...guys I really hope Memphis kills Louisville. on Sat......but, as info, this was the story in the local paper...
No longer a novelty act, Tigers depend on Avery
February 27, 2004
Eighteen hours.
From the moment he wakes up until the moment he returns to sleep, that's the amount of time Maurice Avery typically spends running around these days.
Football winter workouts.
Classes.
Study halls.
Basketball practices.
Showers.
Meals.
The to-do list has spiraled out of control, making the two-sport student-athlete an insomniac by nature, someone to whom Kiefer Sutherland's character from "24" could easily relate.
"It's hard,'' said Avery, a sophomore at the University of Memphis. "But I'll get through it."
For Maurice Avery, this whole college experience has been a strange trip of unforeseen occurrences.
He came here to be a quarterback for a perennially losing football program. Instead, he's a wide receiver for the New Orleans Bowl champions and backup point guard for a basketball team ranked 19th in the nation heading into Saturday afternoon's showdown at No. 21 Louisville.
Forget the unexpected twists those reality shows keep throwing at people. Avery's tops them all.
"He's a winner," said Tiger freshman Sean Banks, who has helped Memphis to a 20-4 record, including an 11-2 mark in Conference USA. "I've known Mo since he joined the basketball team, and I know he doesn't quit.
"He's not a quitter. He's a winner."
Though Avery has long been a regular in pickup games around campus, he never planned on playing basketball in college.
Sure, he'd thought about it, especially considering he lettered in hoops - as well as track - at McNair High in Atlanta. But playing at a level where pure athleticism is no longer enough to get anybody by didn't seem realistic.
Until . . .
Reserve point guard Clyde Wade was suspended.
Reserve forward Almamy Thiero suffered blood clots.
Reserve point guard/wing Billy Richmond withdrew from school.
Once all that happened, John Calipari simply needed bodies to put in uniforms, which is about the time he offered a spot to Avery.
He started coming to practice and working hard despite understanding the odds of actually playing were slim. But when wing/reserve point guard Jeremy Hunt went down for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament last week, the immensely important football player became a somewhat important basketball player who will be required to spell Antonio Burks when fatigue or foul trouble calls for such.
Take Tuesday's 74-56 win over Southern Miss, for instance. Burks was saddled with fouls throughout, prompting Avery to play four minutes. He got three points and two rebounds.
"If he can just get the ball up the floor and get us into the offense, then Anthony Rice can play his regular position (of shooting guard) and then (Avery) can play 10 or 15 minutes a game,'' Burks said. "That's what we're going to need from here on out."
Though 10 or 15 minutes a game might be excessive, there's no doubt Avery is now a commodity at the Finch Center, which is why Tommy West won't interrupt things when football spring practice begins March 9.
That week, the Tiger basketball team will be in Cincinnati for the C-USA Tournament. And it was just decided by West and Calipari that Avery will be in Cincy, too, running a half-court offense instead of a post pattern and itching for minutes wherever they might come.
"I talked to John about it, and I will excuse Mo from spring practice as long as he's with them,'' West said. "Now if he was just going to be a guy over there helping them get through practice, then I'd expect him to be with us. But heck, they need him now. So I'm fine with it."
...this is all because of Jeremy Hunt's torn ACL last week during a Friday practice....
GO TIGERS!!
