Pastner keeps local talent at home

When my friends and I graduated from high school here in Memphis, there were four of us. Afterward, they bolted town as quickly as possible, but I stayed to attend The University of Memphis. It wasn't the cool choice, they said, but it was the one that made the most sense to me.

Ever since Josh Pastner took the reigns of The U of M men's basketball program, the perception of Memphis has changed. Suddenly, this city has become the cool place for local talent to stay and play for the Tigers. Good players want to stay.

Maybe it has to do with former coach John Calipari recruiting nationally instead of within his team's own city, but Memphis hasn't seen one of its own stay to suit up in the blue and gray in a long time.

Pastner's plan from the beginning was to start at home.

"We want to start from the inside-out," Pastner said in April. "We want to focus our recruiting on our own backyard and work from there."

Tarik Black, Joe Jackson, Chris Crawford. Ridgeway, White Station, Sheffield. All from Memphis, and all chose the Tigers.

If this were two years ago, I doubt any of them would have stayed.

So what's the secret to keeping these kids at home?

"I tell these kids, 'Look, you're going to be held accountable and responsible for your actions,'" Pastner said. "I tell them, 'You're going to do your job. You have to earn everything. Being on the floor is a privilege.'"

Pastner doesn't tell recruits that they'll start or even guarantee playing time.

So why do they still want to stay here?

"I'm honest," he said. "I tell them how I feel."

Honesty? It seems almost out of place in college basketball. But that's how he does it.

"I'm a big believer that competition breeds excellence," Pastner added. "Everybody talks about being great. Okay, you want to be great? You need to be around great players to take your game to a new bar."

Suddenly, it hit these kids.

Instead of going to a school where they would be the premiere player on the team, why not go to a team where everybody is good and get even better?

Jackson was the first to stay, announcing his decision outside the Larry O. Finch Center on campus in September.

"I wanted to stay in the city and be part of the Memphis tradition," he said.

Then came Crawford.

His decision came down to Memphis and Tennessee. Stay at home or travel across the state?

"I just didn't want to leave home," he said at a press conference in October. "I felt like I'd be good here in Memphis."

Black put the cherry on top for Pastner just days ago when he signed with The U of M instead of Alabama, Florida, Marquette or Tennessee.

"There was something about Memphis that I couldn't leave," he said. "I just felt it in my heart that this is where I should be."

Three top-50 players in the country, three Memphians, three who chose to stay.

It's a sign of things to come for U of M basketball.

We've all heard the stories of Larry Finch and Keith Lee - both who took the Tigers to separate Final Four appearances in 1973 and 1985. Both were Memphians who could have played anywhere in the country but decided to stay home.

Then came Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway and Lorenzen Wright in the early 1990's.

People remember the names Andre Turner and William Bedford. There was Cedric Henderson and Vincent Askew. Shawne Williams and Antonio Burks.

The program used to be built on local talent, before the lure of national one-and-done players sucked the Tigers in. It seems Pastner has brought the program full circle.

Local kids are starting to stay at home again.

The program will get back to recruiting local players.

Though my decision to come to The U of M wasn't a popular choice at the time, Pastner has made staying in Memphis the cool thing to do.