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DailyHelmsmanThe
Independent Student Newspaper of The University of Memphis www.dailyhelmsman.com
Vol. 79 No. 69
Wednesday,February 8, 2012
Vertical Butterfly offers pole, belly dancing as a form of exercise. see page 5
Tired of the rec. center?
Memphis Tigers to Big EastFor years, Tiger fans have
yearned for a spot in the Big East. They will finally get their wish.
A source close to the situ-ation confirmed Tuesday that The University of Memphis will make the jump to the Big East Conference after being a Conference USA member since 1995. A press conference has been scheduled for noon today to announce an all-sports move to the new conference.
Rumors have circulated for years about a possible invite to the Bowl Championship Series conference.
As part of a larger, national conference realignment driven by football and the promise of millions of dollars from TV
deals, eight schools defect-ed to other conferences from C-USA in 2005, with five of them heading to the Big East. Louisville, Cincinnati, DePaul, Marquette and South Florida were invited to the Big East, while Saint Louis, Charlotte and Texas Christian went to other conferences.
The Tigers were left out as traditional rivals, Louisville and Cincinnati, moved on to green-er pastures, leaving behind a severely weakened C-USA.
That’s not to say Memphis didn’t capitalize on the easier conference for basketball suc-cess. Following the defections in 2005, Memphis dominated C-USA on the court, going 15-1 in conference in 2005-2006, then 16-0 three straight years, includ-ing a National Championship
BY SCOTT HALLSports Editor
In 2011, Tennessee ranked 31 out of 47 in states that reported data for graduation rates of full-time students in four-year institutions.
According to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, public col-lege enrollment in Tennessee totaled nearly 220,000 stu-dents in 2010. The State’s average graduation rate is 56.9 percent among full-time graduates with a four-year degree.
T h e B e g i n n i n g Postsecondary Survey showed the graduation rate in 1996 was 62.7 percent and only rose to 63.2 percent in 2009.
Washington Monthly mag-azine ranked The University of Memphis as the 100th University in the nation in 2010. The University’s ability to help students move up in economic status, foster scien-tific and humanistic research, and how well The University promotes service to the coun-try were taken into consid-eration to devise the No. 100 ranking.
The college’s actual gradu-ation rate compared to the predicted rate based on its students’ socioeconomic backgrounds also played a
vital role in the acclamation.“Where the Washington
Monthly rankings value edu-cating students from work-ing- and middle-class back-grounds, other college ranking systems punish universities like ours whose students take longer to graduate because they must juggle classes and jobs,” said Andrew Meyers, U of M vice provost for research.
The University of Tennessee Knoxville has the highest graduation rates in the state at 61 percent, while The University of Memphis sees 37 percent of its students graduate within six years.
“Usually we report the six-
year graduation rates because there has been national rec-ognition that students just don’t graduate in four years anymore. They now take lon-ger to graduate,” said Cynthia Martin, research analyst for Institutional Research at The U of M.
Eleven percent of students are able to graduate from The U of M with a bachelor ’s degree in four years.
The University has imple-mented three initiatives to improve its rates, said Tom Nenon, vice provost of assess-ment, institutional research
Jean Rimmer fought back tears as she spoke of the con-flict between work and family life that she encounters while working multiple jobs, one of which is a University of Memphis custodian.
Rimmer is one of many University of Memphis employees who makes below the Memphis area living wage of $11.62 an hour, as a study by U of M professor of economics David Ciscel found.
“I’m sorry,” Rimmer said. “I don’t know why all of a sudden I just got so overwhelmed.”
Her testimony was part of the Rally for a Living Wage at Gift of Life Ministries Saturday to address the ongo-ing efforts of state legislators to repeal the city and county living wage and inspire sup-port for The U of M living wage campaign that began in fall 2010. Worker’s Interfaith Network, United Campus Workers and The U of M Progressive Student Alliance sponsored the event.
Rimmer has worked at The University for five years and makes $8 per hour. She said she has requested a promotion on three occasions and was turned down each time.
Josephine Calhoun, who has worked at The U of M for 23 years and makes $9.79
an hour, also spoke at the event. She said The University spends money on projects like the tiger statues while many of the campus workers struggle to meet their basic needs.
She also said many workers are afraid to join the union for fear of losing their jobs.
S h e l b y C o u n t y Commissioner Steve Mulroy and City Councilmen Myron Lowery and Lee Harris spoke at the rally in support of the living wage.
“I can’t believe we would have to fight with The University of Memphis to do what is right,” Lowery said.
However, University of Memphis officials said the issue is more complicated than this.
“The University of Memphis is committed to dealing with all employees to have the resources to live a reasonable lifestyle, but we are restricted by the guidelines of Tennessee Board of Regents and that state,” University Provost Ralph Faudree said.
In the fall of 2011, the TBR passed a pay increase of three percent – or minimum of $750 a year – for all higher edu-cation employees, a victory which WIN and UCW said is due in part to their lobbying efforts.
BY ELIZABETH COOPERNews Reporter
Rally for a living wage continues
BY CHRISTOPHER WHITTENNews Reporter
TN grad rate holds steady despite enrollment increase
see Survey, page 6
by D
avid
C.
Min
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see Big eaSt, page 4Memphis players such as sophomore guard Chris Crawford will get to play Big East basket-ball when the Tigers join in 2013.
see WageS, page 4
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www.dailyhelmsman.com2 • Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Across
1 Trojan Horse, for example5 Move a muscle9 G sharp equivalent14 iPhone downloads15 Grab hold of16 Doctrine17 Open-handed hit18 Feels sorry about19 Intoxicating, as wine20 Notable 1900s anti-alcohol demonstrator23 Try24 Garden hose feature28 Car dealer’s deal29 Rotisserie rod32 “Divine Secrets of the __ Sisterhood”33 __-mo replay35 Leeds lavs37 Hoopster’s target38 The boondocks41 ‘60s chic43 Acted like44 Check out45 Sandler of “Grown Ups”47 Civil rights pioneer Parks49 Novelist Puzo53 Piglet pal55 Final part57 General situation60 Ancient Mexican63 Scott of “Charles in Charge”64 Mosque official65 Group helping the sheriff66 “Just doing my best”67 Crumbly cheese68 Horn sounds69 Ball-bearing pegs70 Genesis locale
Down
1 Mischief-maker2 Studying into the wee hours,
say3 Ancient Athens rival4 Trattoria brew5 Throat problem6 Razzes7 Furniture chain founded in Sweden8 Put one’s feet up9 Cold outburst?10 Extreme agitation11 Grassy expanse12 Go on to say13 Gift under a tree, often21 Marcos who collected shoes22 Emulate the Gregorians25 Like the Marx Brothers26 Corrosive stuff27 Have a bite30 Moves with effort31 Letters of obligation34 Fish hawk36 Totally stump
38 Aussie greeting39 Corp. bigwig40 It’s not fiction or fantasy41 Fannie __42 Emotional verse46 Harass48 Garb50 Widened, as a hole51 Present from birth52 Extra one who’s “out”54 Oft-timed contests56 Seagoing attention getters58 Memorial news item59 Kismet60 Suitable61 Petting place62 Chinese menu general
Managing EditorChelsea Boozer
News EditorsJasmine HunterAmanda Mitchell
General ManagerCandy Justice
Advertising ManagerBob Willis
Admin. SalesSharon Whitaker
Adv. ProductionHailey Uhler
Adv. SalesRobyn Nickell
Michael Parker
The University of Memphis The Daily Helmsman
113 Meeman Journalism Building Memphis, TN 38152
News: (901) 678-2193
Sports: (901) 678-2192
The Daily Helmsman is a “designated public forum.” Student editors have authority to make all content decisions without censorship or advance approval. The Daily Helmsman is pleased to make a maximum
of 10 copies from each issue available to a reader for free, thanks to a Student Activity Fee allocation.
Additional copies $1.
Editor-in-ChiefCasey Hilder
DailyHelmsmanThe
Ads: (901) 678-2191
Fax: (901) 678-0882
Contact Information
Volume 79 Number 69
DOMINO’S PIZZA 550 S. HIGHLAND 323-3030No Waiting!
Solutions on page 4
Complete the grid so that each row, column and 3-by-3 box (in bold borders) contains every digit 1 to 9.
Sudoku
YOU REALLY LIKE US!Yesterday’s Top-Read Stories
on the Web1. UM professor’s coconut water...
by Crystal Ferrari
2. UM football player charged... by Christopher Whitten
3. MCS to hire 1,000 teachers...by Christopher Whittem
4. Debate surrounds harassment...by Elizabeth Cooper
5. Star Jones to give heart health...by Christina Holloway
TIGER BABBLEthoughts that give you paws
“So, can I just spit on the band fl oor? It’s cool to empty your spit valves on the fl oor, right?”
— @pcvrmllnusn
“To me ‘no change in status’ means, ‘we will join the Big East after we host the C-USA tournament.’” — @addisonpiggott
“That glorious moment when your dorm has a fi re alarm and you’re not there... no standing outside for me.”
— @iChaseDreams_24
“I should totally start utilizing the honors computer lab more often. It is so quiet - a silent computer lab is foreign to me.”
— @ashliblow
“Dear CFA, I’m gonna need you to get either more lights, or stronger lights. Thank you, Concerned Student.”
— @JeanneMarizzle
Tell us what gives you paws. Send us your thoughts on Twitter
@dailyhelmsman or #tigerbabble. Or post on our Facebook wall at facebook.com/dailyhelmsman.
Send us your thoughts @dailyhelmsman. You’ll be glad you did.
Send us a letter
Have opinions? Care to share?
The University of Memphis Wednesday, February 8, 2012 • 3
delivers...TONIGHT
Upcoming Specials:
MONDAY, FEB. 13 | GLASS ETCHING | 10:30 - 2:30 P.M. | UNIVERSTIY CENTER
FRIDAY, FEB. 10 | SAC CINEMA: GREASE | 2 & 7 P.M. | UC RIVER ROOM
Tiger BasketballWatch Party 5:30 P.M. | UC BALLROOM
One of the English depart-ment’s newest creative writing professors, Sonja Livingston, will speak about how anyone’s life story can be the basis of a non-fiction piece at The River City Writers Series.
Tonight at 8 p.m. in the University Center room 300, Livingston will open the series with a reading from her award-winning book “Ghostbread.”
“Ghostbread” is a memoir that follows the narrative of Livingston’s childhood, when she found herself in Western New York surrounded by her many brothers and sisters and their mother who struggled to provide for them.
“I’m pretty shy, so it’s funny I ended up writing about myself,” Livingston said.
There are two reasons Livingston decided to write a memoir about her childhood struggle with poverty, she said.
“One, growing up poor I was embarrassed. We were always the strange family with lots of kids, no money and no father. I kept it inside and when I started writing, it all came to the surface,” Livingston said.
“And two, I found a lot of people didn’t know what it meant to grow up poor. A lot of people didn’t know what it was like to grow up in the north or even in a city. I wanted to show people a world they didn’t know or understand,” she said.
Published by The University of Georgia Press, “Ghostbread” has received an Iowa Review Award, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and was a Winner of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Award for Creative Nonfiction in 2007.
Cary Holladay, River City Writers Series director, describes the book as, “lyrical, understated and powerful.”
Determined to live an adult life without poverty, Livingston did not pursue her love of writ-
ing until after receiving her master’s degree.
Livingston received her mas-ters of fine arts degree from the University of New Orleans and masters of education from State University of New York at Brockport. She is currently an assistant professor of cre-ative writing at The U of M.
The River City Writers Series was founded in 1977, making it one of the longest-running writing series in the United States.
“The purpose of the River City Writers Series is to bring outstanding contemporary writers to The U of M campus and community. These visits give students the opportunity to meet and learn from the masters,” Holladay said.
Livingston will discuss the role of creative nonfiction in today’s literature landscape, said Courtney Santo, creative writing program administrator.
Livingston said she hopes to teach students and aspiring writers that nonfiction writing doesn’t have to be boring.
“Writing about life is some-thing people like. Just learning about one life can be a good way to connect to a lot of peo-ple. We think we know about someone’s story, but we don’t. People can never really judge a book by its cover. We are all more alike than we realize,” Livingston said.
BY MICHELLE CORBETNews Reporter
Events
River City Writers Series Returns
Sonja Livingston
www.dailyhelmsman.com4 • Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Alternative Spring BreakBuilding Tomorrow One Break at a Time
March 3-10Tornado Relief in Joplin, MO
Applications available in UC 211or online at http://www.memphis.edu/service/asb.php
Deadline to apply, TODAY by 5:00 p.m.
Visit the website or call (901) 678-8679 for more information.
Solutionsare
delightful.
Campus Life
Associate Ceramics Professor Nancy White reaches through the flames to finish “cooking” a series of small sculptures her students created for class.
by B
rian
Wils
on
game appearance in 2008, four C-USA regular season cham-pionships and five conference tournament championships.
A move to the Big East would be a major boost in the quality of conference opposi-tion. The Big East has ranked in the top five of conference RPI each year since the 2005 realignment. It was ranked the No. 1 conference in terms of RPI last year. The Big East schools that Memphis will join in 2013 boast a total of 10 national championships, 38 Final Four appearances and 272 NCAA tournament appearances.
Memphis will join current C-USA members Houston, Southern Methodist and Central Florida as all-sports members after they also received invites to the Big East late last year. Boise State, San Diego State and Navy have also been invited as football-only members. All schools will begin Big East competi-tion in 2013, except for Navy, who will start in 2015.
Prior to receiving the invite to join the new conference, Memphis was set to join the rest of Conference USA in a potential merger with the Mountain West Conference in 2013. That merger would have put Memphis in a 17-team league with the likes of UNLV, Colorado State and Air Force.
Big eaStfrom page 1
The U of M also increased monthly insurance premium rates for University employees from $228 to $335 per month in 2011.
“While it’s an important first step in getting towards a living wage,” said Executive Director of WIN Rebekah Gienapp. “Things like the increase in insurance premium show that The University needs to take more steps to get everyone up to a living wage.”
While The U of M has no liv-ing wage policy, Memphis City Council and Shelby County Commission passed their first living wage ordinances in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
The ordinances instituted a minimum wage of $10 per
hour if health insurance was included or $12 an hour without insurance for all city and coun-ty employees. It also required that any business receiving city and county funding pay their employees the same living wage.
A bill that is currently circu-lating through state legislation threatens to repeal the local liv-ing wage ordinances if passed.
At the rally, Mulroy said the state functions under the philosophy of “limited govern-ment, local control.” However, lawmakers push aside this lim-ited government whenever local ordinances differ from what the state government desires to institute such as the case of the living wage, he said.
WIN will travel to Nashville on March 7 to lobby against the bill and to advocate for an increased living wage.
WageSfrom page 1
Bird is the word. Follow us!
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@HelmsmanSports
The University of Memphis Wednesday, February 8, 2012 • 5
The Dining GuideGreat Restaurant Values in Memphis!
10% Discount with Student I.D.Downtown385 S. 2nd St.
East6080 Primacy Pkwy
Wolfchase2760 N. Germantown Pkwy
Hacks Cross7935 Winchester Rd.
Hours: Sun - Thurs: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Fri - Sat: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
EL PUERTO Mexican Restuarant Bar & Grill10% off total check with
ad or school I.D.Lunch – $4.99 with drink and chips
(To Go order only)Drive-thru Window
Dinner – Buy one, get 2nd 1/2 price
Exp. 4/25/12
Happy Hour: 2 – 6 p.m. Beer special $2 pint
775 S Highland • Memphis, TN 38111 • (901) 452-8019OPEN Sun-Thurs: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Fri and Sat: 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
WE CATER
Mr. Mustard’s4 6 4 7 Q u i n c e R d . | 9 0 1 - 8 1 8 - 3 9 3 9
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1 0 % o f f w i t h s t u d e n t i . d .
Phillies • Sandwiches • Pizza • Tacos • Tamales • Wings
No pork, pork by-products or MSG
M-F 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. | Sat. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. | Sun. 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.
East Memphis: Mon-Sat: 10am-7pmGermantown: Mon-Sat: 10am-7pm
Midtown: Mon-Sat: 10am-7pmCordova: Mon-Sat: 10am-7pm; Sunday: 10am-5pm
901.888.CAKE (2253): Gigi’s Cupcakes of Memphis
www.GigisCupcakesUSA.com
Fitness
College students looking for an alternative to tradition-al dance classes are in luck. Vertical Butterfly, a dance stu-dio that offers pole, lap and belly dancing classes will intro-duce its first college discounts tonight.
“I want to give those col-lege students an opportunity to get out there and exercise with their girlfriends,” Owner Kyra Baily said.
Classes at Vertical Butterfly, located at 1266 Sycamore View, are tailored exclusively for women. Lakeshia Rhyne, an instructor at the gym and graduate of The University of Memphis, said the classes are a fun way to exercise.
“It’s more fitness oriented — no one here is actually a strip-per,” she said.
Every second Wednesday of the month, Baily will be host-ing college nights. A student can partake in two one-hour classes for $15. Students will be
able to choose from classes such as pole dance, lap and chair dance, hot body boot camp and belly dance. Students must be 18 or older and present college IDs to receive a discount.
“I don’t like going to the gym and running on a treadmill, so this seems like a fun way to work out and not be bored at the gym,” said Julia Moore, a junior education major.
There are no treadmills or weight machines at the gym, but instead it has two, large, wood-floored studios. The pole studio has 11 poles with sur-rounding mirrors and lights. The other floor is for the aero-bic classes.
Sierra Miller, freshman edu-cation major, has worked out at Vertical Butterfly since August.
“I love going here because it doesn’t seem like a workout — until afterwards, of course— because we are having so much fun. Going here is so much bet-ter than the gym,” Miller said. “If I had a gym membership, I would have quit working out.”
The owner has previous experience with dance studios, but said she has never been an exotic dancer or stripper. She is pole certified with one of the top pole certification programs in the country, Empowerment Through Exotic Dance Ltd.
“I’m not a gym person. Just the weights and circuits,
it wasn’t appealing. I need-ed something fun and this is a cool, fun way to work out and you don’t feel like you’re working,” Bailey said.
Vertical Butterfly offers
packages at various prices, individual classes and punch cards to receive discounts. Most individual classes are $10 each. Pole, striptease and bur-lesque classes are $20 each.
Alternative fitness at its flirtiestBY NATALIE LEDOUXNews Reporter
Pole dancing, belly dancing, lap dancing, burlesque make for core-strengthening workout.
The Vertical Butterfly center offers lessons in pole dancing, striptease, burlesque, lap dance and others.
For 20 dollars per lesson, people get the opportunity to work out with a pole for a core-strengthening workout routine that lasts approximately an hour.
by C
hris
tina
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by C
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www.dailyhelmsman.com6 • Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The University of Memphis will be holding a lecture on workplace etiquette today in the UC Bluffroom from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
The lecture titled ”Pants on the Ground and Workplace Civility,” will cover a wide range of topics from how to dress to verbal communication and technology in the workplace.
“These lectures help foster and continue civility on cam-pus. Civility is not just help-ing someone fix a tire—it car-ries into the workplace and the real world,” said Lindsey Bray, special projects coordinator in Student Affairs.
Eddie Jones, a member of the Career Services Advisory Board, will present the lecture. Jones was previously a teacher and principal at a local high school and is currently human resources recruitment specialist for Shelby County Schools.
Free pizza and drinks will be provided, but there is lim-ited space so it is first-come first-served, said Associate Director of Career Services Clay Woemmel.
The lecture is one of five pre-sentations called the Lunch and Learn Series that is put on by career services each semester. The next presentation in the series will be given on March 21 and is titled “Get Hired: Resume Strategies That Work.”
An area recruitment spe-cialist for Sherwin-Williams, Catherine Davis, will present the lecture.
The “Pants on the Ground” lecture, along with every Lunch and Learn Series since 2007, will also be available as a podcast through podcast central which can be found on career services website.
BY JASON JONESNews Reporter
Preparing for the real world
and reporting. “There are several things
we have done that have been successful over the past three years,” Nenon said.
Identifying students who may be getting into academic troubles earlier are among The University’s strategies for improvement. This, along with revised policies on aca-demic retention have “pre-scribed success and support the students,“ Nenon said.
“We’ve seen decreased (academic) suspensions by well over 50 percent, and we’ve made successes over the last five years,” Nenon said. “We’re going to get to 80 percent retention within the next year or two, and our graduation rate will see sub-stantial increases in rates over the next few years.”
The faculty has also worked to redesign key courses, he
said. “We’ve worked to repair the
pedagogy in lower division math courses — we’ve seen over a 20 percent increased success rate.”
Graduation and retention rates are up about three per-cent among U of M students who receive the Tennessee HOPE Lottery Scholarship. Of this year ’s 2,400-plus fresh-man class, over 70 percent received the scholarship.
With a new policy that allows students to use HOPE money during summer terms, officials hope to increase the graduate rate, not just within the national six-year window, but also within the original four years, said David Wright, chief policy officer at the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
“I think the HOPE scholar-ship is a motivating factor to inspire students to do better,” Wright said. “It’s a $4,000 hit if they lose it, so I think that motivates them to do better.”
Wright also said the fear of losing their scholarship may be why students prefer to take 12 hours as opposed to the 15 hours necessary to graduate in four years.
“They use it as a cushion to preserve their GPA for the scholarship,” he said. “And that’s completely fine since we fund their education up to 120 hours.”
Tennessee expects 56 per-cent of its workforce to require a career certificate or college degree by 2020, based on a study by the National Center for Education Statistics. About 31 percent of Tennessee adults have an associate degree or higher, leaving a 25 percent skills gap, according to Complete College America.
“There are things we need to continue to do, and any feedback from faculty and students can help with getting better.” Nenon said. “With students and faculty, we can continue working to do better with this.”
Surveyfrom page 1
The University of Memphis Wednesday, February 8, 2012 • 7
TONIGHT
Recruiting Roundup: Tiger Soccer Teams Land Top Recruits
Sports
The U of M’s men’s and wom-en’s soccer teams are looking to build on last season’s successes by landing several top recruits for their 2012 classes.
Following their landmark undefeated regular season, the Lady Tigers and head coach Brooks Monaghan are looking to keep their top spot in the nation-al scene with a strong recruiting class.
Monaghan has signed 11 players for the 2012 season. Among the standouts in next year’s class is Texas native Sam Keane. Keane was a letterwinner for two seasons at Keller High School in Keller, Texas before sitting out her last two seasons due to injury, and played in two appearances at Nationals in the club level.
Three members of next year’s women’s class are proven top-level players in Canadian youth soccer. Elysia Masters, Marrisa Duguay and Emily Adamic come from elite high school and club-level teams in Canada.
Duguay help lead her club-level Ottawa Fury W-League Team to a 2010 North American Championship. She was also named New Brunswick Soccer Player of the Year in 2010 and the MVP of the Ottawa Fury Under-17 team last year.
Another top player from north of the border, Adamic also has experience on the Canadian national circuit. She was a member of the Alberta Soccer Association youth teams
and won bronze medals at the Canadian Soccer Association All-Star Nationals in 2008 and 2010. She also won a 2011 city champi-onship for her high school.
Last season, the Tiger men’s squad went 11-6-1, ending the season with a loss to Central Florida in the first round of the Conference USA tournament. Head coach Richie Grant has signed four new players for next season that could improve the Tigers’ chances in C-USA.
Quincy Thomas, a native of Mohnton, Pa., brings high-level club experience to the Tigers’ roster. Thomas played for Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union Under-18 team and cap-tained the United States Soccer Federation Academy Under-18 team last year.
A notable member of Grant’s 2012 class is Jack Goldberg, who ranks 136th on ESPN’s Rise Top 150 List. Goldberg has received three all-state honors during his high school career at Auburn High School in Auburn, Ala. and has won four state titles with his club team the Tennessee Rush.
Grant rounded out his class, picking up commitments from Memphis native Chris Gardea and Jordon Cuckler out of Tulsa, Okla.
Gardea was awarded all-state, all-metro and Commercial Appeal Best of Preps hon-ors while playing at Christian Brothers High School. Cuckler was named to the Oklahoma All-State Conference team in 2011 and played in five State Championships for his club team, Tulsa SC.
BY DAVID CAFFEYSports Reporter
Big Brother was watching . . . over little brother.
Not in the Orwellian sense, as depicted in George Orwell’s “1984” novel, but just in the way brothers do, with the eldest using an almost paternal approach.
This was in December, when Memphis center Marc Gasol spent a week with his older brother Pau Gasol in Los Angeles while Marc mused about his future with the Grizzlies.
The two 7-foot Spaniards dined out, worked out, and Pau, 31, the Lakers’ forward-center, handed down advice, such as patience.
“It would’ve been different if he wasn’t there,” said Marc. “But he was there and he had been through the same thing.”
In 2009, Pau had signed a three-year extension with the Lakers, so he knew the pros and cons of such a decision. “And he guided me a little bit,” Marc said.
Then, on Dec. 12, Marc tweet-
ed that he’d reached a tenta-tive agreement with Memphis, reportedly a four-year contract extension worth $58 million.
This season, the blossoming 7-1, 265-pound center is proving his worth.
The younger Gasol, 27, is averaging a double-double, 15.1 points and 10.5 rebounds per game this season. More is being asked of Marc because Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph is sidelined because a torn ligament in his right knee.
But when both are healthy, the Grizzlies can be dominant, as they showcased last season when they reached the second round of the playoffs and fell just one win short of the Western Conference finals.
During that run, Marc estab-lished himself as one of the league’s premier centers.
Looking back, though, Grizzlies Coach Lionel Hollins remembers seeing him as a “pudgy 15-year-old” in Memphis, where Marc played two years of high school ball (2001-03) at a
time when Pau was just starting his NBA career with the Grizzlies. Hollins said he never imagined what that kid could become.
“Now, he’s gotten stronger, he’s gotten slimmer and he’s gotten better,” Hollins said. “But at that point, I wasn’t thinking about Marc as an NBA player.”
Still, with the 48th pick in the second round of the 2007 NBA draft, the Lakers selected Marc Gasol. He was 22 then and had been playing for four seasons in Spain, three of those with the Gasols’ hometown club, FC Barcelona. The Lakers figured Marc could ripen there for a bit.
But a year later, in 2008, the Lakers dealt him in a package to Memphis for Pau, thus earning them the distinction as the first set of brothers to be traded for each other in the NBA.
Pau helped the Lakers win two NBA titles, in 2009 and 2010, but when Marc started to become a force in Memphis, former Lakers Coach Phil Jackson would some-times joke, “A lot of times we tell (Pau) we traded the wrong guy.”
BY BAXTER HOLMESMCT
For Marc Gasol, NBA success was worth wait
Josh Smith and Marc Gasol tangle over a loose ball dur-ing first-half action at Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, February 2, 2012.
MC
T
www.dailyhelmsman.com8 • Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Scholarship OpportunityThe Donald K. Carson Leadership Scholarship
Applicants must demonstrate a strong capacity forleadership and be able to show how their leadership
helps create opportunities for the growth anddevelopment of other people.
Requirements:• Current, full-time U of M undergraduate student• Completion of at least 12 credit hours, but no more than 60 credit hours• Minimum cumulative 2.8 GPA
One or more scholarships totaling $5,500will be awarded for the 2012-2013 school year
To submit an application, go to:www.memphis.edu/carsonscholars/application.htm
For more information, contact Mrs. Rhodes at 678-2188
Completed applications must be submitted byWednesday, March 14 by 4 p.m.
contact: rev. mary allison cates, campus ministeremail: [email protected] phone: 901.481.0103 blog: presbyplace.wordpress.com
are we to follow the rule-breaking, rabble-rousing jesus, or the one
who came in peace and chose harmony over dissent?
what is your bent?
...on luke and truth.free dinner & discussionthursday, feb. 9 @ 6:30 p.m.449 patterson(at midland)
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Sophomore forward Tarik Black will have to contend with ECU’s Darius Morrow, who averages more than six rebounds per game.
Fresh off a big non-confer-ence victory over Xavier on Saturday, the Memphis Tigers will travel to Greenville, N.C., to take on the East Carolina Pirates tonight as they try to keep pace with Southern Miss and Tulsa in the race for the Conference USA title.
The last time the Pirates (12-10, 3-6 C-USA) played Memphis at home, they used a 13-0 sec-ond half run to break the game open and send the Tigers home with their second straight loss. The Tigers returned the favor with a 76-56 beatdown in the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament.
“They shocked us, the whole team,” said sophomore guard Antonio Barton. “We took them for granted. We beat them in the first game so we thought we were going to come in and do the same thing. We weren’t ready and they wanted it more than us, so they beat us.”
Junior guard Miguel Paul and senior forward Darius Morrow lead the Pirates with 16 and 13.9 points per game respectively. Paul, a transfer from Missouri, also leads the conference with 5.5 assists per game.
“We’ve got to continue to stay focused and locked in,” Pastner said. “Every game’s tough. There are no gimmes. East Carolina kicked our butt last year at their place.”
Memphis’ recent improve-ment on the glass will be put to the test against an ECU front-court that averages 36 rebounds per game. Morrow and junior forward Maurice Kemp aver-age over six rebounds each. They will have to contend with Memphis’ Will Barton and Tarik Black, who average 8.3 and 4.9 boards per game.
The Pirates have won three straight after dropping the previous six. Memphis, on the other hand, is trying to get on another run after losing to Southern Miss a week ago.
Pastner said he has stressed not looking past the Pirates.
“We’re going to get every-body’s best shot,” he said. “Guys who have never hit a three-pointer will hit a three-pointer. Guys who shoot below 60 percent from the free throw line will hit 7-of-8.”
The Tigers will try to limit the Pirates’ three-point shoot-ing. Paul has hit 52-of-140 three-pointers this season and leads the team in attempts.
“These teams we’ve been playing, they’ve always got two or three guys who shoot threes,” Barton said. “Our game plan is to take the three out of the game and make them beat us off the dribble.”
Pastner said it will be impor-tant to come out of the gate strongly and not back down.
“We can’t allow teams to hang around,” he said. “We’ve got to play at a high level for 40 minutes and just continue to move forward.”
Memphis looks to avenge last year’s lossBY SCOTT HALLSports Editor
Basketball
by D
avid
C.
Min
kin
