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Memphis’ 2009 Men’s Basketball Recruiting Class

Memphis Head Coach Pastner

***Edited to reflect current events, 6/11

Wheh, its been a hectic last few months if you are a Memphis Tigers fan. I have to admit, until I moved to the area a little over two years ago, my only trip to Memphis had been in High School we we came in from out of state to get spanked by Penny Hardaway’s High School team by from what I remember, at least 30 points…Hardaway played about a quarter+ and scored his 30, so we made it semi-respectable against the waterboy and freshman team. That being said, I’m always a fan of the local college basketball team (especially when they’re a UT rival!). The Tiger’s have lost their coach, and 90% of the original recruiting class for next season. But…Memphis has ended up with one of the best young coaches in the college ranks in Josh Pasnter. Coach Pasnter is the perfect follow-up to a coach like John Calipari for Memphis. He’s young, motivated, and guess what? He’s landed or kept two big time prospects for next season in Latavious Williams and Will Coleman…and he just might surprise everyone with not only winning Conference USA again, but also taking the Tigers deep into the NCAA tournament. There’s nothing better to motivate the talented young men that he’s bringing to the 2009-10 season than the fact that NO ONE is picking the Tigers to accomplish much next season. Only time will tell, and we know Pastner isn’t quite done putting the team together for next season, but his 2009 recruiting class is highlighted as well as what the potential starting lineup could look like next season.

#1 Memphis Basketball Prospect – PF – Latavious Williams
Rivals.com - #17
Scout.com- 4 Star
Ht: 6′8″
Wt: 205 lbs

#2 Memphis Basketball Prospect – C – Will Coleman
Rivals.com - 4 Star
Scout.com- 3 Star JUCO
Ht: 6′9″
Wt: 265 lbs

#3 Memphis Basketball Prospect – SF Martin Ngalor
You can view the latest from Memphis Roar by clicking the link to his name, but star-French prospect, Martin Ngalor signed with Coach Pastner and the Tigers in mid-May and then was announced a few weeks later as coming to Memphis for the 2009-10 college basketball season.
Memphis Tigers Men’s Basketball Videos

2009-10 Projected Starting Lineup for the Memphis Tigers

Ok, so what we know at this point (and I’m purposely not talking about the looming DRose scandal…) is that Williams, Coleman, and Ngalor  have committed to the team. I’ve listed Doneal Mack and Robert Sallie as the nr 1 and 2 guard starters heading into the summer, but that could change based on who signs, stays, and goes. We did see what Sallie was capable of last post-season, and I think Pastner is the perfect coach to get Mack to realize his full potential without a DRose, Tyreke Evans, or John Wall to hold him back.I put Willams and Coleman in starting roles, but they could just as easy be in the first group off of the bench. I do know, that if Pastner is able to land a decent guard to add to the mix, the Tigers are going to be a quiet contender capable of going deep in the post season. Even if they don’t, they’ll still be dangerous, but there will be more of an onous on Mack and Sallie to consistently perform than in the previous two seasons. One prospect that everyone is waiting to see what will occur with his legal proceedings in the month of June that would be a huge boon to Coach P’s Tigers, is New York City’s Lance Stephenson.

Projected 2009-10 Memphis Tiger Starting Lineup

PG: Doneal Mack

SG: Robert Sallie

SF: Martin Ngalor

PF: Latavious Williams

C: Will Coleman

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This entry was posted on Sunday, May 31st, 2009 at 2:07 pm and is filed under 2009 NCAA Recruiting, Memphis Tigers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.