Freshmen learn to fit with Tigers
Youngsters thriving in workouts
Three weeks into summer workouts, some University of Memphis freshman basketball players are finding they have more adjustments to make than others.
Take 6-10, 311-pound forward Dominic Woodson. While freshman teammates Austin Nichols, Nick King and Markel Crawford have been able to focus primar- ily on basketball and schoolwork since arriving on campus this month, Woodson’s transition has required a bit more selfdiscipline.
“I can pretty much eat everything except potatoes,” said Woodson, who has dropped 8 pounds since his arrival at Memphis working with Tigers strength and conditioning coach Frank Matrisciano.
“If I have a salad, I can’t eat the ranch dressing because it’s fattening. But say if I go to Chick- fil-A and I get a sandwich, I can eat the first real sandwich with the bread and everything, but after that no more bread. (Matrisciano) is trying to cut down on the bread and stuff.”
Woodson, who hopes to be around 295 to 290 pounds when the season begins in November, and the rest of Memphis’ newcomers participated in their first media session Friday at the Finch Center.
Also, Pastner announced Friday that new assistant Jason Gardner will join the team Satur-
day, with his hiring having been approved by the Tennessee Board of Regents.
Gardner, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant at Loyola University of Chicago, was a teammate of Pastner’s at Arizona. He’s the fourth Arizona graduate Pastner has hired as an assistant coach since taking the top job at Memphis in 2009.
“There is not a bias with Arizona. I just happen to have a relationship with some of those guys,” Pastner said. “I coached Jason in college. I had one year where I was his teammate, so I had that relationship with him. But he knows he’s going to have to get the job done.
“I think he’ll be a tremendous recruiter. He’ll be a tremendous com- municator. He’ll be really good on the floor and with our guys. So we’re excited about the addition.”
Nichols, a 6-8, 215-pound forward from Briarcrest Christian, said he’s already noticed improvement in his strength, having worked out with Matrisciano for five days a week the last three weeks. He said the most challenging part of his transition to the college game has been “pushing myself all the way through practice and not giving up.”
“I’ve got to understand it’s not high school anymore. It’s a whole new level up,” Nichols said. “I just gotta bounce back from that and bring it to practice every day.”
Nichols, one of the nation’s top-rated 2013 prospects, has looked very comfortable going against Memphis’ other big men. The competition should get tougher next month, however, when Tigers sophomore forward Shaq Goodwin joins the team. Goodwin was cut this week from USA Basketball’s Under-19 World Championship Team tryouts.
“Once he comes back, that’s gonna be another step up from where we are right now. I’m definitely impressed with our big men,” said Nichols, who played with Goodwin on the AAU circuit. “Shaq and I are really good friends. I know how he plays and he knows how I play. I think it’ll be pretty fun.”
King, a 6- 6, 220-pound swingman from East High, has been one of the Tigers’ best rebounders in workouts. On Thursday night, he scored 44 points and had 19 rebounds playing with Tigers senior transfer Michael Dixon in the Bluff City Classic. He knows it won’t be that easy on the college level.
“The best piece of coaching advice is work on the things you need to work on, not the things that you’re already good at,” he said.
Crawford, a 6 - 4, 187-pound combo guard from Melrose High, said he’s surprised with how quickly he’s recovered from surgery last August to repair a torn ACL. Crawford hopes to be cleared for contact drills by Sept. 1 and has told Pastner he doesn’t want to redshirt this season, having sat out all of last year at Melrose.
“It’s around 85 percent,” Crawford said of his right knee. “It’s real tough sitting out. I sat out a year already and itching to get back out there is hurting me a little bit, but I gotta stay patient.”