Roburt Sallie Not Suiting Up As a Memphis Tiger Next Season

Roburt Sallie, a junior guard for the University of Memphis, has announced that he will not return to Memphis to finish out his final year of eligibility. "I am grateful for my two years in Memphis, and no matter where I go on from here, Memphis and Tiger basketball fans will hold a special place in my heart," said Sallie. He plans to either pursue a career in Europe or to finish his final year of NCAA eligibility at a school that is closer to his home in Sacramento, California. He would be eligible to play immediately assuming that he graduates in August as planned.

Sallie played with the Tigers for two seasons after transferring from Laurenberg Prep in North Carolina. He started in 21 of the 70 games he played for Memphis. During that time, he averaged 8.2 points and 1.2 steals. He also had a field goal percentage of 43.2%, but was slightly more effective from beyond the arc at 43.8%. Coach Pastner had this to say regarding Sallie's decision, "Tiger Nation should be appreciative of what Roburt did while wearing the Blue and Gray. Roburt gave his all in his two years here, and I am thankful for the opportunity to have coached him."

The game most Tiger fans will remember him for is the one against Cal St Northridge in the first round of the 2009 NCAA tournament. During this game, he hit ten three pointers, the second most three pointers ever made in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

There are likely several factors involved in his decision to leave, the most obvious being his age. If he returned, he would play next season as a 25 year old. Also, he is graduating in August. There is also the fact that his playing time would likely decrease thanks to the stellar recruiting class that Pastner has assembled. Possibly most influential, however, is the fact that his father is battling cancer. If he does return to college, he will certainly be closer to his father.

Sallie contributed a lot to the University of Memphis, and he will be missed.

Elliot Williams to the NBA Draft

Fox News broke the story that Elliot Williams has officially declared for the draft. He has also signed an agent, preventing him from deciding to return to college. This should not come as a surprise as Coach Josh Pastner has said that Williams will either be in or out, no testing of the waters.

This is obviously bad for the Tigers from an experience stand point. Right now, the only players in the backcourt that won't be freshman are Wesley Witherspoon and Roburt Sallie, assuming he decides to return.

It does have some positives, though. There was a bit of a log jam at the guard positions which made the starting lineup very complicated. Would Joe Jackson or Will Barton have to sit on the bench? Or maybe, keep playing Wesley Witherspoon as a power forward? Now the starting line up is much easier to figure out. It will probably go something like this; PG:Joe Jackson SG:Will Barton SF:Wesley Witherspoon PF:Angel Garcia C:Will Coleman. That's a lot of talent for a starting five. So, there's nothing to be upset about (Although I'm sure many tiger fans weren't going to be upset with the problem of having too many players capable of starting).

Tiger fans should wish Elliot Williams well. While he won't be a lottery pick, going in the late first or early second round is nothing to laugh at. It also looks great for Josh Pastner to take a role player from Duke that averaged less than five points a game and turn him into a draft pick (As Dan Wolken so graciously pointed out on his Twitter account). Fans should just be glad he joined us for the one season that he did. That was when we truly needed him.

Preston Laird

Preston Laird recently recieved a scholarship from the University of Memphis for one year. This might be explained by the wonderful shooting he displayed last season (he did hit every three pointer he took). But then again, it's not as impressive to have a good three point shooting percentage when all of your minutes come in the final two minutes of a blow out game.

I really can't say I understand this move. Laird is willing to play on the team for free, and we should be willing to let him. If any walk-on deserves a scholarship it is Drew Barham. He understands the game better and is a more consistent shooter in difficult game situations. Now we have two players on scholarship who will likely not see many minutes, the other being D.J. Stephens.

I trust the judgement of Pastner and the rest of the coaching staff, but I can't say I follow their logic.

In any case, congratulations Preston. You are a true tiger, and I have no desire to take away from your accomplishments

Something We Haven't Seen

Our thoughts can now be put to rest. Coach Pastner will not be implementing a carbon copy of the Dribble Drive Motion Offense that we are used to seeing, according to Doneal Mack. This shouldn't come as a suprise. That style of offense serves only two purposes. The first is for recruiting. All DDM consists of is attacking the rim, if the opportunity is there, put the ball in. If it isn't, kick it out to the open teammate. It is an easy to learn offense that resembles the style of play most players did in high school. The second, which in contingent on the first, is that it puts players in one on one situations. This is excellent when you have depth coupled with outstanding players.

This season, however, the Tigers do not have the depth that they are used to. They also do not have the incoming freshman talent. The time for a new offense is now. As one might guess, Pastner will be implementing a Lute Olsen style Motion Offense, with some occassional DDM on the side. The main difference is the Motion Offense uses a lot of pick setting, something Calipari vigorously avoided. Other than that, the offense are very similar. They both have good deal of one on one situations. They are both fast paced. They both spread the defense, and Coach Pastner has said since he was an assistant coach for Calipari that the Lute Olsen Motion Offense spreads the defense even farther than DDM.

Doneal Mack seemed to view the new offensive style in a positive manner. He said that it fit the individual skills of each player well, especially because many players on the Memphis team are good at shooting of the pick and roll. Also, expect Memphis to use their big men more effectively. Pastner is focusing heavily on their skill development, something he is known for and Cal was known not to do.

Tarik Black

Now that Joe Jackson has committed to Memphis, our back court will be good, regardless of whether or not Memphis lands anymore guards for the 2010 season. The focus now will be on the post.

Will Coleman will likely be around in 2010 to provide a talented center. The question mark will be the powerforward position. Tarik Black, of the Memphis Magic summer circuit program, would provide a perfect fit. The fact that he played on a team with Joe Jackson doesn't hurt either. Neither will the presence of #1 shooting guard Will Barton, or the extremely available playing time.

Tarik Black, your hometown awaits your decision.

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.

When "big man" goes bad

Pierre Henderson-Niles, this is a player who was once a top 40 recruit for his class. He showed an enormous amount of potential. His skills, however, didn't translate to the college level. This was not because he wasn't good enough. He just got too big. As a result, his ability to jump, and his stamina, was drastically affected.

Close to the beginning of his freshman year in college, Niles sustained an injury to his ankle. During this time he was unable to exercise to stay in shape. Making things worse, he rediscovered his love for fast food.

His weight fluctuated over the next four years, topping out at around 335lbs. His playing time was limited. Calipari did what he does when a player doesn't live up to his expectations. He ignored him.

This summer, Coach Josh Pastner has made Niles follow a strict diet and exercise regiment that has significantly reduced his weight. He is currently checking in at about 275lbs. This is great news. Given the lack of depth, and lack of big men, we will probably need to rely on him more than we have had to in the past. This is especially true when you consider how reluctant Garcia is to mix it up in the paint. That brings us from three big men down to two.

I don't think this will make him a star, but it will certainly help out. He probably won't become a starter, but at least he will be able to make significant contributions off the bench.

NCAA ruling

I'll start with the good news. Elliot Williams has been cleared to play. Sure, it was never in doubt, but, with N'Galoro out of the picture, we need all the assurance we can get about next seasons roster.

Then there is the bad news. Our 07-08 Final Four season has been vacated. I found this extremely dissappointing as that season meant a lot to me. Also, I was excited to see if we could get the NCAA's all time longest in-conference winnging streak.

On the good side, however, Calipari will not be considered to be major contributor for that record. He is the only coach to have two Final Four appearances vacated at two seperate schools. We feel you UMASS. Also, does anyone else find it wierd that he left both schools right before the programs were accused of violations.

In the end, it's not really that bad. We didn't lose any scholarships, we can still have television appearances, and we can still compete to play in the NCAA tournament. Let's just look forward to a new era under Pastner. I doubt any of his wins will ever be vacated.

Weak Out of Conference Schedule

This schedule was retrieved from An Article by Dan Wolken of the Commercial Appeal.

Nov. 3 – LeMoyne-Owen (exhibition)

Nov. 9 – Christian Brothers (exhibition)

Nov. 13 – Jackson State

Nov. 17 – vs. Kansas (St. Louis, Mo.; Hall of Fame Showcase)

Nov. 20 – Tennessee Tech (Hall of Fame Showcase)

Nov. 24 – Central Arkansas (Hall of Fame Showcase)

Nov. 30 – Oakland (Hall of Fame Showcase)

Dec. 5 – Arkansas State

Dec. 9 – Montana State

Dec. 12 – vs. Arkansas-Little Rock (North Little Rock, Ark.)

Dec. 19 – vs. UMass (Boston, Mass.)

Dec. 22 – Southeast Missouri State

Dec. 28 – IUPUI

Dec. 31 – Tennessee

Jan. 3 – Houston Baptist

Jan. 6 – at Syracuse

Feb. 6 – Gonzaga

11 lines have never spelled disappointment so concisely. Aside from 5 games; Tennessee, UMass, Syracus, Gonzaga, and Kansas, this schedule is all fluff. Me might not have had many more tough games last season. A few teams reappear as our major competition; Syracuse, Gonzaga, and Tennessee.The problem is that there are so many no-name teams.

The Tigers will have to win almost every game. With such a weak out of conference schedule, and such a weak conference, no one will believe that we are a talented team unless we win our five non-fluff games. I find it hard to believe that we wont lose at least two of those games, and other losses will be sprinkled through out the rest of the schedule.

I will be absolutely necessary to win the coneference tournament to get into the NCAA tournament. Getting a high seed will be next to impossible.

Don't get me wrong, I understand Coach Pastner's position. He had to focus on staff and players. They were an absolute necessity. He had only one recruit stay, returning players were iffy, and there was no coaching staff to speak of.

I also understand wanting to play it safe. He has just recently been able to look at his complete roster. Even now, two players are waiting to be cleared by the NCAA (Martin Ngaloro and Elliot Williams). Pastner was not sure what kind of talent he would be working with. This is not the ideal time to make a stacked schedule. Not to mention, after four years of 30 plus win seasons, Tiger's fans will not be happy with a lot of losses.

While this is the type of schedule we should expect to see from our first time head coach, most of us don't want to settle for meeting our expectations this season.