Quartet of Tigers living their hometown dreams
Leroy Watson | Managing Editor
Getty Images, Joe Murphy
Confident. Happy. Humble.
If one had to condense the dominant qualities of the 2016-'17 Memphis Tigers into just three (3) words, that might be an appropriate combination to use. And no one on the roster exhibits these characteristics more than the Tigers' contingent of Memphis-born players in the starting lineup.
Markel Crawford. Dedric Lawson. K.J. Lawson. Jeremiah Martin. The quartet has started each of the first three (3) games this season for the Tigers (which include an exhibition game against Christian Brothers University). All 3 games have been victories.
All four of them have overcome adversity off the court and are now living their dreams on it. Memphis fans should be thrilled with the results.
Take Crawford, for example. A 2013 graduate of iconic Melrose High School, Markel tore up his knee the summer before his senior season as a Golden Wildcats. He had ACL and MCL surgery, and his recovery was slow. He redshirted his freshman campaign at Memphis, not playing a single minute.
The once-explosive wing couldn't move the way he had in the past. And his game suffered as a result.
As recently as the fall of 2015, Crawford needed regular ice therapy for his knee. And it showed on the court last season with the Tigers.
Markel looked tentative, even lost at times, only occasionally showing flashes of the young man who once scored 17 points in a single quarter of action against Oak Hill Academy way back in 2012.
Now, the idea for the 2016-'17 Memphis Tigers is to feed his confidence on the court. Early returns are extremely positive.
“The coaching staff told me to keep shooting, no matter if I missed,” Crawford explained. “I air-balled a couple of times (vs. Milwaukee) but that's just me building that confidence.
“Like K.J. and Dedric told me, they were gonna keep passing to me. Dedric told me, 'I know you're gonna make the shot.' So it's basically me just getting my confidence back up and doing what I have to do for the team.”
K.J. Lawson, too, has the dreaded word “redshirt” in front of his classification (redshirt freshman), having lost most of the 2015-'16 season to an Achilles injury. He, too, battled through a sometimes depressing rehabilitation; he still isn't 100%, but he's getting close.
K.J. probably struggled the most with his own expectations last year, aching to help his team with his energy, dogged determination and high basketball I.Q.
It's easy to forget, though, that K.J. and Dedric have lost both grandmothers in barely a year. Those closest to the family say that Dedric took the losses the hardest.
As for Martin, well he's labored with the perception that he wasn't worthy of being the Tigers' latest point guard. Memphians openly longed for Jaylen Fisher to spurn outside advances and stay home to quarterback the Memphis attack.
Martin didn't help his cause by struggling mightily at times last season as a freshman.
Now, the hometown quartet are all healthy and playing well. Coach Tubby Smith and the Tigers will benefit.
“It means a lot (playing key roles for Memphis),” Crawford said. “I know all 3 of us (he, Dedric and K.J.) dreamed of these moments, looking up and seeing the (Tiger) teams before us and just thinking, 'Man, I want to be in those positions.' I think I can speak for (K.J. and Dedric) when I say it's a dream come true. Three Memphis guys leading in scoring for a Memphis basketball team, it means a lot to us.”
K.J. Lawson, too, feels as if he's living a dream.
“It's truly a blessing to put on a uniform and make it this far, because a lot of kids from Memphis don't even make it to this point,” he said humbly. “So just being in a uniform and being able to even play in front of 9,000 people is just a blessing.
“Watching the teams Coach (John) Calipari had and just wanting to be a Tiger back when Willie Kemp and Derrick Rose (were) here is a dream come true because I always wanted to play for the Tigers.”
Continuing both themes of dreams coming true and humility, sophomore star Dedric Lawson feels blessed to play in front of the rabid fans from Memphis, TN. It drives him to be a positive role model.
“To be honest, I love (playing for Memphis) more than anything in the world,” he admitted. “Just being able to go out there and hear your name being called in front of all those people. All those people screaming for you, chanting for you. Your mama and your little brothers come to the game, their friends come to the game.
“All that is just like a dream come true. Little kids shaking your hand as you walk past. You know, you've just got to hold yourself at a standard when you go out and things like that. It's just a blessing, really.”
Crawford, too, feels the need to be someone positive to look up to.
“I always talk about with younger kids who look up to me, coming here to play, we've said it a lot but it's a dream come true,” Crawford said softly. “It's something I've dreamed about since when I was out in the back yard. Watching those teams growing up, wanting to be on this court. Growing up, no one ever thought we'd be in this position.
“It's truly a blessing. I just give God all the praise.”
K.J. Lawson sees how sophomore Martin has grown in confidence as he's matured and placed his stamp on the present team.
“I just see his confidence (has) grown from last year,” he began. “Basically, at that (point guard) position, you have to have confidence and with Coach Smith trusting in him, with Jeremiah you can see the swag he had from when, if you watched him, from what he had at Mitchell.
“He's just confident and he feels like he can play with less tension.”
That increased confidence translates into a self-assured floor general who is beginning to show signs that he can be the type of player who can carry on the tradition of Point Guard U.
“Jeremiah's a great point guard, offensive(ly), defensive(ly),” Markel observed. “I think he's that rock on the team that holds us all together. He holds us all accountable, puts us in our spots (on offense).
“As far as the defensive end, (he's a) real intense player keeps us gelling throughout the whole game. I think from start to finish, he's progressed as a great point guard. And I think he still has (upside) because he's so young and has a lot to learn.
“He's going to be a great point guard for the Tigers.”
And so they'll keep living their dreams, as an entire city dreams with them. If the Tigers are to become NCAA champions, they will have to ride these four Memphians to do it.
Don't bet against them.
Leroy Watson | Managing Editor
Getty Images, Joe Murphy
Confident. Happy. Humble.
If one had to condense the dominant qualities of the 2016-'17 Memphis Tigers into just three (3) words, that might be an appropriate combination to use. And no one on the roster exhibits these characteristics more than the Tigers' contingent of Memphis-born players in the starting lineup.
Markel Crawford. Dedric Lawson. K.J. Lawson. Jeremiah Martin. The quartet has started each of the first three (3) games this season for the Tigers (which include an exhibition game against Christian Brothers University). All 3 games have been victories.
All four of them have overcome adversity off the court and are now living their dreams on it. Memphis fans should be thrilled with the results.
Take Crawford, for example. A 2013 graduate of iconic Melrose High School, Markel tore up his knee the summer before his senior season as a Golden Wildcats. He had ACL and MCL surgery, and his recovery was slow. He redshirted his freshman campaign at Memphis, not playing a single minute.
The once-explosive wing couldn't move the way he had in the past. And his game suffered as a result.
As recently as the fall of 2015, Crawford needed regular ice therapy for his knee. And it showed on the court last season with the Tigers.
Markel looked tentative, even lost at times, only occasionally showing flashes of the young man who once scored 17 points in a single quarter of action against Oak Hill Academy way back in 2012.
Now, the idea for the 2016-'17 Memphis Tigers is to feed his confidence on the court. Early returns are extremely positive.
“The coaching staff told me to keep shooting, no matter if I missed,” Crawford explained. “I air-balled a couple of times (vs. Milwaukee) but that's just me building that confidence.
“Like K.J. and Dedric told me, they were gonna keep passing to me. Dedric told me, 'I know you're gonna make the shot.' So it's basically me just getting my confidence back up and doing what I have to do for the team.”
K.J. Lawson, too, has the dreaded word “redshirt” in front of his classification (redshirt freshman), having lost most of the 2015-'16 season to an Achilles injury. He, too, battled through a sometimes depressing rehabilitation; he still isn't 100%, but he's getting close.
K.J. probably struggled the most with his own expectations last year, aching to help his team with his energy, dogged determination and high basketball I.Q.
It's easy to forget, though, that K.J. and Dedric have lost both grandmothers in barely a year. Those closest to the family say that Dedric took the losses the hardest.
As for Martin, well he's labored with the perception that he wasn't worthy of being the Tigers' latest point guard. Memphians openly longed for Jaylen Fisher to spurn outside advances and stay home to quarterback the Memphis attack.
Martin didn't help his cause by struggling mightily at times last season as a freshman.
Now, the hometown quartet are all healthy and playing well. Coach Tubby Smith and the Tigers will benefit.
“It means a lot (playing key roles for Memphis),” Crawford said. “I know all 3 of us (he, Dedric and K.J.) dreamed of these moments, looking up and seeing the (Tiger) teams before us and just thinking, 'Man, I want to be in those positions.' I think I can speak for (K.J. and Dedric) when I say it's a dream come true. Three Memphis guys leading in scoring for a Memphis basketball team, it means a lot to us.”
K.J. Lawson, too, feels as if he's living a dream.
“It's truly a blessing to put on a uniform and make it this far, because a lot of kids from Memphis don't even make it to this point,” he said humbly. “So just being in a uniform and being able to even play in front of 9,000 people is just a blessing.
“Watching the teams Coach (John) Calipari had and just wanting to be a Tiger back when Willie Kemp and Derrick Rose (were) here is a dream come true because I always wanted to play for the Tigers.”
Continuing both themes of dreams coming true and humility, sophomore star Dedric Lawson feels blessed to play in front of the rabid fans from Memphis, TN. It drives him to be a positive role model.
“To be honest, I love (playing for Memphis) more than anything in the world,” he admitted. “Just being able to go out there and hear your name being called in front of all those people. All those people screaming for you, chanting for you. Your mama and your little brothers come to the game, their friends come to the game.
“All that is just like a dream come true. Little kids shaking your hand as you walk past. You know, you've just got to hold yourself at a standard when you go out and things like that. It's just a blessing, really.”
Crawford, too, feels the need to be someone positive to look up to.
“I always talk about with younger kids who look up to me, coming here to play, we've said it a lot but it's a dream come true,” Crawford said softly. “It's something I've dreamed about since when I was out in the back yard. Watching those teams growing up, wanting to be on this court. Growing up, no one ever thought we'd be in this position.
“It's truly a blessing. I just give God all the praise.”
K.J. Lawson sees how sophomore Martin has grown in confidence as he's matured and placed his stamp on the present team.
“I just see his confidence (has) grown from last year,” he began. “Basically, at that (point guard) position, you have to have confidence and with Coach Smith trusting in him, with Jeremiah you can see the swag he had from when, if you watched him, from what he had at Mitchell.
“He's just confident and he feels like he can play with less tension.”
That increased confidence translates into a self-assured floor general who is beginning to show signs that he can be the type of player who can carry on the tradition of Point Guard U.
“Jeremiah's a great point guard, offensive(ly), defensive(ly),” Markel observed. “I think he's that rock on the team that holds us all together. He holds us all accountable, puts us in our spots (on offense).
“As far as the defensive end, (he's a) real intense player keeps us gelling throughout the whole game. I think from start to finish, he's progressed as a great point guard. And I think he still has (upside) because he's so young and has a lot to learn.
“He's going to be a great point guard for the Tigers.”
And so they'll keep living their dreams, as an entire city dreams with them. If the Tigers are to become NCAA champions, they will have to ride these four Memphians to do it.
Don't bet against them.
