It’s looking fairly blue in Reed Green, though clearly once this place fills up it will be overwhelmingly a Southern Miss crowd. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are 1,500 Memphis fans in the building, however, once the game tips. They say it’s the first sellout here in years, so that will be interesting. The apathy for basketball around here is pretty astounding, given that there’s not much else to do in Hattiesburg between football and baseball seasons. Last year, when the Tigers came down here, the building was maybe half full.
Obviously, the spotlight today is on Joey Dorsey, which brings me to something I just don’t understand. Despite his problems, nobody on the roster gets more sympathy from fans than Joey Dorsey. When he struggles, a lot of Memphis fans will try to tell you that it’s the ref’s fault, it’s the media’s fault, it’s Cal’s fault, etc. You’ve got a bunch of guys on this team busting their humps to win a national championship, and you’ve had one guy sulk for the last four games and give half-efforts because he’s mad about something. Yet the guy who is sulking gets the sympathy?
While I’m at it, another beef I have with Memphis fans right now: A relatively small but vocal minority of you continue to write me, post on message boards and call talk radio shows complaining that Derrick Rose has a longer leash when he makes mistakes versus other point guards on the team. Well…duh. Of course he does. For Memphis to make the Final Four, Derrick Rose MUST be the primary point guard. As good as Willie Kemp and Andre Allen are, Derrick Rose is the difference-maker, the guy with the talent to elevate this program beyond where it has been the past two years. Though these fans would never acknowledge this, there have been numerous occasions this season when Rose got yanked from a game for mental errors. But he must get more rope than other players because he is the most talented basketball player on the floor and thus must be on the court more than anybody else.
in Tiger Basketball
Responses to “Pregame blog: Southern Miss”
March 1st, 2008 at 5:20 pm
dan, you got to understand. it’s not being loyal to one individual on the team, it’s showing equal support to every member of the team. dorsey is a senior leader, and in that regard, he deserves the most support from me than any other individual on the court, besides andre allen (althought i think he has one more year of eligibility left).
anyways, cut dorsey some slack. obviously this all started when dorsey wouldn’t give you an interview. man up, and lay off the guy.
March 1st, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Dan- You’re a good writer man, but what’s with this sudden vendetta? Really. I know you’ve said it’s not, but it sure looks like one.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Dan,
I am not sure what it is, but you seem to dislike this team. You always have this passive agressive stuff going, and it is starting to wear on people. I am just going to try to tune you out, your good at ruining good vibes.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Dan,
Your comments about Rose show me you have a crystal ball. He WAS the difference maker tonight and without him they lose a game in Southern Miss. No question about it, Rose IS the ticket to the Final 4. Good Job!
March 1st, 2008 at 6:53 pm
We have been fans of this team for years. Joey has made a difference in many games. We like the guy. you say he sulks. Maybe so, but I see a guy who gets a lot of ticky tack fouls called at the beginning of almost every game. I believe the refs pass along the message to each other to watch out for Joey and get control of him early. At this point there is nothing that can be done to improve the situation, but I don’t think riding him is accomplishing much.
March 1st, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Dan,
I’m not going to say that Joey is getting “sympathy” from the Tiger fan base so much as we’re trying to show “support”. There has been a ton of negativity swirling around JD lately, and admittedly he has caused most of it. So my question is simple: if we as fans start ripping the guy, just how helpful would that be?
My personal feeling is that Coach Cal rides Joey hard enough. I think if the fans make Joey feel wanted and appreciated, perhaps he will step up and perform. Positivity breeds positive results. He’s made a ton of mistakes but if he plays hard for the balance of this season, we can easily cut the nets in San Antonio.
March 1st, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Here’s a conversation that I wish CDR and Derrick Rose would have with Joey Dorsey (adapted from the film “Swingers”)
CDR: You know what you are? You’re like a big bear with claws and with fangs…
D.Rose: …big f*ing teeth, man.
CDR: Yeah… big f*ing teeth on ya’. And the rebound is just like this little bunny, who’s just kinda cowering in the corner.
D.Rose: Shivering.
CDR: Yeah, man just kinda… you know, you got these claws and you’re staring at these claws and your thinking to yourself, and with these claws you’re thinking, “How am I supposed to kill this bunny, how am I supposed to kill this bunny?”
D.Rose: And you’re poking at it, you’re poking at it…
CDR: Yeah, you’re not hurting it. You’re just kinda gently batting the bunny around, you know what I mean? And the bunny’s scared, Joey, the bunny’s scared of you, shivering.
D.Rose: And you got these f*ing claws and these fangs…
CDR: And you got these f*ing claws and these fangs, man! And you’re looking at your claws and you’re looking at your fangs. And you’re thinking to yourself, you don’t know what to do, man. “I don’t know how to kill the bunny.” With *this* you don’t know how to kill the bunny, do you know what I mean?
D.Rose: You’re like a big bear, man.
Joey: So you’re not just like f*ing with me?
CDR: No I’m not f*ing with you.
D.Rose: Honestly, man.
Dan- make it happen.
JC
March 1st, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Joey is who he is at this point - not that he can’t still grow, but it’s clear that things can get in his head sometimes. Believe it or not, he has grown since he’s been here. (I think it was 3 years ago he led the NCAA in techs and fouled out all the time).
Fans want him to play well, and figure the best thing is encouragement, especially just to play through the frustrations. By the way, he did pretty decently today.
Also, one person’s sulking and half-effort is another person’s frustration and being mentally off. Either way he has to play through it, but one can say that positively or negatively. For the record, many of us treat Joey the same as the other players - he happens to be the one who has been slumping lately.
As for fans who don’t understand D. Rose getting a longer leash, I totally agree with you, they just don’t get it.
I could understand questions about Allen seeming get a longer leash than Kemp, through much of the season, but I can also see that Andre has that extra intensity and fearlessness, while Wille has played more tentatively at times. Thankfully he seems to be over that at just the right time.
Rose was definitely a MAN today - but everyone I saw out there contributed, in my opinion.
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:11 am
TigerBill…I think Dans mad that Dorsey didn’t talk to him after the UT game, so he’s using his position as a pulpit to “get” him
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:57 pm
I feel this team don’t play hard the entire game, there is no way we shouldn’t be able 2 destroy everybody who crosses our paths. It feels like this team wants 2 be down early in early 2 get into the game. Coach Cal needs 2 use the same approach w/ all of his guys and not be lenient on a guy because he’s a superstar. We need more than Rose 2 win a championship, Dan. This team needs 2 stop listening 2 everybody outside the locker room telling them how good they are and just come out and play to their abilities. Finally, Dan we as tiger fans are suppose 2 support our players and show our support and encouragement. So, tigers PLAY HARD and bring that championship 2 Memphis!!!
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