When the No. 19-ranked University of Memphis men's basketball team steps onto the court at FedExForum to face LeMoyne-Owen College at 7 tonight, it will mark the first time the 2010-2011 Tigers, who are expected to make a deep NCAA Tournament run, will showcase their talents against another team.
Although just an exhibition, tonight's matchup will be the first glimpse to see how The U of M's batch of freshmen will perform when it comes to Division I basketball.
Last season, the Tigers defeated the Magicians, 98-68, to open the exhibition schedule, using five double-digit scorers to claim the win. But only two of those players remain on this year's squad - junior Wesley Witherspoon and senior Will Coleman - along with sophomores Drew Barham and D.J. Stephens, who were used sparingly a season ago.
U of M second-year coach Josh Pastner will also have the task of working in the team's eight newcomers with its returning players in a real game situation.
"I'm excited to see where we're at as a team," he said Monday. "Obviously this will give us a good test, instead of playing against each other (in practice) all the time."
While the Tigers have undergone almost an entire revamping of their roster, LeMoyne-Owen's remains relatively unchanged. Though they lost starting guards LaDarius Johnson and Maurice Mickens - who scored 13 and 18 points, respectively, in last year's game - to graduation, the rest of the Magicians' squad has only improved with experience.
They return starting forwards Kenyale Evans, DeAndre Gant and Travis Thompson, as well as guards Jeremy Anderson and Taurean Moy, who came off the bench and scored double-digits against the Tigers last season.
Still, LeMoyne-Owen was predicted to finish somewhere from seventh to ninth in Division II's Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
But Pastner said he knows the game won't be a cakewalk.
"Last year they gave us some problems," he said. "We have a lot of good programs within the city. You've got a lot of good schools here, and it's a good thing for this city that we play each other."
Though Pastner has not yet officially announced a starting five for the game, he did say starting roles would be based on who rebounded the best at each position since the beginning of practice on Oct. 16, and that the reward shouldn't be taken lightly.
"Anytime you get a start you have an opportunity to do some good things," he said. "I will continue to make an emphasis on defense and rebounding - those are the areas that are most important to us as a team. When you start, it's up to you to make the most of it."
"At one time, Will Coleman was really ahead in rebounds, but guys have been catching up to him," he said. "Angel Garcia has rebounded the ball well. The guards are in a tight race on the glass."
Though he declined to comment on who was currently leading each position, Pastner admitted top recruit Will Barton may come off the bench. Since twisting an ankle during a collision with a teammate during practice last month, Barton wore a brace in each practice leading up to two days ago and his status remains uncertain.
"He's been cleared to go but he's still a little sore," Pastner said. "I'm not going to rush him back. I'm going to let him back when he feels ready to come back."
Pastner, who said he will "never hold a kid back due to an injury," also said he didn't want to rush Barton back if he didn't have to.
"Due to the fact that he hasn't played in the games and hasn't practiced since he's been cleared, I'm not going to force him into a game situation unless he's had consecutive practices to get his rhythm and timing right," Pastner said.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 tonight at FedExForum.
