The University of Memphis men’s basketball team will enter the 2014-15 season with seven new scholarship players.
The Tigers lost a majority of their offensive firepower from a season ago when senior guards Joe Jackson, Michael Dixon Jr., Chris Crawford and Geron Johnson graduated in the spring.
To pick up this loss of production, the Tigers brought in several new faces from all different levels of the game, including two Division 1 transfers, four junior college players and a true freshman. Though only two of these players have played major Division 1 minutes, all seven will be tested early and often and expected to make major contributions to this team.
Coach Josh Pastner said he enjoys coaching this team, but it will be hard to gauge how good this team and its individual players really are until they start playing real games.
“This team has been great to coach, and I’ve loved everyday going to practice,” he said. “I don’t know until we actually play. That’s going to be the barometer for us when we actually get into the game for us to really understand about our team.”
From the junior college ranks the Tigers add Trahson Burrell, Chris Hawkins, Avery Woodson and D’Marnier Cunningham.
Burrell, a 6-foot-7 junior wing from Lee College, is known for his elite scoring ability. He averaged 25.2 points per game last year.
Hawkins, a 6-foot-6, 230-pound forward from Southwest Tennessee Community College, is known for his monster athleticism and aggressiveness on the court. These two qualities allow him to play multiple positions for the Tigers despite his size.
Woodson, a 6-foot-4 guard from East Mississippi Community College, brings much-needed 3-point shooting to this team. With the loss of four senior guards, he also brings in some much needed depth to an inexperienced backcourt.
Finally there is the 5-foot-9 point guard, D’Marnier Cunningham. Cunningham averaged 14.8 points and 5.5 assist per game at Kaskaskia College last year. He is known as a well-rounded guard who can be the playmaker this team needs.
From the high schools ranks, the Tigers added 6-foot-3 point guard Dominic Magee, the only true freshman on the team. Magee is a quick guard who is great in transition and getting to the basket, but also adds a defensive mindset to this year’s squad.
The Tigers two most important additions may be Calvin Godfrey and Kedren Johnson, two Division 1 transfers.
Johnson is a 6-foot-4 junior point guard who transferred from Vanderbilt. He sat out last season after violating a school policy and was not able to rejoin the team this year. As a sophomore, he lead the Commodores with 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
Before Johnson transferred to Memphis, the biggest question on the upcoming season was who would start at point guard and lead this inexperienced backcourt. With the addition of Johnson, that question seems to have been answered.
Pastner said that though Johnson is still not in game shape after sitting a year, he does bring experience and more talent to the Tigers backcourt.
“Kedren Johnson when he came in here, bless his heart a great young man, obviously been well coached at Vanderbilt with coach Stallings, he couldn't beat anyone here in a line, that includes any media member, he was that out of shape,” Pastner said. “Now, he could beat everyone on a line drill. He's in way better shape than when he started, but he's not where he needs to be just yet. He's got to get in better shape and better conditioning. The guy was a leading scorer, assist and steal guy in the SEC - a starter for Vanderbilt.”
Godfrey transferred from Southern University after the university was hit with sanctions for violating the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) standards. The 6-foot-8 senior forward averaged 13.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last season for the Jaguars.
Not only does Godfrey bring a solid backup option for big men Austin Nichols and Shaq Goodwin, he brings more experience and a level of toughness that many people believed this team lacked.
Pastner stressed how Calvin is thankful for his opportunity at Memphis and that his rebounding and toughness bring a lot to the table.
“Calvin is a guy who has been around,” he said. “He's tough he's hard nosed. Both him and Kedren are thankful for the opportunity. They get a second chance, and what I love about those guys is they don't take things for granted. Calvin will tell you, and he's a hard-nosed guy, he's appreciative of being here. He's appreciative of the media, just the coverage.”
Johnson and Godfrey fill three very important voids that the Tigers lacked without them, being depth, more toughness and much needed Division 1 experience.
Pastner went on to explain just how valuable these two transfers are to his team.
“Calvin and Kedren were important because, as inexperienced and the amount of youth we have, those two were not that,” the sixth-year coach said. “Now, they’ve still got some work to do, but they give us guys who have been through high-level game experience.”
Even though the Tigers have added so many new faces, the atmosphere around the program seems to be very positive and chemistry among players seems to be at an all time high.
Johnson explained that this team isn’t selfish and that the team comes first.
“One thing I've noticed so far is that it's mostly egoless, so it's easy to jell with other guys I've never met in my lifetime before coming to Memphis,” he said. “We all figure that we have the same end goal in mind.”
