes including one to either Stephens or Kendrick (He did so many I might be getting them mixed up) off the back board. Not suprisingly, he also showed a great touch from the behind the three point line. He's really fun to watch because it looks like he's doing nothing. His hand barely moves, and all the sudden, an alley oop or three point shot is happening.

Jelan Kendrick was pretty good as well. It seemed like he was using this time to practice on things he doesn't normally do. He also appeared very eager to play the point guard position. At one point in the game, he attempted an alley oop pass from half court, and it ended up going in.

Antonio Barton seems like he will be a great point guard by his junior year. He is very quick and athletic. What he is lacking is court vision and decision making skills. He had quite a few turn overs on bad passes.

Drew Barham appeared about the same. He can still hit the three, but hasn't shown a superior talent. He does seem like he's been working on his defense some, though.

D.J. Stephens obviously listened to Pastner about working on his wing skills. He hasn't gotten them down yet, but he is trying. He attempted several three pointers. One of them went in. Still has that really high jump which is always fun to watch.

In the crowd, Wesley Witherspoon, Joe Jackson, Will Barton, Angel Garcia, and Will Coleman were all there to cheer on their team mates. While most of them sat down to enjoy the game, Coleman was on his feet the whole time. He seemed really eager to play.

A look at the future

As the 2009-10 season draws ever nearer, Tiger fans are growing more and more excited... for the 2010-11 season. When our top recruiting class consisting of Xavier Henry, Demarcus Cousins, Nolan Dennis, and Donnell Dodson left I thought the bad news was over.

Later in the off-season our new prized recruit, Latavious Williams, decided that China might be a better destination for him than Memphis would. Certainly it can't get worse can it? Of course, it can!

Our most viable power forward option, Martin N'Galoro, got injured and was forced to stay at home in France and miss the entire 2009-10 season. That was okay, though. We still had Angel Garcia. While he would be an unorthodox power forward, he would certainly contribute a great deal to our thin post. Not anymore. Garcia has torn his ACL and will be forced to sit out this season, again.

On the bright side, it looks as though the season's disappointment will not become a trend. Joe Jackson is set to announce his commitment to the University of Memphis, as said by his coach, grandmother, and the fact that he is announcing in a U of M building. He is ranked as the #5 point guard and the #21 player overall. He joins point guard Antonio Barton and his brother Will Barton, who is ranked as the #1 shooting guard and the #6 player overall. This commitment will ensure Memphis will have a top ten recruiting class next season.