Helmsman roundtable: Memphis sports

1. Coach Pastner and the Tigers are 14-10 on the season and 2-5 in its last seven games, what's the biggest reason for Memphis’ recent slide?

AR: They started playing real basketball teams. It sounds harsh, and there are other problems going on too (particularly Tarrant's poor play and the defense slipping), but that's what it boils down to. The Tigers have lost five times in their last seven games, and four of those losses are to teams ranked inside of the KenPom top 100. This year's Memphis basketball team has shown that it is simply not good enough to string together multiple wins over teams of that caliber.

JM: There are many reasons why the Tigers have slipped the last few weeks, but the two biggest reasons have to be the defense and second half struggles. Memphis began the season as one of the best defensive teams in the nation, but through conference play the Tigers have slipped to 69th overall in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to Kenpom.com. On top of the poor defense, in three straight games the Tigers have led in the first half, only to blow the lead after the break. The Tigers will need to get both issues in check to even have a chance of getting a decent seed in the conference tournament.

CW: Mostly, I think the jumbled roster is to blame. There are a lot of pieces that don't fit together very well on the court. They've gotten inconsistent play from some guys who they've really needed to be good. Shaq Goodwin and Dedric Lawson are arguably the two best players on the roster, but they have such an awkward fit on the floor. When teams play a zone defense, the Tigers offense becomes very inefficient.

2. At this point, is Memphis more likely to make the postseason or miss it altogether at this point?

AR: Miss it altogether. Memphis is 14-10 right now, and there are still games against SMU, Tulsa and Temple on the schedule. The Tigers will likely still be able to get an invite to the CBI or CIT, but they declined invites last year, so I'm imagining that they would do the same this season.

JM: After Wednesday’s loss to Houston, the Tigers’ postseason chances are not looking good. I think its obvious Memphis will have to win the AAC tournament to make it to the big dance, but as of right now the NIT doesn’t even look likely. The Tigers have some serious work to do over the final seven games if they want a chance to play in any post-season tourney.

CW: I think it's more likely that they miss it altogether. They're headed towards a similar record as last season, and they missed the postseason last year. So barring them winning the AAC tournament, they should miss the tournament and possibly the NIT, too.

3. Now on to Tigers' football, looking back from a week ago, how impressed are you with first year coach Mike Norvell's recruiting class, given the circumstances?

AR: What Norvell was able to do with this recruiting class is nothing short of insane. He had limited time and non-ideal circumstances to work with given the coaching change, and he was still able to reel in the highest-ranked recruiting class in school history.

JM: I am very impressed with Norvell’s class. Only two months on the job and Norvell was able to bring in one of the best classes in Memphis history. I’ve been very skeptical of how the next few years of Tiger football would be without Fuente and star QB Paxton Lynch, but if this class is evident of what Norvell has in store for Memphis, I think Tiger nation is in good hands.

CW: Very impressed. Normally, a football coach's worst recruiting class comes during his first season, and Norvell managed to pull the best class in program history. Once he has time to really built proper relationships in the area, recruiting could really take off. It looks like Memphis football is in good hands.

4. Finally, Memphis Grizzlies star Marc Gasol suffered a broken foot, earlier this week, what should the Grizzlies' plan be for the remaining of the season, in your opinion?

AR: Memphis is in purgatory right now. They've just got to play it out and not make any trades that would jeopardize the future. If the Grizzlies make the playoffs they'll lose in the first or second round. They're not beating Golden State or San Antonio. Nobody in the West is. If Memphis misses the playoffs they'll likely lose their draft pick, but they're going to lose at some point, and this is looking to be a bad draft, so it wouldn't be the end of the world. Either result is fine really. Just don't make moves that could mess things up long-term.

JM: The Griz are definitely in a tough situation now fighting for a solid playoff seed without their star center, but I don’t think the Grizzlies should make any hasty trades because of the injury. I think the key will be getting Branden Wright back after the All-Star break. If he has fully recovered from the knee injury and can remain healthy, he should be able to make up a ton of the production loss. That being said, one player cannot make up the production from an injury of this impact. This will have to be a total team effort without Gasol.

CW: I think the Grizzlies should try their best to sell off any of their expiring veterans for some type of future value. There's really not much hope of them making a deep playoff run, so they need to have their eye towards the future. As long as they make the playoffs, they'll keep their first round pick this season, otherwise it goes to Denver, so it's still beneficial for them to make the playoffs - both in the long- and short-term.

The team also has to be fully aware of the fact the Mike Conley is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, and there's always at least the possibility that he entertains other offer. So the Grizzlies need to make sure they're putting themselves in a good position to be the most attractive option for Conley, and that means they need to add some future assets - whether that be young talent on rookie contracts or draft picks.

Memphis Tigers' coach Josh Pastner's squad is 14-10 this season. Memphis has now fallen to 5-6 in AAC play.