Copyright Arkansas Online
University of Arkansas men's basketball Coach John Calipari knew a fierce Memphis defense awaited his No. 14 Razorbacks. Though only an exhibition Monday at FedExForum in Memphis, the transfer-heavy Tigers had a chance to prove themselves on national television. "At halftime, I said guys, 'This is every game we're going to play,' " Calipari said after a 99-75 win. " 'You end up being like the Super Bowl, they're going to come out of the gate like this team. Do you think the first five, six minutes, they're going to come after us? Yes. So, be prepared.' " After a 89-61 preseason win against Cincinnati on Oct. 24 at Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas had two days to get ready for Memphis' full-court press. Despite facing fewer jump-switches than Calipari expected, his team tossed away eight turnovers in the first 12 minutes. Calipari alternated the starting guards, Darius Acuff Jr. and D.J. Wagner, in the lineup as the deficit grew to 15 points. That wasn't a bad thing in a game that didn't count. "I was happy," Calipari said. "I was in the huddle saying, 'Guys, this is what we need. ... Some of you are coming out, because you're not fighting,' and that's all I said at halftime. This is what you want. Because I've got to figure out which of you can be in this kind of game and who can't. ... Either you'll fight through -- which they did, I'm proud of them -- or they don't, you get beat by 25." The Razorbacks won by 24. Arkansas will host Southern at 6 p.m. Monday in its season opener. "I mean, you had to think we were going to get smashed when we're down 15, 16, 17, whatever it was," Calipari said. "It wasn't even a game. We missed dunks and layups. So it was good for us." Billy Richmond III, a catalyst in the comeback with a pair of three-pointers, agreed. "It's just an exhibition game, so we're just trying to learn from it," Richmond said. "There's games we're going to be down. We all came together, let's see, can we come back and fight back as a team. So I feel like we needed this." Outside of the first minute, Arkansas led wire to wire in the win over Cincinnati. It looked overwhelmed at Memphis until consecutive three-pointers by freshman Meleek Thomas cut the lead to 31-20 with 6:39 left in the first half. Still, Memphis guard Quante Berry leaped for a putback layup with a second left, drew a foul and made the free throw for a three-point play and a 45-42 halftime lead. The Tigers tacked on two more three-point plays out of the half to take a 51-42 lead. "I mean, they came out, it looked like it was going to be 20," Calipari said. "Which tells them they're good enough. And for us to be able to come back and do what we did? It tells us how good do you want to be? You fought. They out-fought us at the beginning of the game, even the start of the second half. And then we battled and negated that and we could play basketball." "Think about it. In a game like that, as fast as it was, we only had 14 turnovers." Thomas, a former 5-star prospect who led with 23 points off the bench, was always confident. "Not one point in the game did we give up or say it was over, or feel it was over, or feel like we were letting go of the rope," Thomas said. "Like, at all points of the game, we were still connected and knew the outcome of the game, while we were playing the game. So, it's just about togetherness." That unity stems from a returning core of Wagner, Karter Knox, Trevon Brazile and Richmond, as well as integrating impact freshmen like Acuff and Thomas. Calipari believed if a new-look Memphis roster can stretch a 12-minute choke hold into longer periods, they could compete with anybody. Calipari's approach was to stay in the game long enough to tire Memphis' legs and be unselfish. "That's why we're ahead of where we've been," Calipari said. "Now, I've had to do it with new teams every year. So this is kind of unusual. But we were so good defensively the first game, I'm like, 'How can we be this far?' Well, there are four guys that know what we're doing. And then the other guys are playing pretty good and playing hard ... all of a sudden you've got that mix." The second-year Arkansas coach stopped himself, though. "But look, we're a ways away," he said. "Our execution at times was awful." Matt Byrne is the Bob Holt Razorback Reporter, named in honor of the longtime reporter who covered University of Arkansas sports. This position is funded by the ADG Community Journalism Project.
