R.E.S.P.E.C.T. M.E.M.P.H.I.S.

Posted on March 31, 2008 by thestateofblog

Can they get some? This team has only one loss all season. They were ranked No.1 in the polls for the better part of the season. They have a great coach, one of the nation’s top point guards, and a Naismith award finalist. But still they were picked by most people in their brackets as the No. 1 seed most likely to be upset. The critics and media spent barrels of ink on stories about the guys from Texas, Davidson, North Carolina, and the rest. But Memphis was the step child.

The State Of . . . the Memphis Tigers.  Now, after thoroughly dismantling Michigan State and soundly defeating Texas, they are in the Final Four for the first time since 1985.  All I (rich, native Memphian) ask is that you give them some respect and credit.  And how may of you had Memphis in the Final Four?

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13 Responses to “R.E.S.P.E.C.T. M.E.M.P.H.I.S.”

  1. Big J (Stringer Bell), on March 31st, 2008 at 1:55 pm Said:

    Two words: Lorraine Motel.

    Memphis is impressive though.

  2. King James, on March 31st, 2008 at 2:00 pm Said:

    NC all the way!

    but much respect to Memp…… good post

  3. rich (The Memphian), on March 31st, 2008 at 2:06 pm Said:

    two words: Watts riots
    two more: O. J.

    Next up: UCLA. They already served J’s Trojans and that over rated OJ Mayo earlier in the year.

  4. KP, on March 31st, 2008 at 2:56 pm Said:

    Memph is damm near the second coming of UNLV. They are clearly the most dominant team in the tourney. Size, depth, D, athleticism, versatility at all positions and the Lebron Vogue cover scowl foe dat azz.

    I was not expecting them to beat TX in a laugher when TX beat Kansas and UCLA during the reg season.

    I’ll admit I went against my gut and picked them to lose to UCLA in one bracket and Pitt in another.

  5. Maceo, on March 31st, 2008 at 3:38 pm Said:

    Memphis? C’mon. They haven’t beat a top 5 team all year. The only thing close was the beating they put on top 10 Texas and the loss they took to top 10 Tennessee. Texas is a football school that didn’t sniff the top spot in the polls all season so let’s not get carried away with that win. And Tennessee blew their supposed #1 ranking 3 days after beating Memphis so that’s not even a good loss.

    Any good team would coast through Memphis’ sorry conference so they get no credit from me for that. Play somebody.

    Now if Memphis beats UCLA (the best team they will have faced so far), and then beats Kansas or UNC then they will have earned respect. If not, then they don’t deserve any more respect than they have gotten.

    As a Tarheel fan, it would be disappointing to lose in the Final Four. Rich…you sound like Memphis has accomplished something by just getting there. I smell UNC vs. Memphis and I would much rather see them than UCLA.

    (Go ‘heels…2nd Championship in four years coming next Monday)

  6. KP, on March 31st, 2008 at 4:07 pm Said:

    Maceo - How can talk about Tenn when UNC lost to Maryland AT HOME? I’ll take a loss to in interstate rival in Tenn, a top 5 team at the time, over a NIT team looking up at the top 25 most of the yr. Other than UNC what ACC team made noise in the tourney?

    TX, football school or not, is the only team to beat 2 number one seeds this yr and they were treated like Mich St.

    Conf USA is definitely weak just like the WAC when UNLV was stellar. They both proved you don’t have to play in a big time conference to win it all when you have loads of talent.

  7. Maceo, on March 31st, 2008 at 4:28 pm Said:

    KP…Maryland no doubt caught UNC and put it to ‘em.

    But did you really just question UNC’s schedule relative to Memphis’ schedule? They beat 5 seed Clemson three times. They beat out of conference Davidson, who was a bucket away from the final four. They beat Duke in Cameron (though they also lost to Duke at home when Ty Lawson was out) and Duke was ranked with the likes of Texas and Tennesee all season long.

    The other 3 ACC teams didn’t do much in the tourney but Duke was #1 for a while…It’s hard to crap on them.

    And UNLV proved you can win it all being from a weak conference. Memphis has not. They are 2 games away and without question the 4th best team left. Does that mean they can’t or won’t win? Naaah. But it means they will have to get mighty lucky. Luck counts though so you never know, but the smart money is on the Tarheels.

  8. KP, on March 31st, 2008 at 5:13 pm Said:

    I can’t crap on UNC, I’m just comparing the losses since you poo-pooed Memphis’ season. UNC is strong but I have KU beating them.

    With that roster I wouldn’t call a potential Memphis championship anything close to luck. Tenn is the team that got lucky in my opinion.

  9. RJEsq, on March 31st, 2008 at 6:03 pm Said:

    Just thought this post could use some estrogen….

  10. cleezy, on March 31st, 2008 at 7:40 pm Said:

    rich, ucla is going to stomp memphis out. eom.

  11. KAJ, on April 1st, 2008 at 7:23 am Said:

    Nothing is worse than being at a UCLA bar and having to hear that damned 8-clap. I guess they teach them to count to at least 8 at UCLA.

    I’ve got Memphis going all the way. Just because i hate UCLA and UNC and just don’t see Kansas winning.

    Memphis is a fucked up city though. Ever seen that show the “First 48″. Nuff said.

  12. VDT, on April 1st, 2008 at 9:06 am Said:

    Damn! I kind of like my city! Go Tigers . . . .
    The First 48 would make any city look fucked up!!!!

  13. DG, on April 1st, 2008 at 11:20 am Said:

    Memphis all the way!!!!

    I’m a Carolina native and loved the days of Duke domination (sorry Rich, but it happened), but Memphis has hit their stride. I’m a U of M alum and saw them firsthand stomp Georgetown ( sorry again Rich) and they are now playing at another level. I hope that UCLA under estimates their depth and talent and gets served up like the other teams did this year.

    Big J
    Two words: Gang Violence

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