2010 November 17

Barton cures hangover: Tigers 94, NW State 79

It was a perfect time for Will Barton to come alive.

After watching a 19-point lead evaporate and the energy from the crowd hit rock bottom, Memphis’ heralded but rarely seen freshman arrived. A barrage of 3-pointers. A steal. A dunk. Just like that, Memphis was well on its way to 94-79 victory over Northwestern State on Wednesday night.

“It felt so good, man,” Barton said. “I knew the crowd, me and everybody in Memphis had been waiting for me to have a game like this. I just had to let it all out after I got it going.”

Barton, who hadn’t played much this season because of an ankle injury and weeks of subsequent missed practice time, erupted for 22 points and eight rebounds. He scored 11 points in a row in a crucial second-half stretch that turned a 61-63 deficit into a 72-65 lead in a hurry.

Wesley Witherspoon finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Barton and freshman big man Tarik Black (nine points, five boards, two assists and a block) provided the spark for an otherwise lethargic Tigers team clearly still a bit hungover from an emotional win over Miami less than 48 hours earlier.

The Tigers (3-0) led 57-44 at halftime, but were outscored 19-4 to start the half. Memphis also struggled defensively, allowing the Demons to shoot 42.9 percent from the field. Will Pratt, Northwestern State’s go-to player, had 23 points and six rebounds.

“I got a little frustrated because I understood the importance of this game,” said Memphis coach Josh Pastner after, in true Pastner fashion, apologizing for slapping the scorer’s table multiple times. “I understood that this could be a trap game. … If you start believing and reading our own press clippings from the previous morning, you can have a hangover.”

Quotable

“I was trying to get my feet wet and get back to the old me. It was a little frustrating at first. … I needed to get my confidence back up. It was very tough because I missed a lot of practices and a lot of game time, and I think I was playing a little scared.” — Will Barton on his slow start to the season

Missing in action (and from the locker room)

By the time media were allowed into the locker room after the game, Coleman had already left. But what reporters couldn’t get from a face-to-face interview, they got from a single tweet:

“Bout to hang my sneaks up……real talk!!!!” Coleman (@gamuscle0) wrote on his Twitter page.

This post was quickly deleted.

He later posted, “HA!!…and to think I actually said that hahaha…I just got a lil fine tunin to do…;) bout to get on my ishhhh!!!”

Though Coleman’s tweet was just an emotional overreaction, it does help paint an accurate picture of what’s going on in the Memphis frontcourt: Coleman and Angel Garcia are struggling, and Black is taking over.

Coleman played just nine minutes Wednesday, finishing with two points and one rebound. Garcia had nine points and two boards in just 11 minutes.

“I have great confidence in Will Coleman, but production is what it comes down to,” Pastner said. “He’s going to snap out of it. I believe in him. … I know he’s frustrated right now.

“I don’t want to put anything on Will Coleman because I’ve got to look myself in the mirror and see what can we get from me to get him going. On the other hand, he’s got to produce because we don’t have time to wait.”

Twitter watch

This Memphis Tigah team has more talent than the Pony! — @FakePeteGillen

The Tigers are struggling so much tonight that Wolo just went to break saying “You’re listening to Tiger Football…” ouch — @MemphisRoar

i cant deal wit the close game all the way over here!dear god:just please give me the ability to come through a computer screen! — @ToTheMackximum (That’s former Tiger Doneal Mack for those who don’t know)

come on big will!!!!!!i told you bout tht weak shit with all those muscles!take them in the rim with you! — @ToTheMackximum

Brandon Harris covers Tiger basketball for Memphis Sport. You can follow him via Twitter @bharris901.

Written by Brandon Harris, Photo by Michael Cardwell.

Frustrated and falling short: Blazers 100, Grizzlies 99

After their fourth straight loss, the Grizzlies’ locker room was about what you’d expect: quiet, distant, tense and full of frustration. From the franchise player questioning the late-game strategy, to veterans yearning for the team to “get back to where they were,” the Grizzlies are clearly in a hard spot.

“We’ve got to lock in at the end of the game,” said forward Rudy Gay after Memphis’ 100-99 loss to the Blazers on Tuesday. “Our end-of-the-game strategy is terrible. We won’t focus on defense. We’ll relax. We’re spoiled because we think Z-Bo is going to get every rebound like today. That was tough. … Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t.”

Sounds like a polite way of saying, “Give me the ball.” But whatever.

Gay was referring to the Grizzlies’ attempt at a game-tying possession with 41 seconds left. Out of a timeout, the ball was in OJ Mayo’s hands before Portland’s Andre Miller stripped it and sank a 10-footer on the other end to extend the Blazers’ lead to two possessions with 21 seconds left.

Mike Conley missed a jumper on the ensuing possession. Gay and Conley each hit inconsequential 3-pointers in the waning seconds as Portland — playing without its star, Brandon Roy — escaped FedExForum with a win.

Wesley Matthews, who started for Roy, finished with a career-high 30 points, including 22 in the first half, while Miller had 19 points and nine assists. Rudy Gay led Grizzlies scorers with 20 points, while Zach Randolph finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Marc Gasol, limited early with foul trouble, had just nine points and four boards in 25:51.

“It’s not as bad as it looks, but we have to win these games,” Gasol said. “We will — I know we will — but it just breaks your heart to lose them.”

Rotation #thundastick

The aforementioned Matthews was straight lighting the Grizzlies up in the first half. He couldn’t miss from 3-point range (5-of-10 for the game) and was running around screens and along the baseline like he was invisible. In the second quarter, though, instead of putting in the man brought in to be a “defensive stopper” (Tony Allen), Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins went with offensive free spirit Sam Young.

A bit of a perplexing lineup move, sure — especially when a guy who wasn’t even drafted is making your defense look silly — but perhaps Hollins saw something others didn’t?

Nope.

“Because I wanted to,” Hollins said.

Fair enough.

“The rotation has nothing to do with where we are,” Hollins said a few minutes later.

Suppose we can let him keep thinking that.

‘Watch from my seat’

Hollins, never hesitant to defend himself and grossly overcompensate, had this to say after fielding a question about strategy and rotations.

“You guys (the media) sit there and watch it from different perspectives,” Hollins said. “I’d like for you to watch from my seat once in a while.”

Twitter watch

Rudy Gay wants to fight through screens like a husband trying to help his wife try on clothes during football. #dontwalkrun — @HPbasketball

Follow @memphissport @douggillon @bharris901 @chasingphoto and @cerrito for live Grizzlies tweets during games and check Memphissport.net after each game for a full recap from FedExForum.

Written by Brandon Harris, Photo by JD Meredith.