Lahaina, Hawaii — I’ll try to blog as much as I can over the next few days to give you a little flavor from the event. It’s really a cool thing because the Maui Invitational really overwhelms the community here, and everywhere you go people are wearing T-shirts from their school. At dinner last night, all our waiter wanted to talk about was basketball.

The trip was pretty uneventful, but definitely long. It was about 12 hours from takeoff in Memphis to touchdown in Maui. And because I’d only gotten about four hours of sleep Thursday night after the Jackson State game, I was really tired when I got here.
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You gotta admit, the Griz are getting more entertaining with each passing game. They played well against Sacramento before losing and were fun to watch against Dallas tonight. Even with Rudy Gay in foul trouble and of no consequence against the Mavs, the rest of the young crew made significant strides, especially in the first half. And Kyle Lowry definitely ratchets up the intensity when he’s in.

In a way, that was the problem tonight. Lowry helped key a strong second quarter, then made only token appearances in the second half. The only way to learn is by playing. The team line (and I don’t know what the team line is, just surmising) may be “well, he made some mistakes when he was in the game in the third quarter.” But they went on and lost anyway. Didn’t have THAT much to do with Lowry.

But overall it was a step forward, even though the loss was by double digits. Keep playing the kids. Keep letting Hakim Warrick develop. Get Lowry in more.

There’s been a little bit of buzz already among Tigers fans about Sports Illustrated’s college hoops preview edition, which does not include Memphis in the NCAA Tournament field.

SI’s Luke Winn, who wrote the preview capsules, e-mailed me last night and said it was an honest mistake, though a regrettable one. He explains and apologizes on his blog:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/basketball/ncaa/2006/11/memphis-gaffe.html

The Tigers’ recruiting momentum just keeps on rolling.

Markieff and Marcus Morris, identical twins from Philadelphia, signed with Memphis on Wednesday morning. They are both right around 6-9 and play the wing-forward positions.

Though they signed, they are probably headed for prep school next year and enrollment at Memphis in 2008-09.
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SEVERAL OBSERVATIONS BEFORE THE TIGERS PLAY THEIR HOME FINALE SATURDAY AGAINST HOUSTON:

** Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb is a veteran of coach Art Briles offensive system and the numbers confirm it. Kolb has the Cougars leading the conference in scoring (33 points per game) and has tossed a league-high 23 touchdowns vs. only four interceptions. He is, understandably, the league’s pass efficiency leader.

** If the Tigers play as they have in the secondary the past few weeks, they’ll dig a hole out of which they can’t climb. Kolb and receivers Vincent Marshall and Donnie Avery aren’t the only offensive weapons. Running back Anthony Aldridge averages, yes AVERAGES, 12.5 yards per carry. He had TWO 77-yard touchdown runs last weekend against SMU.

** The future is this weekend and next for the Tigers. Sophomore Philip Beliles started at center last weekend and should start Saturday. Former receiver Michael Grandberry is a recent addition to the secondary at cornerback, but has impressed the staff with coverage skills. He’ll also start against Houston.

It’s been a month exactly since Memphis Madness. And though watching practice is great, I’ve got to admit: I’m ready to see some games.

I think the Tigers’ coaching staff was feeling the same way this weekend, especially once the scores of Friday and Saturday’s games started rolling in. John Calipari told me he kind of wished Memphis had been able to schedule a game for the weekend or Monday, but it didn’t happen.

Instead, the Tigers got some good work in Saturday and Sunday, scrimmaging both days.
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Not that it necessarily will result in fewer points being allowed, but the Tiger coaching staff must welcome the return of defensive backs Wesley Smith and Sam Brewer in practice this week.

Smith and Brewer, out with injuries on several occasions this season, give a re-vamped defense some experience in the secondary. In a lopsided loss to Southern Miss last weekend, the Tigers spent much of the game with converted receivers Alton Starr and Michael Granberry trying to keep pace with the Golden Eagle wideouts. Starr, a freshman converted to defense in preseason camp, got his first start. Grandberry, who been a defensive back for less than a month, played extensively.

With one of the nation’s top receivers, UCF’s Mike Walker, providing a challenge this weekend, the Tigers will need as much experience as possible in the secondary.