as this writer is telling Memphis fans to do after the announcement yesterday that U of M will retain Pastner as their coach. Those of you that keep repeating themselves in asking for HCBW to be fired maybe need to decide if they are truly fans of KSU or just want to continue to bash HCBW. Yes, everyone is disappointed with the last couple of years but if you cannot see a brighter future ahead with the core group of freshman like so many of the experts, i.e. color analysts who covered KSU games this year, then you are not being honest with yourselves. I strongly encourage you to read this article below and see if you do not see similarities.
What should Memphis Tiger basketball fans do now?
Pull for Josh Pastner to figure it out.
They should pull for him to get back to the NCAA Tournament after two years on the outside looking in.
They should root for him to stem the tide of departures that has wrecked the program the last few years.
They should hope he is finally able to put together — and trust — a staff that complements his strengths and bolsters his weaknesses.
Yes, now that the University of Memphis has decided it is too expensive to send Pastner packing, Memphis fans should put aside their queasiness over the decision and hope that the university looks smart a year from now.
I know I certainly will.
University of Memphis president David Rudd and athletic director Tom Bowen released a joint statement Friday afternoon, confirming what everybody had suspected for the last couple weeks.
"We signed Pastner to a ridiculous, indefensible contract a few years back and now we're stuck with him," the statement said.
No, I'm kidding. The statement said that Memphis has "fallen short in our on-court performance the last two years" and will "make the necessary investments and changes in order that our program may compete at the highest level with Josh Pastner as our coach."
But it all boiled down to the buyout, of course. Memphis didn't have — or couldn't justify — spending $10.6 million to make a basketball coach go away.
There's no particular shame in that, either. It may be the more responsible, morally defensible choice. Memphis has struggled to raise the $40 million needed for its athletics capital campaign. The school keeps going back to the same boosters, time after time.
The problem, of course, is that the buyout doesn't disappear after this season. It just shrinks by $2.65 million a year. So if Pastner flounders again in 2016-2017, Memphis would still have to pay him nearly $8 million to go away.
That's another reason the only thing to do is to wish Pastner the best, to hope he is somehow able to put together an excellent season and reverse the damage he has done.
Tom Crean did it at Indiana this past year. He was reviled by fans of that program. He and his wife were heckled at his son's high school basketball game. A local columnist wrote that he should be fired.
So all Crean did was go out and win the Big 10 regular-season championship. It's much harder to heckle that.
Of course, Crean had a roster that enabled him to put together that kind of season. Indiana was picked to finish in everyone's Top 25. Pastner, by contrast, could be returning with his worst team since his first year in Memphis, depending on which players decide to stay or go.
Shaq Goodwin, Trahson Burrell and Ricky Tarrant have used up their eligibility. Avery Woodson could leave as a graduate transfer. But the key to it all is Dedric Lawson, who has said he’ll explore the possibility of going to the NBA. If he’s back, a bounce-back year is certainly possible. If he’s gone, look out below.
All of which means that Pastner will have his work cut out for him this offseason. The people who sell tickets at Memphis will have their work cut out for them, too. This past year, too many Memphis fans didn't use the season-tickets they had already purchased. After Friday's decision, some of those fans may just let their season-tickets go.
I understand that reaction, honestly. I'm not going to tell anyone how to spend their money or their time. But I also know that Memphis basketball really is bigger than any one coach or any few seasons. And that the program — and the university — desperately needs the continued support.
As for me, I'm going to stop writing about Pastner's job security now that it's no longer a relevant topic. I'll cover whatever changes are made to the program. I'll cover the players and assistant coaches as they come or go.
But Memphis has officially decided that Pastner will be returning for his eighth season as head basketball coach.
There is nothing to do but wish him the best.
What should Memphis Tiger basketball fans do now?
Pull for Josh Pastner to figure it out.
They should pull for him to get back to the NCAA Tournament after two years on the outside looking in.
They should root for him to stem the tide of departures that has wrecked the program the last few years.
They should hope he is finally able to put together — and trust — a staff that complements his strengths and bolsters his weaknesses.
Yes, now that the University of Memphis has decided it is too expensive to send Pastner packing, Memphis fans should put aside their queasiness over the decision and hope that the university looks smart a year from now.
I know I certainly will.
University of Memphis president David Rudd and athletic director Tom Bowen released a joint statement Friday afternoon, confirming what everybody had suspected for the last couple weeks.
"We signed Pastner to a ridiculous, indefensible contract a few years back and now we're stuck with him," the statement said.
No, I'm kidding. The statement said that Memphis has "fallen short in our on-court performance the last two years" and will "make the necessary investments and changes in order that our program may compete at the highest level with Josh Pastner as our coach."
But it all boiled down to the buyout, of course. Memphis didn't have — or couldn't justify — spending $10.6 million to make a basketball coach go away.
There's no particular shame in that, either. It may be the more responsible, morally defensible choice. Memphis has struggled to raise the $40 million needed for its athletics capital campaign. The school keeps going back to the same boosters, time after time.
The problem, of course, is that the buyout doesn't disappear after this season. It just shrinks by $2.65 million a year. So if Pastner flounders again in 2016-2017, Memphis would still have to pay him nearly $8 million to go away.
That's another reason the only thing to do is to wish Pastner the best, to hope he is somehow able to put together an excellent season and reverse the damage he has done.
Tom Crean did it at Indiana this past year. He was reviled by fans of that program. He and his wife were heckled at his son's high school basketball game. A local columnist wrote that he should be fired.
So all Crean did was go out and win the Big 10 regular-season championship. It's much harder to heckle that.
Of course, Crean had a roster that enabled him to put together that kind of season. Indiana was picked to finish in everyone's Top 25. Pastner, by contrast, could be returning with his worst team since his first year in Memphis, depending on which players decide to stay or go.
Shaq Goodwin, Trahson Burrell and Ricky Tarrant have used up their eligibility. Avery Woodson could leave as a graduate transfer. But the key to it all is Dedric Lawson, who has said he’ll explore the possibility of going to the NBA. If he’s back, a bounce-back year is certainly possible. If he’s gone, look out below.
All of which means that Pastner will have his work cut out for him this offseason. The people who sell tickets at Memphis will have their work cut out for them, too. This past year, too many Memphis fans didn't use the season-tickets they had already purchased. After Friday's decision, some of those fans may just let their season-tickets go.
I understand that reaction, honestly. I'm not going to tell anyone how to spend their money or their time. But I also know that Memphis basketball really is bigger than any one coach or any few seasons. And that the program — and the university — desperately needs the continued support.
As for me, I'm going to stop writing about Pastner's job security now that it's no longer a relevant topic. I'll cover whatever changes are made to the program. I'll cover the players and assistant coaches as they come or go.
But Memphis has officially decided that Pastner will be returning for his eighth season as head basketball coach.
There is nothing to do but wish him the best.
