Elliot Williams

This could very well be our next star. He isn't that different from Tyreke Evans in a lot of ways. They played together in the McDonald's All American game. Evans was ranked 3 in that class and Williams was ranked 16. Williams is even a likely candidate for point, though his natural position is shooting guard. Sound familiar?

I don't doubt that he will end up playing point guard. He has the ball handling skills to do it, but I don't think its necessary. Most people want to see it happen because it worked so well with Evans. The situation is slightly different now. For one thing, I think Kemp will blossom under Pastner. He didn't fit in well with Calipari and was thrown to the side one too many times. I would like to see Kemp play point and do it well. Also, Evans natural position may have been shooting guard, but he was never as effective when we wasn't ball dominate. Williams can work with another player that handles the ball.

There are some similarities in the way Evans and Williams play, though. Both of them have superior ball handling abilities, both of them have deceptive speed, both of them are great at stealing the ball, and both of them finish at the rim with highlight reel quality dunks. While Evans might be better at most of these things than Williams, Williams does have one distinct advantage. He can consistently hit his threes. This makes him much more difficult to guard because he is well rounded. Also, by the time he first puts on his Tiger's uniform, he will have already had a years worth of college basketball experience. This will be invaluable to Williams. Just as he will be invaluable for the Tigers.

Check out some Elliot William's highlights on the video bar.

Will next season Tigers play different?

In our last two season, the Memphis Tigers have had two primary strengths. The first, and by far the most obvious, has been the furious defense. Both of our last two teams have been notorious for holding opposing teams to low scores.

In 07-08, Joey Dorsey was an extremely prevelant defensive presence. Derrick Rose was also extremely dedicated to defense, and that has benefited him in his NBA career as many players at that level are more interested in offensive accomplishments.

In 08-09, it was more of a team effort. Antonio Anderson was most certainly the defensive leader. He always defended the opposing team's top scorer, and he did it well. Anderson held many talented scorers to embarassingly low field goal percentages.

Tyreke Evans also did a great job as a defender because he usually presented himself as a tremendous mismatch for most NCAA point guards. Taggart also proved his defensive abilities in the tigers second match against Tulsa that season. He basically single-handedly ensured that the Tigers would not need another miracle buzzer beater to finalize their victory over Tulsa.

I don't expect next season to be much different on the defensive end. Willie Kemp has proven himself to have a tremendous dedication to the defense, which coupled with him incredible speed, makes him a difficult player to score against.

Elliot Williams worked his way into Duke's starting line up his freshman year due, in large part, to his shut down defense.

Doneal Mack and Wesley Witherspoon have shown signs of their ability to be solid players on a team oriented defense.

Most important of all, however, is William Coleman. He is a tremendous defensive presence. For a man his size, he has a rediculous amount of athleticism. Also, the fact that he has been compared to Joey Dorsey makes one believe in his defensive abilities.

The difference in next season will be between offensive strategies. The 07-08 strengths laid in three areas. The first was Derrick Rose's uncanny ability to finish at the hoop and score, if necessary. The second was Chris Douglass Roberts ability to seemingly score a will. Finally, Joey Dorsey was able to slam in almost any lob or missed shot to ensure two points for the University of Memphis Tigers basketball team.

The 08-09 offensive relied primarily on the ability of Evans to attack the rim. If he was unable to finish, he had several options to dish the ball off to. He could pass to Taggart for a dunk, he could give it to Dozier for a back to post finish, or he dish it to either Sallie or Mack for a 3-pointer.

Next season will most likely be all about raining threes. Think about it. Kemp's strong point is his 3-pointer, Doneal Mack's strong point is a 3-pointer, Elliot Williams strong point is his 3-pointer, hell, even Garcia's strong point is his 3-pointer. The best part is, their shots won't be nearly as risky with a guy like William Coleman to either slam it in or grab the rebound.

In any case, next season sure should be interesting.