Check out Tyreke’s latest diary for Phillyhoops.net

Posted under Miscellaneous

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) - A career night by J.T. Tiller put Missouri one win away from its first trip to the Final Four. Memphis’ 27-game winning streak, meanwhile, is history.

Tiller scored a career-high 23 points - 15 more than his season average - and Missouri held off Memphis’ frantic rally for a 102-91 win Thursday night in the semifinals of the West Regional.

Third-seeeded Missouri led by 24 points four minutes into the second half, then saw Memphis close within six with 2:14 to play. Mizzou put it away from the foul line.

Missouri (31-6) advanced to play top-seeded Connecticut for the West title on Saturday.

“We came out and kind of took the fight to Memphis early on, and before you know it, our guys had a little confidence,” Missouri coach Mike Anderson said.

Dynamic point guard Tyreke Evans scored 33 for second-seeded Memphis (33-4). The Tigers shot only 18-for-32 from the foul line - last year, a poor showing at the foul line cost them dearly in an overtime championship game loss to Kansas.

Missouri freshman Marcus Denman had the game’s’ most jaw-dropping basket, a swish from three-quarters court at the halftime buzzer for a 13-point lead.

Tiller, the co-defensive player of the year in the Big 12, made 10-of-16 shots and had three steals. All five Missouri starters reached double figures. DeMarre Carroll scored 17 and Leo Lyons had 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Lyons was 11-for-18 from the foul line but made four straight in the final 1 1/2 minutes. In all, a whopping 77 free throws were taken, with Missouri making 30 of 45.

Robert Dozier had 19 points and 16 rebounds in Memphis’ first loss since a Dec. 20 setback against Syracuse. Antonio Anderson scored 18 in his last game for Memphis.

Missouri is among the last eight teams left in the NCAA tournament in just its third season under Anderson, a Nolan Richardson disciple who coached the last Conference USA team to beat John Calipari’s Memphis team - that was for UAB 62 games ago.

This was Tigers vs. Tigers in a matchup not only of nicknames but in-your-face, high-energy styles. Missouri ended up beating Memphis at its own game.

Missouri overwhelmed Memphis with a 27-7 run that spanned the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second.

Matt Lawrence’s third 3-pointer of the night - in four attempts - put Missouri ahead 64-40 with 16 minutes to play.

In its fourth straight regional semifinal appearance, Memphis finally turned up the pressure to force a series of turnovers that got the Conference USA champs back in the game.

Shawn Taggart’s rebound dunk cut it to 89-83 with 2:14 left, but Zaire Taylor sank two free throws to boost the lead to 91-83. Lyons made two free throws with 1:30 left, then two more with 1:21 to go and it was 95-85.

Lawrence had started it all for Missouri with a 3-pointer that ignited an 11-1 run. The Tigers took a 37-29 lead on Tiller’s inside basket with 5:39 left in the half.

After one of many driving layups by the freshman Evans cut it to 37-33, Missouri outscored Memphis 12-3 the rest of the half. Calipari aided the spurt with a technical foul. That resulted in one of two free throws by Lawrence, then another inside basket by Tiller.

Denman banked in a long shot with 21.2 seconds left, and the officials stopped play to study the video before deciding it was a 2-pointer. There certainly was no question on his next shot. After Taggart’s dunk for Memphis with just under four to seconds to go, Missouri got the ball to Denman, who let fly with defenders around him, a shot that hit nothing but the net as the horn blared.

Posted under Stories

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The projections – some of them, at least – say he’ll be a lottery pick if he leaves school early, a 19-year-old millionaire the moment commissioner David Stern summons him to the stage during this summer’s NBA draft.
For Memphis freshman Tyreke Evans, the decision whether to remain in college or turn pro seems automatic – especially considering he’ll get no resistance from his head coach.
“Without question,” Memphis’ John Calipari says, “if Tyreke has the opportunity to leave, I’ll tell him, ‘You’ve got to go.’ ”
Calipari has done it before with freshmen such as Derrick Rose and DaJuan Wagner – and he’ll likely do it again next season with the one-and-done prospects from a 2009 recruiting class that some analysts are already hailing as the best in college basketball history.
More and more these days, Memphis is becoming the country’s most popular pit-stop to the NBA.
“There’s a proven track record here,” Calipari says. “When you’re ready to take that next step, we won’t hold you back.”

Posted under Stories

Tyreke Evans was the #1 ranked HS player in the country last season and last year was the winner of the Triple Crown (MVP of the the Boost Mobile Elite 24 Game, the McDonald’s All American Game & the Jordan Brand Classic Game). Tyreke is considered to be a lottery pick in this year’s 2009 NBA DRAFT and will be contributing to Philly Hoops monthly.

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Posted under Miscellaneous

The University of Memphis men’s basketball team may need an additional trophy case after the 2008-09 season is complete as the Tigers nearly swept the Conference USA specialty awards, the league office announced Tuesday. Senior Antonio Anderson was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, freshman Tyreke Evans the league’s Freshman of the Year and freshman Wesley Witherspoon the C-USA Sixth Man of the Year.

Anderson also made his third-straight appearance on the Conference USA All-Defensive Team, and fellow senior Robert Dozier joined him on the league’s All-Defensive squad. Evans was selected to the C-USA All-Freshman Team.

The C-USA awards and All-Defensive and All-Freshmen teams were voted on by the league’s coaches and selected media members.

Anderson made it a three-year Memphis sweep for the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year honor, as the Tigers’ Joey Dorsey earned the award the previous two years (2007, 2008). Evans is the sixth Memphis freshman to receive the C-USA Freshman of the Year honor, with all six honorees coming in the John Calipari era. Other Tiger freshmen to earn the honor were Dajuan Wagner (2002), Sean Banks (2004), Darius Washington Jr. (2005), Shawne Williams (2006) and Derrick Rose (2008). Witherspoon is the second Tiger to take home the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award, as Jeremy Hunt did so in 2007. It is the third-straight season that two Tigers appeared on the C-USA All-Defensive Team. Anderson and Dorsey both made the squad in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Read More…

Posted under Stories, Tigers Hoops

Brian McCormick recently posted about the upcoming NBA Draft. He discusses Tyreke’s potential as a top pick. Read the full post here.

Posted under Miscellaneous

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - It may not have been pretty, but the Memphis Tigers are perfect for another season in Conference USA.

The fifth-ranked Tigers closed out the regular season Saturday by extending several streaks, including their third straight undefeated season in C-USA, with a 74-47 victory over Tulane.

Robert Dozier had 16 points and 12 rebounds as three Memphis players recorded double-doubles, and the Tigers extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 22 games.

The win also gave the Tigers 58 straight wins, including the postseason, in C-USA. Seniors Dozier, Antonio Anderson and Chance McGrady have won 132 games in their four-year careers at Memphis.

“That’s something you don’t dream of,” Dozier said.

At times, Memphis struggled in the game, partly because of the Senior Day ceremonies, and perhaps because they again were moving through the conference schedule without many challenges.

“I wouldn’t say we were bored, but sometimes we tend to lack focus in games,” said reserve guard Roburt Sallie, who finished with 11 points, including three 3-pointers in the second half. “We know we have to maintain what we need to do to beat teams.”

Tyreke Evans had 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, while Shawn Taggart added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers (28-3, 16-0).

Kevin Sims had 14 points for the Green Wave (13-16, 7-9). Kris Richard, Tulane’s second-leading scorer with an 11.2 average, had four points on 2-of-12 shooting as the Green Wave shot 30 percent in the game.

“The problem that Memphis presents to everyone in our conference is that we’re not used to playing against two guys being 6-9 (Dozier) and 6-10 (Taggart) with long arms,” Tulane coach Dave Dickerson said. “Evans is probably the best player in our conference and had 10 rebounds and got a double-double.”

Tulane kept it interesting as the Tigers played uninspired until midway in the second half. But Memphis rallied when the Green Wave got near, closing the game on a 27-4 run. Memphis coach John Calipari knew the Tigers would face Tulane’s best since the Green Wave had not played in a week.

“I kind of figured they’d come in with lively legs, and they did,” Calipari said. “Then they hung around.”

Tulane missed seven of its first eight shots, but Memphis was also a bit out of sync. At one point, out of a timeout, the Tigers coaching staff sent six players on the court leading to a technical foul.

Dozier said there may have been a bit of hangover from the pregame festivities, where the seniors and their families were honored.

“Everything I did felt kind of heavy,” Dozier said. “It felt like you had something extra on your back. But once guys settled down, we got into a little flow, we just took off.”

The Memphis defense caused problems for the Green Wave, allowing the Tigers to build to a 35-26 halftime lead. Taggart, who got on the boards early for second-chance opportunities, had 12 points in the half, missing only one of his six shots

Memphis missed five shots to open the half and Tulane went on a 7-0 run to get within 35-33 in the opening 4 minutes.

The Tigers went on a 23-2 run midway through the half. Dozier hit a 3-pointer, and Anderson scored four straight points to start the rally, and by the time Sallie connected on a 3-pointer from the top of the key, the Tigers had extended the lead to 65-45 with 3:47 left.

Dozier said he was never worried.

“I saw that we were struggling,” he said. “But I’ve been here four years, and, with us, we always find a way to pick it up.”

But it was the latest example of a Memphis team that has let opponents hang around until the second half. Houston was in the game with Memphis before losing 69-60 on Wednesday, and several other recent games have been close. Calipari wants to get his team out of the mind-set as they move into the postseason.

“What I’m worried about is in the last few games now, we’ve played just well enough to win,” Calipari said. “You seen them huddle out there with 9 minutes left, and they’re telling each other, as a team: ‘OK. Let’s go.’

“You can’t do that against a really good team. You’ll be down by 20, or you’ll be really close, and a really good team will continue to make plays.”

Posted under Tigers Hoops

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - University of Memphis’ Tyreke Evans has been named one of 15 finalists for the U.S. Basketball Writers of America’s (USBWA) National Player of the Year award, the organization announced Thursday. The USBWA Player of the Year is the Oscar Robertson Trophy. Evans is the only freshman among the Robertson Trophy finalists.

This is the second-straight year and the third time in the last four seasons that a Tiger player is a finalist for the Robertson Trophy. Chris Douglas-Roberts was a finalist in 2007-08, while Rodney Carney was a finalist for the honor in 2005-06.

Evans, an eight-time Conference USA Rookie of the Week recipient, leads the Tigers in scoring with a 17.1 average. He is also averaging 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.2 steals. Evans is second on the team in assists and leads the squad in steals. The Chester, Pa., native is shooting 45.8 percent from the field, 31.9 percent from the arc and 70.5 percent from the free throw line. He is ranked among the Conference USA leaders in scoring (7th), rebounding (18th), field goal percentage (9th), assists (11th) and steals (2nd).

In mid-January, Evans was named to collegehoops.net Mid-Season All-Freshman first team.

Joining Evans as finalists for the Robertson Trophy are: Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair, Kansas’ Sherron Collins, Villanova’s Dante Cunningham, Davidson’s Stephen Curry, Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin, North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson, Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody, Arizona State’s James Harden, Marquette’s Jerel McNeal, Kentucky’s Jodie Meeks, Connecticut’s Hasheem Thabeet, Wake Forest’s Jeff Teague and Ohio State’s Evan Turner.

The Robertson Trophy is voted on by the entire membership of the USBWA, which consists of nearly 800 journalists. The ballot will be distributed to the membership on Mar. 2. The presentation of this year’s award will take place on Apr. 3 at the USBWA’s annual awards breakfast at the downtown Detroit Athletic Club in conjunction with the NCAA Men’s Final Four.

The Robertson Trophy is the nation’s oldest award and the only one named after a former player. The legendary Oscar Robertson was the USBWA’s first player of the year in 1959. The USBWA renamed its Player of the Year award the Oscar Robertson Trophy in 1998.

Posted under Miscellaneous, Stories

Check out Tyreke’s latest diary entry for Philly Hoops. He talks about his experiences as a Tiger.

Posted under Miscellaneous, Tigers Hoops

Robert Dozier scored a career-high 23 points, Tyreke Evans added 13 and No. 8 Memphis routed Tulsa 63-37 Wednesday night for its 15th straight victory.

The Tigers (21-3, 9-0 Conference USA) won their 51st consecutive game in league play.

Jerome Jordan, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds against Memphis earlier this season, was held to a team-high eight points and three rebounds for Tulsa (17-8, 7-3). Ben Uzoh, Tulsa’s leading scorer at 14.9 points per game, was held scoreless in the first half and finished with three points.

Memphis limited Tulsa to 36 percent shooting, including 25 percent in the first half.

The Tigers led by 13 at halftime and extended their advantage to 22 after Evans scored on a driving layup with 14:07 left. The lead reached 23 points when reserve guard Willie Kemp connected on a 3-pointer, his only field goal. with about 3 1/2 minutes to go.

Memphis shot 54.5 percent in the second half to pull away.

The Tigers defeated Tulsa 55-54 on Jan. 13, but needed a last-second layup by Antonio Anderson to escape.

Memphis struggled in the first half, missing 14 of its first 20 shots. However, the Tigers used an 11-2 run over the final 6 minutes of the half to take a 28-15 lead at the break.

During the run, the Tigers got a layup from Evans, a 3-pointer from Dozier and three-point plays from Evans and Anderson. Tulsa failed to make a field goal in the final 6:24 of the first half, its only points in that stretch coming on two free throws by Jordan.

Tulsa, which outrebounded the Tigers by 18 in the teams’ first meeting, had a 21-15 edge on the boards at the half. But the Golden Hurricane shot only 25 percent in the half. Memphis was 10-of-28 for 35.7 percent.

Posted under Stories