Watching the Tigers practice today, it occured to me that Memphis’ bench might have more top-50 recruits than any in the country. Coach John Calipari broke up the team today into two units, with Derrick Rose, Antonio Anderson, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Robert Dozier and Joey Dorsey playing as the first team. That means Willie Kemp, Doneal Mack, Andre Allen, Jeff Robinson and Shawn Taggart was the second team. Of the latter five, only Allen was not a top-50 rated recruit in his senior year of high school.

More observations:
– Andre Allen (right) was killing people Wednesday. He may be 5-8, but that is one very hard man to guard.

– Derrick Rose and Jeff Robinson both took some hard shots to the face, but they were OK. Antonio Anderson got the wind knocked out of him but came back. As Anderson was laying on the floor in pain, Calipari said, “Look at how much stronger he is. Two years ago, he would have been out for a month. Now, he’s fine.” Power of suggestion, perhaps?

– Jeff Robinson and Shawn Taggart both made some great offensive plays but missed layups. It’s very reminiscent of how Doneal Mack and Willie Kemp looked last year at the beginning of preseason practice. Now, those guys make virtually everything.

– Once again, Calipari was jazzed about how the team looked in practice. “I went live zone, live press, and live man from blockouts to see where we are. Man,” he said. “And then I did some out of bounds plays. Man. And you’re like, holy cow. And the greatest thing is, they’re just playing. They’re understanding, this offense doesn’t put restrictions. Just make sure you’re spaced, make hard cuts and be strong on drives.”

– The Tigers will take Thursday off. Calipari was headed out on the road to recruit.

Memphis Grizzlies forward Pau Gasol sprained his ankle in the first quarter of tonight’s game at Indiana. Gasol was going in for a layup when he was fouled by Indiana’s Danny Granger. Gasol went crashing to the floor with 9:36 to play in the quarter, grabbing his left ankle. He continued to play before heading to the lockerroom with 7:23 to play. The injury didn’t appear to be too serious. It was classified as a mild sprain. He will not return to the game, and still hasn’t come out of the lockerroom.

At the midway point of the Conference USA football season, it’s apparent the league, in its 12th year, has had its better moments.

Here’s just a few:

In 1996, the league’s first year, Memphis upset No. 6 Tennessee, 21-17.

In 1997, Southern Miss finished ranked 19th in both major polls.
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THE BIG STORY

So is Arkansas wide receiver Marcus Monk in or out?

Monk is rehabilitating a right knee injury, which forced him to miss the first five games. He made his season debut when he stepped on the field for the second play Saturday, but it was the only action he saw in the 9-7 loss to Auburn. He has to decide this week whether to redshirt for the season or try to play.

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt told the Northwest Arkansas Times that Monk might play against Ole Miss on Saturday, but offensive coordinator David Lee wasn’t as optimistic.

“We’re pushing Marcus what we can,” Lee said. “But I just don’t think he’s quite ready right now. He may be in the next 72 hours, but just looking at him (Tuesday) I don’t think he’s quite ready.”

Lee said asked Monk if he wanted to go one-on-one against defensive backs, but Monk declined because Lee said Monk is still having trouble “putting his foot in the ground and getting out of the cut and separating still.” Lee said he’s not running routes at full speed.

A look at the league:
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