Although Tigers fans have waited all summer for The University of Memphis men's basketball team to begin play, they still have a little less than two weeks until the regular season starts. But starting tomorrow night against LeMoyne-Owen College, fans will have a chance to see the Tigers in action - albeit in exhibition form.
Perhaps even more anxious than the fans are the players.
"I know they're just exhibition games, but I want to treat them like regular season games," senior forward Will Coleman said. "I want to win, and I want my team to do the best that we can against any opponent we play."
For the second season in a row, The U of M will open its season with a pair of exhibition matchups against LeMoyne-Owen and Christian Brothers. Although in the grand scheme of things these contests mean nothing, they serve as a warm-up of sorts for the Tigers.
Last season The U of M won both contests by a total of 164-113, but the games allowed Josh Pastner to settle in to his first season as a head coach. This time around, however, is about working the eight newcomers - seven of whom are freshmen - into Pastner's system and getting them used to the speed of Division I basketball.
"There are some things we've got to get better," Pastner said. "Fundamentally we're still working on some things."
Since practice can't fully prepare players for the in-game experience, Pastner added, the exhibition contests give the staff a chance to "mess around with some things" and see what matchups work best without suffering an actual loss.
As the lone senior on this year's squad, Coleman said the team's success doesn't rely solely on the talent of the team but instead on listening to what the coaching staff tells them through the first two games. It's his job as a team leader to make sure the younger guys understand that, he added.
"Trying to keep our composure, trying to stay focused and really listening and adhering to all the advice the coaches give us ... there is still a lot of stuff we're missing," Coleman said. "There are still a lot of kinks that need to be worked out."
The first step in all of that, Pastner added, is keeping the focus on the team instead of worrying about who they're playing.
"Whether it's LeMoyne-Owen or anybody in Conference USA -I don't care if it's Duke or North Carolina, our focus has got to be about us and not the other team," he said.
The starting lineups for the two exhibition games are yet to be determined, but Pastner said he would base playing time on who rebounds the best in each position during practice.
And although a loss wouldn't mean anything, there is still the matter of the pride that the Tigers stand to lose by falling to either team. Add a No. 19 ranking to the mix, and the target on the Tigers' backs get a little bigger.
It's a challenge that The U of M welcomes, though.
"We've always shown everyone that we deserve to be on top," Coleman said, referring to the last few years' rankings. "We just have to go out and show what Memphis basketball is all about."
