Remember the Memphis Tigers? Five years ago, John Calipari had them seconds away from the national championship. These days he's putting up historic numbers in the recruiting game at Kentucky.
The Tigers haven't reached those lofty heights under Josh Pastner, but they've remained go-getters on the recruiting trail. This offseason, the Tigers corralled what most scouting services perceive to be a top-five recruiting class. On Wednesday night, the Tigers doused their recruiting class with another layer of sauce by adding a commitment from four-star recruit recruit Dominic Woodson.
Woodson, a 6-10, 315 pound bruiser who looks like he'll enjoy some pulled pork and beef ribs, but has a nifty face-up scoring game, decomitted after Baylor's Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson spurned the NBA Draft to return for another season, leaving a crowded mosh pit in the Bears frontcourt. Baylor's loss is Memphis' gain…and Louisville's problem. After a 31-5 season that ended in the Round of 32 against Michigan State, the Tigers return a loaded roster including three of their four top scorers, rising sophomore Shaq Goodwin and will welcome a summa hoops laude recruiting class. Next season, Louisville and Memphis will compete in the American Athletic Conference, but Memphis is in position to knock the reigning national champions from their perch as preseason conference favorites.