I arrived to the University of Memphis in the fall of 2014. Memphis went 3-9 in 2013, Justin Fuente’s second season as head football coach. I expected to have four years of awful football and have four years of decent basketball, which included watching the Tigers in the NCAA Tournament.
I missed the first football game my freshman year because I had to work, and I assumed they would lose anyway, but the Tigers won. My first game to attend as a student, I watched Memphis defeat MTSU. I traveled to Oxford to watch the Tigers not do too well, but then they began conference play. They kept winning and ended their season with a win in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl. I was in Florida for the holidays and was able to make the trip to watch the Tigers beat BYU in double overtime at Marlins Park. The Tigers finished 25th in the nation, and Memphis had something other than basketball to be proud of.
Basketball season had already begun, and the Tigers were struggling to maintain momentum. Josh Pastner was in his sixth season as the Tigers head coach. When conference play rolled around, the Tigers were not performing like I had expected. Memphis missed the postseason for the first time in 15 years. I had been watching Memphis basketball since I was in elementary school. It was the first time I ever experienced not watching the postseason.
The following semester, Fuente’s team had a strong start. The Tigers won, and they kept winning. The previous season was not just a fluke. They beat Ole Miss at home and became bowl eligible for the second consecutive season. The Tigers won eight games before their first loss that season. Justin Fuente moved to the ACC to become the head coach at Virginia Tech. The quarterback, Paxton Lynch, was drafted in the first round by the Denver Broncos after the season. It was time to transition, and Memphis wondered if the Tigers could ever be good in football again.
Memphis hired Arizona State’s offensive coordinator, Mike Norvell. Norvell’s hire was quickly overshadowed by Pastner’s struggling Tiger team.
Memphis native Austin Nichols transferred to Virginia. Fan favorite Shaq Goodwin graduated. Josh Pastner kept Dedric Lawson, a top recruit in Memphis, from going to Kentucky by hiring his dad, Keelon Lawson, on staff. The Tigers did not perform like fans hoped, and for the second consecutive season, Memphis missed the postseason, which meant no NCAA Tournament and no NIT. Many fans were ready to get rid of Pastner.
Then it was weird for Memphis basketball. Pastner was hired by Georgia Tech. Memphis actually paid him, and he and Georgia Tech did not owe Memphis any money. Memphis made their second head coach hire of the year in NCAA Tournament champion and future hall-of-fame coach Tubby Smith. He was the most accomplished coach Memphis ever hired. Memphis and I thought Tubby was here to save Tiger basketball.
Soon after, the Big 12 announced they would be expanding, and Memphis was among the teams being considered. President M. David Rudd tweeted anything and everything positive about Memphis. It looked like he was trying to sway the NCAA to put Memphis in the Big 12. Early my junior year, the Big 12 announced Memphis was no longer in the mix, and the Big 12 never did expand to 12 teams.
At the beginning of my junior year, fans were nervous to see how Memphis would fare under new coach Norvell. The Tigers did well. It was not the 2014 season they had under Fuente, but the Tigers went to the Boca Raton Bowl, and fans were pleased with the new head coach and new quarterback Riley Ferguson.
Basketball season began. For me it was particularly exciting because for some reason, my editor-in-chief at The Daily Helmsman let me move to the sports staff. I was more than excited to begin writing about something my family always closely watched: Tiger basketball.
Memphis basketball seemed tired by February. The players were not living up to the hype everyone hoped they would see with this new accomplished coach leading the program. At the end of the season, 11 players left, and people realized they were not pleased with Tubby, and they were ready to pursue their careers elsewhere. Tubby was left with four players — a rising junior, two rising seniors and one player who had not seen any time on the floor because of difficulties of eligibility due to being from another country. Only two players were starters. People started to raise their eyebrows at this once-accomplished coach.
Soon thereafter, I watched a less acknowledged sport: Memphis softball. Head coach Natalie Poole was in her sixth season with the Tigers and had 29 wins, her best season as U of M head coach. She also coached co-AAC Player of the Year Lindsay Crowdus, who was fun to watch play so well.
Fall rolled around, and Memphis football started off to a rainy start. It actually rained to begin a season where Memphis faced every possible kind of weather you could see in a single season. Memphis played a great season. They went undefeated in the regular season at home. They made it to the AAC Championship and lost in overtime, but Ferguson and Anthony Miller were a dynamic duo. I got to sit in the press box for several of these games, including the 59th AutoZone Liberty Bowl. I learned the other side of the sport, the side where you have to analyze and get to ask the players and coach questions after the game.
Shortly before the end of football season, my editor agreed to let me actually watch Memphis basketball from press row. Inwardly, I was excited, but professionally, I had to watch and become critical of Tubby. While I absolutely defended the coach, I knew Memphians had an unrealistic expectation of these 11 new players. At the end of the season, Tubby was fired after just two seasons. Then Memphis hired Penny Hardaway.
I was and still am dumbfounded that a coach with no college experience was hired. However, if you would have told me Penny would bring the most excitement I have ever seen in the Tiger basketball community, I might have been a little more enthusiastic about the hire. Only one starter has transferred, and in a short amount of time, Penny has brought in one of the best classes in the nation and the best in the AAC.
While covering men’s basketball, I also got to watch women’s basketball. The team was wrecked with injuries, but the fight they had, especially the last few games in the Fieldhouse, was incredible.
After basketball settled down, I was able to fully focus on a team I admired: softball. Poole and the Tigers had the most historic start in program history. They returned many of their best players and recruited freshmen who have made an impact and have a bright future in Tiger blue. The team is three wins away from the tying the best record in the program at 33 wins, and the way they let me have a glimpse into their sport is something that stands out so distinctly from my time at The Daily Helmsman.
My place in college was not only at The Daily Helmsman. My place was in the press box, press conferences and talking to coaches and players. I learned not only to watch a sport, but to think critically about it — to think to ask questions about the game. I will be grateful to the coaches who let me ask the tough questions and let me give the U of M community a look at their sports. I also am so grateful for my professors who taught me and my editors who pushed me to better than I knew I could be.
