Tigers’ senior forward Calvin Godfrey didn’t have the highest numbers on the team, but he brought a much needed intangible to this year’s squad. Toughness.
Godfrey only averaged 4.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 14.1 minutes per game in his lone season as a Tiger, but every time he entered the game he brought toughness and grit with him.
Early in the year, Godfrey expressed that his main focus was to bring energy off the bench and help spread it throughout his teammates.
“It is definitely going to be my goal,” he said in a post game interview. “Whenever I am out there, focus and energy is all I want to bring.”
The Milwaukee native took an interesting path to the get to the University of Memphis. Godfrey began his college career at Iowa State University. He showed much promise throughout his freshman campaign, but after being arrested for possession of marijuana, Iowa State dismissed Godfrey.
Godfrey then moved down to the junior college level and spent his sophomore season at Howard College. After only one season at Howard, Godfrey jumped back up to Division 1 at Southern University. At Southern, Godfrey showed off his full skill set. He led the team in scoring (12.9 points per game), rebounds (8.8 per game) and blocks (1.6 per game). He was eventually named to the All-Southern Athletic Conference first team.
The NCAA deemed Southern ineligible for postseason play in 2014-15, granting players immediate eligibility if they elected to transfer. Godfrey, who had never been to the NCAA tournament in his collegiate career, decided to make the jump to Memphis in hopes of reaching that goal.
After limited playing time through the first few games, Godfrey got into a verbal altercation with coach Josh Pastner and his staff, after coming out of the game against Oklahoma State. The lone senior seemed to be very frustrated with his role on the team and was ultimately suspended for one game. Upon his return though, Godfrey seemed like a new player. He had bought into his role as an enforcer off the bench.
Godfrey credited his turnaround and determination to his teammates and explained how he wanted to leave everything on the floor for them.
“I just want to credit it to the team, for keeping me motivated and keeping me pushing throughout the first half of the season,” he said in a postgame interview. “As you all know, it was frustrating for me. My team stayed confident with me, and everybody believed that we could do better. So now I just want to give them everything I can every time I'm out there on the court.”
In what could be argued as one of the Tigers best performances of the year, a 63-50 win over Cincinnati, Godfrey shined in his enforcer role, adding eight points and eight rebounds. He explained after the game, that Pastner and his staff talked to him about bringing toughness to the team after getting outmanned by Cincinnati the previous season.
“The coaches instilled in me that last year we got punked,” he said. “They didn't want that. They came to me with the toughness stuff, so I had to spread it along the team. Everyone picked it up and played their part."
Godfrey’s best games of the year came arguably, in the final two games of the season. He put up 14 points (his season high) and four rebounds in a 77-65 loss to Cincinnati. Then in his final game as a Tiger, Godfrey added 13 points and seven rebounds in an 80-75 loss to Temple in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament.
It is easy to say that Godfrey was coming into his own as a Tiger, just as the season ended. As the lone senior, he was looked to as a leader and helped instill toughness into his teammates. He won’t be easily replaced.
The lone senior on the Tigers basketball team this season, Godfrey was the only player honored on senior night. He averaged 4.5 points and 3.6 rebounds a game this season. Photo by David Minkin
