It was a roller coaster season for the University of Memphis men's basketball team, and head coach Josh Pastner spent Tuesday afternoon reflecting upon the ups and downs of the season, which ended far too soon for the Tigers on Sunday evening in the NCAA Tournament.
The press conference marked the last time Pastner will focus on his fifth season at the helm before turning his attention toward the future of the Memphis program.
Pastner's major focus on Tuesday was the Tigers' shooting struggles. They shot 33 percent from behind the arc for the season, but only two of the four senior guards cracked the 30-percent mark.
"I totally misjudged our three-point shooting," Pastner said. "That was something we didn't do as well as I thought we'd do. Based on the previous year, we were one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country. I went on that and I misjudged that."
The Blue and Gray finished the 2013-2014 season with 24 wins and 10 losses. They went 12-5 in the American Athletic Conference's inaugural season.
Of those 10 losses, nine came at the hands of teams who were, at one point or another, ranked inside of the Associated Press Top 25. The loss that really came back to bite the Tigers during the NCAA Tournament selection process was their nine-point loss to the University of Houston on Feb. 27.
The U of M notched five wins over ranked opponents-the first of Pastner's young coaching career. They beat top-10 Louisville twice, fifth-ranked Oklahoma State, 18th-ranked SMU and 23rd-ranked Gonzaga.
Pastner emphasized the top-25 wins, the Tigers' Old Spice Classic title and their sweep of the Cardinals as points of pride for the program.
He also boasted that the Tigers are one of only 15 teams to make the tournament each of the last four years but he acknowledged Memphis must produce in the postseason meet both his and Tiger faithful's expectations.
Memphis has gone 2-4 over the last four seasons in the NCAA Tournament and they've failed to make it past the tournament's first weekend, losing in the second round in the first two years and the third the past two.
The team's postseason shortcomings have come under heavy scrutiny from media and fans alike, but Pastner welcomes and embraces the feedback from the basketball-crazed city he coaches in.
"I never want that to change," a reflective Pastner said. "I never want the agony of defeat or the thrill of victory to change. That's what makes this program so great is the fan base. So never change."
After two straight years near the top of the NCAA in defense, the Tigers, who had Sweet 16 aspirations, regressed on the defensive side of the ball.
Pastner said he would evaluate the way they coach defense. He credited the change to the new rules, which restrict hand-checking and physical play, but he thought changing the way they played defense might have been a misstep.
Pastner began looking ahead in the final few minutes of his meeting with the media. He said, as of right now, he expects no players or coaches to part ways with the program.
Freshman forward Dominic Woodson struggled with some off-the-court issues this season, namely his language. The struggles prompted rumors of dissatisfaction within 6-foot-10, 310-pound forward. However, Pastner said he expects Woodson to return and have a huge impact as long as Woodson takes care of business off the court.
Pastner also revealed plans to take a foreign tour next August to try and gain experience for what is sure to be an inexperienced roster next season. The Tigers graduate seven guys from this year's squad, five of whom played a major role.
The Tigers will return three major contributors from this season: freshman forwards Austin Nichols and Nick King and sophomore forward Shaq Goodwin.
Pastner wants the Tigers to get back to the basics of rebounding and defense next season.
"We've established that we're a very good team moving the ball-back-to-back years in total assists," Pastner said. "We've improved in the area of rebounding in my time here, but we need to get back to having a really good defensive mindset. We have the potential to be very good rebounding wise offensively and defensively. The identity and mindset next year needs to be on the defensive end."
All that said, Pastner is pleased with the state of the program he took over five years ago.
"The program is as healthy as it has ever been," Pastner said. "We've got good players coming in. We're recruiting at a very high level. Guys are graduating at a record pace. Image wise, the University is, nationally, the highest level it has been."
