Memphis Roar

With an abundance of topics to cover heading into a new week under new head coach Josh Pastner, here is a summary of the news related to the University of Memphis basketball program.

TAGG TO TEST

University of Memphis junior center Shawn Taggart announced today that he will enter his name in the 2009 NBA draft but will not retain an agent. Not hiring an agent keep the door open for the opportunity of a return for his final year at Memphis. On a roster that will be depleted in the interior next season, Taggart would likely have a huge opportunity to improve upon his draft stock by remaining at Memphis one more season.

Here is the official release from the University of Memphis:

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – University of Memphis junior forward Shawn Taggart announced Monday that he submitted his paperwork to the NBA office, declaring for the league’s 2009 draft. Taggart, who will graduate in May, still has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining.

“This (playing in the NBA) is a dream of mine, and I want to test the waters and see what feedback I receive,” said Taggart. “Coach (Josh) Pastner has encouraged me to do this, and I’m thankful I have his support. After I get back all the information, I will talk it over with my family and Coach Pastner, and then make a decision at that time whether to remain in the draft or return for my final year here at Memphis.”

A 2009 Conference USA All-Tournament Team pick, the 6-foot-10 forward played in all 37 games (27 starts) in the 2008-09 campaign and averaged 10.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. He shot 50.9 percent from the field 74.8 percent from the charity stripe and blocked 51 shots. Taggart led the Tigers in rebounding and free throw percentage and was second in field goal percentage and blocks and third in scoring. He finished the year ranked among Conference USA leaders in scoring (29th), rebounding (6th) and blocked shots (5th).

Taggart had eight double-doubles this past season, including four in the final 10 games. The Richmond, Va., native played strong down the stretch for the Tigers this past year. In the final 15 games of 2008-09, he averaged 10.9 points and 8.3 rebounds, while shooting 55.3 percent from the field and 79.4 percent from the free throw line. In that 15-game stretch, Taggart had seven double-figure scoring games and five double-digit rebounding contests.

“Shawn and I have talked on a couple of occasions this past week, and I told him to go for it,” said Memphis head coach Josh Pastner. “I support him in pursuing his dream, and when he receives feedback from the league, I will sit down with him and assist him any way I can in making his decision.”

As a sophomore in 2007-08, Taggart averaged 6.3 points and 4.2 boards in a reserve role for the Tigers. He played in 30 of Memphis’ 40 games that season. Taggart, who transferred from Iowa State, sat out the 2006-07 campaign as a result of the NCAA transfer rule. During his freshman campaign at Iowa State in 2005-06, Taggart played in 30 games and averaged 5.6 points and 3.6 rebounds.

In his collegiate career (Memphis and Iowa State), Taggart has scored 743 points and has pulled down 512 boards. His career shooting percentages are 50.2 percent from the floor and 70.4 percent from the charity stripe.

HARD SELL ON BLEDSOE

One name that was previously on Memphis’ radar may start popping up again; Eric Bledsoe. In a scramble to make up lost time, head coach Josh Pastner is having to put the hard sell on some of the remaining top-tier guys in hopes of filling some of the holes left by former Memphis signees Nolan Dennis, Xavier Henry, DeMarcus Cousins and the guy previously widely expected to become a Tiger, John Wall.

Bledsoe is one of the best point guards in the 2009 class and is being sold as Memphis’ number one option. This update is not meant to overly excite the Memphis fan-base, as it is expected to be an extremely uphill battle to jump back into the heated race for Bledsoe’s services along-side Florida, Cincinnati and Kentucky.

Bledsoe played in the Derby Festival Classic over this past weekend and was expected to visit Kentucky on Sunday. If there was ever proof that those associated with a recruit have just as much say-so in the process as the player himself, Bledsoe’s high school coach, Maurice Ford, made sure that the UK visit did not happen at the request of Mick Cronin, University of Cincinnati’s coach. Instead of visiting the home of the Wildcats Sunday, Bledsoe was taken on a visit of the Bearcats’ campus.

SPECULATION ON ASSISTANT SPOTS

As of today, no news has officially come out on the open spots on Pastner’s staff. Despite that, names have come across the Rumor Mill’s desk today, some that are quite interesting. As of now, here is MemphisRoar’s official-unofficial-rumored-potential assistant candidates list(vague enough for ya?):

ASSISTANTS

• Jim Rosborough
• Scott Adubato
• Kevin O’Neil
• Kenny Payne
• Reggie Geary
• Miles Simon
• Stan Jones
• Tony Madlock

BASKETBALL OPS

• Matt Eisele
• Andre Turner

The important thing to remember is that this is not something that needs to be rushed. Pastner and the administration must bring in the right guy at the right spot. There is so much more that is going into this position search than meets the eye. As a fan-base, it is imperative to remain positive and put faith in the man behind the wheel to steer this bus in the right direction. Finally, just note that these are just names that have been tossed out there while speaking to different people over the last week. In no way are we saying that even a single person off of this list will wind up on staff. This list is merely to generate converation when accurate information is few and far between regarding the assistant search.