Memphis Tigers rebuild quickly

Building a team at the University of Memphis that could contend for the Final Four took John Calipari five seasons and three trips to the NIT before he had the right talent mix to make four straight deep runs in March.

When he left for Kentucky a year ago, handing a decimated program over to Josh Pastner, there was nothing to indicate that a return to national prominence would happen any quicker than Calipari's timetable.

But as Pastner heads into the offseason, having completed a 24-10 record in his debut with a trip to the second round of the NIT, the most difficult rebuilding work has been done. With seven freshmen coming in the fall, five of whom are ranked in the top 75 in the nation by Rivals.com, the anticipation for Memphis Madness in October could rival that of 2007-08 when the Tigers were ranked No. 1 or No. 2 by preseason publications.

"This year was fun, overachieving," Pastner said. "But our mindset now changes from holding things together and stabilizing to having things in place. We've got a program, and now let's take the next step."

Though there are no guarantees that the new crop of players will exceed or even match the 2005 class that included Chris Douglas-Roberts, Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier -- a nucleus that won 11 NCAA Tournament games over three years -- getting things set up for success so quickly has been one of the more surprising developments in college basketball.

When athletic director R.C. Johnson hired Pastner last April 6 -- promoting a 31-year-old assistant who just a year earlier couldn't get the job at Rice -- it was widely viewed as a huge gamble.

While Pastner's first squad didn't necessarily exceed expectations -- Memphis was picked second in Conference USA and finished second -- securing the nation's No.1 recruiting class so quickly was the upset of the year.

"When we did it, there were an awful lot of people that were really questioning it," Johnson said. "Now everyone's telling me, 'I told you that was the guy to hire.' He's just done spectacular. One thing I wasn't concerned about was the age factor because of his background, and I am just really thrilled with what he's done. I think the future looks extremely bright."

How good of a job did Pastner do getting Memphis lined up for more March success? He hadn't even completed a full year as head coach before his name started getting thrown out for various openings. It's ironic that Pastner would be a valuable coaching property all of a sudden after trying for years to land his first head coaching job.

Calipari turned away offers until Kentucky, one of the all-time great programs, came calling. Pastner also insists he's in Memphis for the long term, calling it "one of the top 10 jobs in the country," though that won't stop opportunities from coming his way if he wins.

"I love Memphis," Pastner said. "Think of the recruiting base in your backyard. I'll put our fan base against anyone. You have a chance to compete at the highest level every year. Every year you can get great kids because the local talent is off the charts. When you win and have a chance to win and have a chance to get great players, money isn't an issue. It's about being happy."

By the time Calipari left Memphis, he was making $2.35 million per year plus an annuity that averaged $1 million over five years. In other words, the school has proven that it will pay whatever it takes to keep a successful coach. Though changes to Pastner's current contract haven't been a priority for him -- he's the highest-paid coach in C-USA at $880,000 per season -- Johnson acknowledged that he and the coach have had an ongoing conversation about Pastner's long-term security.

"I've spent a lot of time on that with him, things I want to try to do for him to make this as attractive as humanly possible," Johnson said. "He told me the only basketball job he would leave for is if (L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss) called him and got LeBron (James) and he wanted to coach LeBron and Kobe (Bryant). I want to take care of him as best as I can and will continue to do everything humanly possible -- financially and from a budget standpoint and support-wise -- because we think the future is terrific with his leadership."

Though Pastner has earned his salary to this point just based on his first recruiting class, it's also true that rebuilding the program was a bit easier with three highly rated recruits in his backyard.

White Station point guard Joe Jackson, who played in the McDonald's All-American Game, was likely coming to Memphis regardless of the coach. Pastner successfully pulled Sheffield shooting guard Chris Crawford, a top-75 player, away from Tennessee at the last minute. And Tarik Black, the 6-9 forward from Ridgeway, would have had a difficult time not following his AAU teammates, especially after winning a national tournament in Las Vegas last summer.

After securing the talent -- including a top-10 player from Baltimore in Will Barton and a top-15 player from Atlanta in Jelan Kendrick -- there is now a new set of challenges. Pastner will have to deftly manage playing time, egos and roles with a young team, especially if leading scorer Elliot Williams decides to forego his junior season for the NBA Draft.

"We all have similar mindsets, we want to win," Jackson said. "That's the main thing. It's nothing individual. It's a team. We already know what we can do individually. We just want to bond and be ready."

With all that talent, however, comes expectations, and it won't be easy right away against a nonconference schedule that will include Georgetown, Tennessee, Gonzaga, Kansas, LSU and possibly Butler, who is playing in the Final Four this weekend. Even with so many new faces, the Tigers believe another run at a national title will happen sooner rather than later.

"With the talent we have now and with the freshmen coming in, there's nothing else," Williams said. "Anything else is a failure."

Realistic or not, simply uttering those words probably means the rebuilding job is already a success.