Tiger Blogs :: Lady Tiger Hoops

Blog #4 -- Good Luck Tigers!

Yesterday marked the last day of classes for the 2007-08 Memphis women's basketball roster and today (Thursday) is Study Day across campus, meaning I envision lots of U of M students doing some last minute cramming for exams that begin tomorrow. This afternoon is the M Club Senior Luncheon, where all seniors who have finished their eligibility and are getting ready to graduate will be honored by their respective head coaches and will get introduced to the M Club staff. M Club Director Tim Duncan has made some big changes in the M Club this year, and is trying to connect our current student-athletes with former student-athletes to help everyone get off to a good start in their post-U of M lives.

Good luck to the Lady Tigers with exams....study hard and have a good summer!

Blog #3 -- Season-Ending Banquet

First off, let me apologize for the lack of posts on the women's basketball blog. In deciding to launch a blog for women's basketball, none of us knew that a coaching change was going to be so close around the corner, and without a staff, I opted to not ask the girls to post in order to give them some time to process everything that was going on.

Sunday night, April 20th, was the season-ending Fastbreak Club banquet. The Fastbreak Club did a great job of making sure the girls were recognized for their work this season and handled what could have been an uncomfortable situation very well. Freshman Savannah Ellis received the Most Improved Player award, much-deserved for a player with a bright future ahead of her. Junior Paris Leonard was named the Most Valuable Defensive Player, quite an honor for a player who will likely be our next Lady Tiger to 1,000 career points in her senior season. I don't know what Lady Tiger fans thought, but I thought the biggest growth in Paris' game from her sophomore to her junior seasons was definitely her defense. Jessica Hall received the Most Valuable Offensive Player Award. Imagine all those points having to sit on the sidelines over the past two seasons due to injuries for J-Hall...she's made a really remarkable comeback and was also one of 14 players from across all NCAA divisions (I, II and III) across the country to be selected a finalist for the V Foundation's Comeback Award, quite an honor. Ashley Thornton received the Lady Tiger award and the Les Phillips award. Both are awarded to the player who best exemplifies what it means to be a Lady Tiger. The Les Phillips award is a perpetual award, meaning anyone who walks in the women's basketball office back by the door to Coach McFerrin's office can see the plaque in honor of the former Lady Tiger booster hanging on the wall.

A little later that evening, new head coach Melissa McFerrin landed in Memphis and in arriving at the hotel, crossed paths with some of us leaving the banquet. I think it's fair to say everyone was impressed and excited to meet Coach McFerrin, although we did kind of ambush her in the lobby of the hotel -- sorry coach! So far, Coach McFerrin has had a busy few hours. She had not even been in Memphis for a full 24 hours when she had already knocked out some local school visits and made an appearance at the Tiger Scholarship Fund spring tour event at the DeSoto Civic Center. Today (Tuesday) is the last day women's basketball can be out on the road recruiting, so today will likely be more of the same for Coach McFerrin. Women's basketball enters a Quiet Period beginning on April 23rd, which lasts until July 5th. The NCAA's website defines a Quiet Period as the time when coaching staff can only make in-person recruiting contacts at the member institution, which means Coach McFerrin, in addition to having to hire a staff, will also only have the opportunity to host potential recruits here at the U of M for the remainder of this recruiting cycle. She can begin the evaluation period for her class of 2010 on July 6th when the next Evaluation Period begins.

For this year, the late signing period for basketball ends on May 21st. As of now, Memphis did ink two signees earlier this season (NCAA rules prohibit me from mentioning them again in a second release, but you can find the first releases I did on both signees under women's basketball, news headlines, on our website). For fans who may not know, women's basketball has 15 scholarships. We had 14 players this season, including one walk-on, and lost two to transfers during the season and one to graduation next month (Aroha Jennings).

My Last Game in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse

Looking back on my freshman year, I definitely thought that it would take forever to get to my senior year, but it came with a blink of an eye! It took a while for me to really grasp the fact that my last home game is this weekend. It hit me, and I thought wow, I will never play in the Elma Roane Fieldhouse ever again after this game and it is sad. I have come to feel so comfortable in the fieldhouse. The small environment of the fieldhouse makes it feel like home and I wouldn't have it any other way. The crowd and fans are so close and it's a good feeling knowing we have support right there. It makes me enjoy playing in the fieldhouse so much more. All the people that have continually come to support us thru thick and I want to say a big thank you, as you have such a big impact on our success. Thank you.

The team this season has grown and developed so much and we have really proven a lot of people wrong. We have an amazing fight and have really come to learn how to play well with each other. We have fought thru a lot of adversity, but we have overcome it all together!. It's going to be difficult to leave the team, coaches and managers because we are like a little family and many of the relationships I have developed can never be replaced. It's a very overwhelming experience for me to know that I will never play with this team ever again, because no one team can ever be the same. In my case, this could possibly be one of my last games and I definitely have a lot of mixed emotions and am sad to know that my college career here in America is coming to an end.

My time here at Memphis has literally been some of the toughest years of my life, both physically and mentally, but it has made me stronger and the things that I have been through will carry me through life and the real world. I truly treasure my time here in Memphis and in the United States, even though it has been very tough at times. I have seen the world, played basketball at an intense and amazing level that I would not have be able to experience many other places, and I would never change my decision to come here.

I have had the time of my life, met some amazing people and have had the opportunity of a lifetime to be in America, recieving an education and competing as a basketball athlete. It will be a very emotional time for me entering my last game here in for The University of Memphis as a Lady Tiger for the last time, but I will be strong and take it all in and I will never forget my experiences here and will always be grateful.

I want to thank my family, my boyfriend Efrem, and my friends for always being there for me through the thick and thin. I would not have been able to do it without you all.

Cyah Everyone

Your New Zealand Lady Tiger

Aroha Jennings

Women's Basketball Blog Entry #1

Hey Lady Tiger fans...just a quick note to let everyone know that Saturday's game time against UCF has been changed since we did all the print pieces (posters, media guides, game-day programs). We will now play at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse. That game will also be Senior Night for Aroha Jennings, who will do our first player blog in the next day or so. Thanks and Go Tigers! Tammy DeGroff, Athletic Media Relations (td)