In each of Josh Pastner's first five seasons, the University of Memphis basketball team has made significant strides on the defensive end of the floor until this season.
The Tigers finished the season ranked 54th in adjusted defensive efficiency (98.3) on KenPom.com, the leading advanced statistics site for college basketball. The U of M completed last season as the nation's 13th best defense (90.0).
Pastner admitted in his closing press conference that he might return to his old approach next season.
"I did do some changes at the beginning of the year," Pastner said. "I taught differently than I had any of my four years as a head coach due to the fact that the new rules with officiating. We changed some of the things we taught. I'm not making excuses. These are just things we have to evaluate."
In Pastner's first season in 2010, Memphis struggled heavily on the defensive end with the nation's 163rd ranked defense, allowing 101.2 points per 100 possessions. They improved to 96.4 points per 100 possessions in 2011 for the country's 60th best mark.
The Memphis defense strengthened even more over Pastner's third and fourth seasons. They allowed 91.6 points per 100 possessions in 2012 and just 90 points in 2013. The marks were good for 16th and 13th in the country, respectively.
In addition to the rule changes, U of M lost several key interior defenders last summer. Forward Tarik Black transferred to the University of Kansas for his final season, and forward D.J. Stephens graduated.
Stephens was instrumental in protecting the rim for the Tigers last season. He averaged 2.6 blocked shots, but no stat can account for the number of shots the mere threat of Stephens changed.
Black wasn't winning any defensive awards by any stretch of the imagination and struggled with foul trouble, but he was another big body the Tigers could throw at opposing players.
Sophomore forward Shaq Goodwin seemed to be the logical fit to replace Stephens at the beginning of this season. He blocked 1.8 shots per game, but he struggled down the stretch and failed to impact the game in the same way Stephens did.
Freshman forward Austin Nichols played better than many expected, averaging 1.2 rejections per game. However, Nichols got beat up inside in the Tigers' final game against the University of Virginia.
Turnovers plagued the Tigers on the offensive end. When a team coughs the ball up, it gives the opponent an easy scoring opportunity on the other end. However, as bad as Memphis was turning the ball over (253rd most turnovers in the country), they were even worse last season, so turnovers can't be pinpointed as much as other areas.
Pastner also said that the Tigers poor shooting may have carried over on the defensive end.
"When you don't make shots, it sucks the life out of you," he said.
Pastner remains unsure what he will do next season, but he is reevaluating the way he coached on the defensive end this season.
"I know some other programs where the head coach had told me - and they're a very good defensive team - they didn't change one thing," Pastner said. "That'll be something I have to look at. Do I go back to the original way where we were much better defensively and those types of teachings? Those are things I will evaluate and really focus in on."
