Tennessee vs. Memphis Post Game Thoughts

After taking in the Vols vs. Tigers match up first hand yesterday, several things became obvious about each squad. First, neither of these teams is a marquee team--they simply don't have the talent depth to make a serious run in March.

Memphis:

• This team just isn't the Memphis we're used to from the past four years. While this team does have a definite pro prospect in Elliot Williams, it lacks any kind of depth. There are only eight scholarship players, and one of them is freshman D.J. Stephens who averages less than ten minutes a game. This leaves Memphis with a real rotation of just seven guys. That lack of depth can be exposed easily, as it was yesterday when Williams was relegated to the bench for most of the first half due to foul trouble.
• Elliot Williams has to get better with his right hand. He is way too left hand dominant and is clearly uncomfortable driving the ball with his off hand. Tennessee exposed this by shutting down the drive to the left and forcing Williams into his lowest point total of the season (13) on just one of seven shooting from the floor.
• Will Coleman isn't quite ready for big time college basketball...yet. There's no doubt the junior is an athletic freak and has all the tools to develop into a dominant big man, he's just not there yet. Coleman has only been playing organized basketball since his junior year of high school, and that really shows up. At times, he looks lost in the offensive set and unsure of what to do when he does get the ball.
• Roburt Sallie has to start knocking down open threes. This team needs him to make those shots to loosen up defenses. He was expected to a major contributor entering the season and just hasn't produced. Sallie does play some of the hardest and best defense on the team, however.

Tennessee:

• This team does not deserve to be in the top 25. Memphis played perhaps their worst offensive game of the season yesterday, got out rebounded by 19 and was still down by only four with 37 seconds left. Tennessee relies far too much on individual one on one match ups to be a an elite team. I expect they will lose at least four or five SEC games, most of them coming on the road.
• J.P. Prince may be the most hated local player in Memphis history. After growing up in Memphis and being a star at White Station under Terry Tippett, Prince has very few supporters left in Memphis. During pre-game introductions, he received the loudest boos of any of the Tennessee starters. Prince then lived up to expectations by jawing with Elliot Williams right before the tip off.
• Bruce Pearl is one of the great promoters of the game, love him or hate him. He came out onto the floor an hour and a half before tip off just to say hello and greet everyone. I'm personally not a fan of the guy, but he's good at marketing a program, just like Calipari is.