Posts Tagged “Latavious Williams”
 Shawn Taggart battles for a loose ball Most Memphis Tigers basketball fans are waiting to see if star player Shawn Taggart will be returning to the team next season. With Coach Josh Pastner’s recent 2009 recruiting class signings, the team will be good next season…if Taggart returns for one more year, then the Tigers will likely be the clear-cut favorites to repeat as Conference USA champions again as well has have a shot at making a good showing in the 2010 NCAA tournament. If Taggart does decide to go the professional route, Memphis is still going to make a good showing, but there will be more of an onus on the new recruits to be ‘go-to’ players earlier in the season.
Memphis Basketball – Shawn Taggart’s Collegiate Career Summary
The 2008-09 season saw Shawn Taggart step out into the starting role for the first time in his career. He started 27 games last season while averaging 10.4 points a game and pulled down 7.6 boards per contest. He was the Tigers’ top rebounder and free throw shooter and the third leading scorer on the team. In the 2007-08 season he started 9 games and averaged 5.9 points per game, 4.2 rebounds, and was third on the team with 37 blocked shots. Prior to that, Taggart had to sit out the 2006-07 season after transferring from Iowa State and had to sit out from practice while recovering from ACL surgery. Although he recently graduated, Taggart has two more years of NCAA eligibility remaining.
Why Shawn Taggart Should Come Back for One More Year
The conventional wisdom for Taggart is that he should come back for one more season of college basketball to continue to work on his overall skillset before making the jump to the NBA. At this point, most 2009 NBA mock drafts do not list him as being drafted, or if they do in the later portions of the 2nd round. At 6’10″ he brings good size, but still needs to work a bit on ball handling and post moves to give himself a better position in the draft.
Why Shawn Taggart May Stay in the 2009 NBA Draft
Despite the fact that he might not be drafted, we may still see Shawn Taggart remain in the 2009 draft. This is for a few reasons: 1 – This year’s draft is pretty weak on the numbers of big men. Next year’s draft is going to be a lot deeper for post players and Taggart could find himself further behind the competition. Even if he doesn’t go in the second round, Shawn can likely sign for more money this year as an unrestricted free agent than next when the lineup of bigs is going to be much longer, 2 – He might know something that we don’t regarding the potential NCAA rules violations for Memphis. Would he come back to play for a team that suffers penalties for the D Rose drama?, 3 – He’s getting old (for an NBA rookie). Taggert is 24, teams may not want his services as much if he’s going up for the draft at 25, etc….
So, its going to be a tough choice for Taggart I think. If he has a shot at being drafted, his smartest decision may be to remain in the draft since he already has a college degree. Regardless, we’ll all know by June 15th!
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Posted by admin in 2009 NCAA Recruiting, Memphis Tigers, tags: 2010 nba draft, Doneal Mack, john calipari, Josh Pastner, Latavious Williams, Martin Nglaoro, Memphis Tigers, memphis tigers basketball, Memphis TIgers Recruiting
 Josh Pastner, 17th Head Coach at Memphis In case you missed it, Martin Nglaoro is officially going to be a Memphis Tiger next season. Memphis Roar and True Blue Tigerhad reported he was going to be on campus this past weekend visiting, and heck I even listed him on the 2009 Tigers Recruiting class review…little did we know that the new recruiting master in NCAA basketball, Josh Pastner, already had Ngaloro signed! Of course, with the recent D Rose drama, Coach P could not have picked a better time to release the signing. So the real question is this? How long is it going to take Pastner to pass Calipari in total wins at Memphis???
Pastner vs Calipari…Who’s Better for Memphis?
No doubt, that Coach Cal is a self-contained marketing business. In two months, he has the Kentucky Wildcats in the news every day. That’s what the Kentucky fans and administration want, and that’s what they got. Well, never mind that the state (Kentucky) is going to be broke (really, I’m not kidding), Coach Cal will likely be elected governor there after the Cats have a few 30 win seasons under their belt. But what about Memphis? Well, you could argue that Pastner has already surpassed Calipari in his first season. With his coup-of-a-signing of Latavious Williams (or whatever we’re calling his scholarship agreement), keeping Will Coleman on course, and Nglaoro coming aboard, all of a sudden he has equalled the number of 5 star rivals recruits in one season Coach Cal ever had (we don’t count the now disbanded 2009 Memphis class that would have been his best). And don’t forget…Pastner did this in 8 weeks…many of them with no help! Just think, what can he do with a full recruiting season under his belt?? Not to mention the fact that since he is not followed by 1/2 the southeast on Twitter, doesn’t have multi-million dollar interests not-in-the-gym, and is hungry, how much more effective is he going to be on the recruiting and coaching trails?
2009-10 Memphis Tigers Season
So, what’s in store for next season if you’re a Tiger fan? Well, for one, we still don’t quite know exactly who will be back playing next season. If Taggart is smart, he’ll spend another year at Memphis, work on his skills, and try to get into the first round in the 2010 NBA draft. Of course, he likely has a ton of people trying to convince him that since 2009 is not a super-strong NBA draft year, he’ll have a better chance at going higher and getting more dinero…we’ll just have to wait and see. I think the biggest question for Memphis, is going to be the point guard play. With the bigs that we know will be on the team next season, is Doneal Mack our guy or is the answer with another player? Will Coach P pull out some deritive of the ‘Dribble Drive’ to best use the folks we have, or implement something totally new? Regardless, the Tigers are well-positioned to win Conference USA again, and likely be a Top 20 team by the time March rolls around…a far cry from 8 weeks ago when many thought Memphis should just turn Fed-Ex Forum over to the Grizzlies for next season!
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Posted by admin in 2009 NCAA Recruiting, Memphis Tigers, tags: Conference USA Basketball, Doneal Mack, john calipari, josh pasnter, Latavious Williams, Martin Ngalor, Memphis Tigers, memphis tigers basketball, Robert Sallie, Shawn Taggart, Will Coleman
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 Read the rest of this entry »
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