by Dick Weiss, for The American
MEMPHIS-- It is happening much quickly than expected.
But no one should be that surprised.
Tubby Smith, who coached Kentucky to a national championship during his first year in the Blue Grass in 1998, is a three-time national coach of the year who also breathed life into programs like Tulsa, Georgia, Minnesota and Texas Tech. Now, in less than a year, Memphis' new head coach has the young Tigers making noise again, coaching them to a 15-5 record, reestablishing faith among their rabid fan base and making the Tigers a contender in the fluid American.
The Tigers -- who have no senior starters and essentially a six-man rotation -- were supposed to be a year away. But they are now 5-2 in league play and won their sixth game in the past seven here Sunday when they held off vastly improved UCF 70-65 at FedExForum.
It was worth the trip just to see how the Tigers dealt with UCF’s Tacko Fall, the Knights’ 7-foot-6 center who shot 6-for-9, scored 15 points, grabbed 13 rebounds in 30 minutes and is starting to attract the attention of NBA scouts by casting a huge shadow in the paint on defense.
This was the first time any of the Tigers had played against anyone this massive and it took them a while to adjust after falling into an early 10-0 hole. They struggled to a 33-30 lead at half, despite shooting just 35.5 percent and were outrebounded, 41-28, for the game. But they found a way, just like Smith’s teams have a way of doing, and won despite the fact 6-foot-9 sophomore Dedric Lawson, who entered the game averaging 20.1 points and 10.5 points, was not the most dominant player on the court. Lawson, who is usually a double-double waiting to happen, scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds in the first 20 minutes, but was never able to take over the game in the paint against Fall, the way he has in the past against other teams’ big men.
This time, Smith relied more heavily on his supporting cast, getting 16 points from K.J. Lawson, 12 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots from sophomore forward Jimario Rivers, 12 points from junior guard Markel Crawford and nine points and five assists from sophomore point guard Jeremiah Martin. The Tigers limited UCF -- which had won seven of its last eigh t-- to 36.7-percent shooting in the second half. The Tigers committed just six turnovers and scored 22 points off 16 UCF micues.
"We just used our speed to create an advantage,'' Crawford said. "Coach is always emphasizing points, points, points, However we can get them, we'll find a way.''
The Tigers refused to be intimidated by the giant in the room.
"It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the fight in the dog,'' Crawford said. "You got a guy out there who's 7-6, 7-8, but it doesn't matter how tall the guy is, as long as the guys buy in and keep a body on him. For us, it's all about being tough. And a Tiger can beat a dog any day.''
Memphis knew there would be limitations. That was obvious when Rivers went out for the opening tip against Fall. "I didn't jump,'' he said. "I didn't see the point in jumping.''
But the Tigers made a point of playing smart against Fall. "We tried to get him out of position, used a lot of screen and roll,'' Crawford added. "He's a big guy, doesn't leave the lane a lot. We'd get into the lane. pump fake. Then, once we'd get him in the air, pass off to somebody because the second jump is harder.''
That speaks volumes about the basketball IQ that Smith has injected into this team and the resolve they are playing with these days. The Tigers have battled to key victories against South Carolina and have overtime road wins at Oklahoma and Houston. They got by UCF despite being forced to play stretches without Rivers, who needed locker room treatment after suffering a leg muscle injury, but was on the floor when the outcome was in jeopardy. Dedric Lawson went down with a knee injury with 4:05 to play, but also returned as the Tigers, who were clinging to a 66-62 lead, closed out the game with four consecutive free throws from K.J. Lawson in the last 1:16.
Like so many teams in college basketball this year, Memphis is just one injury away from trouble.
It may be why Smith likes this team's heart so much.
"For the most part, we give up a lot of size, a lot of bulk, and when teams have big players, that creates a lot of problems for us,'' Smith said. "We got beat up on the boards. But we talk about overcoming obstacles the greater the challenge, the greater the reward. That's why we try to get our guys to understand. You got to take the fight to people, attack. When Markel, K.J, Jeremiah get into the open court, they're pretty aggressive, fast.
"You have to overachieve when you are smaller, when you don't have the depth some of the teams have. I've seen it in these players since I('ve been here. They're fighters.''