Kareem Cooper's return to practice for the Memphis Tigers was brought on by underclassmen - underclassmen Antonio Anderson, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Robert Dozier.
The three players went to coach John Calipari's home to speak with him about Cooper's suspension, something Calipari said made him consider the matter even more closely.
"Now we've got to make sure Kareem cares as much about them as they do for him," he said.
Anderson, Douglas-Roberts and Dozier all spoke together with the media yesterday about Cooper's return.
"It's a good situation for the team now," Anderson said. "It's a good thing for (Cooper) because he just made a mistake. Kareem will be a big help for us."
Each player stressed that Cooper's attitude is better now and that he is truly a kind person away from the court.
"He's really not a bad guy," Douglas-Roberts said. "Kareem is just like us, and he made a couple of mistakes, but we need him back."
Cooper, Anderson and Dozier were all teammates at Laurinburg Prep in 2004-05.
"I've known him for a long time and he's just a really good person," Dozier said. "It seems like he's focused now."
Cooper spent the early part of practice working out with assistant coach Chuck Martin on post-up moves and shooting free throws. He was not available for comment.
The 6-11, 290-pound forward played in 28 games last season, starting against Cincinnati. He averaged 4.4 points and 3.1 rebounds and shot 84 percent from the free throw line.
"I want (Kareem) to be the biggest cheerleader out there during games," Calipari said. He said there was still no decision on when Cooper could play again this season.
Calipari and the players also discussed their recent trip to Hawaii for the EA Sports Maui Invitational, in which they went 2-1 with a loss against Georgia Tech.
"We learned we're a pretty good team or that we could be pretty bad, too," Calipari said. "This team has to rely on each other, and we've got to learn how to ride it out when we have to in some games."
The Tigers defeated Oklahoma 77-65 in their opening game. Dozier led the team with 13 points and seven rebounds.
But the team regressed in their second game against Georgia Tech. Memphis gave up a 16-point halftime lead and allowed the Yellow Jackets to score 62 points in the second half before losing 92-85.
"We just had a bad half of ball," Dozier said. "We've got to learn to play 40 minutes every game."
The team rebounded to handily defeat Kentucky 80-63 in the first-ever match-up between the two storied programs.
In the new polls released yesterday, Memphis fell six spots to No. 17 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll and slipped two spots to No. 14 in the AP Poll.
The Tigers (3-1 overall) host Arkansas State (4-3) Wednesday night at FedExForum.
