Tiger Redux

by Cub Buenning The fall of 2007 came to the Mid-South metropolis of Memphis, TN in a blast of hope, renewal and continued dominance for its beloved Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team. The program returned several key pieces from the prior season–which was one of the university’s best ever–and with an incoming freshmen class that included Chicago prep phenom, Derrick Rose, the future was glaringly bright. The Tigers of John Calipari had size, speed, athleticism, talent and depth at every position. They won game after game with their attacking style of penetration half-court basketball complete with the ability to bring in both lethal scorers and/or defensive-minded role guys off the bench. It was a coach’s dream. They had a schedule in place that would surely test them outside of the milk-toast rigors of the Conference-USA schedule. They were going to travel and host games against some of the nation’s best teams. No more excuses and no more stall-outs in Elite Eight (t...