The 2009–10 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the

University of Memphis The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. The university maintains the Herff Col ...

in the 2009–10 college basketball season, the 89th season of Tiger basketball. The Tigers were coached by first-year head coach

Josh Pastner Joshua Paul Pastner (born September 26, 1977) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the men's basketball head coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Pastner was a player on the 1997 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball nat ...

, played their home games at the

FedExForum FedExForum is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the NCAA Division I Memphis Tigers men's ba ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and are members of

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

. They finished the season 24–10, 13–3 in C-USA play. They were the 2 seed in the 2010 Conference USA men's basketball tournament where they were upset by 7 seed and eventual champion

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. They failed to be invited to the NCAA tournament for the first time since

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

. Instead, the Tigers were invited to the

2010 National Invitation Tournament The 2010 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. T ...

where they advanced to the second round before losing to the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

Preseason

The 2008–09 Memphis Tigers finished the season 33–4 (16–0), as

regular season and tournament champions. After three early losses, the Tigers went on a 27-game unbeaten streak, finally coming to an end with a season-ending 102–91 loss to the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the "Fighting Tigers of Columbia" who, in 1864, protected Columbia ...

in the Sweet 16. Memphis finished the season ranked 9th in the final

Coaches' Poll In the United States, the Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I (NCAA), Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. ...

and 3rd in the AP Poll. A turbulent offseason for the Tigers began with the news of Billy Gillispie's firing at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

. Despite assurances that “Memphis is where I want to coach,”

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

resigned as head coach of the Tigers to take the job at Kentucky on March 31, 2009. After a week-long coaching search, Memphis

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches a ...

R.C. Johnson announced the hiring of former

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

and Memphis assistant

as head basketball coach. At 32 years of age, Coach Pastner is the second-youngest men's head basketball coach in the NCAA. Calipari's departure resulted in the disintegration of Memphis' recruiting class. Signed recruits

DeMarcus Cousins DeMarcus Amir Cousins (born August 13, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Mets de Guaynabo of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Nicknamed "Boogie", he played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, ...

and Darnell Dodson were allowed out of their

letters of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term she ...

and followed Calipari to Kentucky.

Xavier Henry Xavier Henry (; born March 15, 1991) is an American former professional basketball player. He played one year of college basketball with the Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball, Kansas Jayhawks before he was drafted in the 2010 NBA draft by the Mem ...

was also allowed to leave, and while briefly considering following Calipari as well, ultimately decided to attend the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

. Guard Nolan Dennis was also allowed to leave, choosing to attend

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

. Of Memphis' original 2009 recruiting class, only

JUCO A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, acc ...

forward Will Coleman decided to honor his commitment to play for the Tigers. Sophomore forward Ángel García lost most of the season with an ACL tear, but made an unexpected debut after only five months of recovery. Despite shooting 52% in 2-point field goals and 41% in 3-point field goals, García saw limited action due to the recovery process. Memphis' roster was also devastated by other departures not directly related to the coaching change.

Redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

freshman C. J. Henry, brother of Xavier Henry, chose to transfer to Kansas to play with his brother after sitting out the season due to an ankle injury. Memphis recruit Latavious Williams decided not to honor his commitment, instead deciding to play professionally in China; ultimately, Williams was drafted into the

NBA Development League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

. On March 31, 2009, freshman sensation

Tyreke Evans Tyreke Jamir Evans (born September 19, 1989) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Broncos de Caracas of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB). After playing college basketball for the Memphis Tigers men's ...

declared himself eligible for the

2009 NBA draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball p ...

, ultimately being drafted 4th overall by the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

. Senior forward Shawn Taggart declared for the draft on June 6, 2009, despite having one year of eligibility remaining. Seniors

Antonio Anderson Antonio Andrew Anderson (born June 5, 1985) is an American former basketball player and the current head coach at Darrow School. He majored in interdisciplinary studies at the University of Memphis and played basketball for several years profe ...

and

Robert Dozier Robert Lorenzo Dozier Jr. (born November 6, 1985) is an American professional basketball player. College career In the 2007–08 season, Dozier started in all games with Memphis, along with the Memphis Tigers' future NBA players Derrick Rose, Ch ...

also declared for the draft after their graduation from the University; Chance McGrady, brother of Houston Rockets guard

Tracy McGrady Tracy Lamar McGrady Jr. (born May 24, 1979), nicknamed T-Mac, is an American former professional basketball player, best known for his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). McGrady is a seven-time NBA All-Star, seven-time All-N ...

also graduated, but did not declare for the draft. The Tigers began the 2009–10 season on October 16, 2009 with Memphis Madness. Over 18,000 fans attended the free event at FedExForum, with several hundred fans turned away at the door by the Memphis Fire Department for safety reasons. The capacity crowd was the largest to ever witness a Memphis Madness event.

Departures

''Statistics accurate as of 29 March 2010.''

Recruiting

Roster

Schedule

, - !colspan=9, Exhibition , - !colspan=9, Regular Season , - !colspan=9, 2010 Conference USA tournament , - !colspan=9,

." ''2009–10 Schedule'' Retrieved on 20-10-2009.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Memphis Tigers Men's Basketball Team 2009–10 Conference USA men's basketball season, Memphis Memphis Tigers men's basketball seasons