John Calipari doesn't usually say things like this.
He's normally in the business of playing down preseason hype.
And the Tiger basketball coach has been consistent this year, that is until his post-game interview following the Tigers' final exhibition game, a 98-53 exhibition thumping of Christian Brothers.
"There were some really good things I saw today, and I'm usually not, as you know, too excited (before the season starts)," Calipari said. "And I'm not saying, 'Oh, we broke through,' what I'm saying is that we made strides from last week.
"Now we have about 68 miles left to go. We had 70 miles to go after the last game, so we've caught up some miles here."
The team made the move in the offseason to switch from their perimeter-oriented attack to a more slashing and driving style of offense, and the adjustment seems to be appears so far.
The Tigers attempted only 16 three-pointers in their final exhibition game and racked up 70 points in the paint.
The switch in styles appears to be the best fit for the Tiger's unique mix of depth and athleticism.
"In my opinion I don't think it hasn't been that hard of an adjustment because we're all athletic and we can all run," said senior wing Rodney Carney. "That's our game and that's the best part of our game. This is the best offense for our team."
Carney led all scorers in the game with 26 points, with almost all coming by way of dunk.
With the season-opener against Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the Preseason NIT just one week away, the race for two of the starting lineup positions still appears to be wide open.
After an impressive performance that included 10 points, seven assists, five steals and four rebounds, freshman two-guard Antonio Anderson is making his case to start over fellow freshman Chris Douglas-Roberts, who had 21 points in Memphis' first exhibition.
"The guy that was really good today was Antonio Anderson," Calipari said. "Wow, is he good?
"He played out of his mind in the first half. That's as good of a first half performance that I've seen out of a guard here in a while."
Kareem Cooper, 6-11, 285 pounds, was tabbed to start over sophomore Joey Dorsey and put in an impressive performance with 10 points and nine boards in 18 minutes of action.
Dorsey came off the bench and contributed with seven points and eight rebounds.
"I just wanted to shake things up and I shook up Joey," Calipari said, referring to his decision to start Cooper. "What I'm saying is that I can start anybody, and that's what I was making the statement with, so if you think you (can relax) you better bring it. Because I can start whoever I want and it doesn't really matter."
Fans in attendance held their breath while Carney lay on the court, face down, clutching his lower back.
The injury occurred with 8:38 remaining in the game after Carney was struggling for the ball with a CBU player and appeared to trip.
No one appeared to land on Carney, who said after the game, "I had been having problems with my lower back, and I guess it just locked up on me out there."
