Memphis, UMass pull weird all nighter -- or was it morning?
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- I stretched out with my 5-year-old three hours ago, let him fall asleep on my arm during Heroes. Then I picked him up, carried him to his room and tucked him in. And now I'm at a basketball game that is about to tip off, and this really is a strange way to spend a Monday.
Or is it Tuesday?
Honestly, it's hard to tell.
And whose crazy idea was this anyway?
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| Despite the time, those are not yawns on the court. (AP) |
Memphis and UMass got together for a made-for-TV event late Monday/early Tuesday, and it was the best basketball game I've ever seen that started on one day and ended on another because it was the only basketball game I've ever seen that started on one day and ended on another. The whole thing was bizarre, from the opening tip until Memphis' 80-58 victory was complete. But more than anything the night/morning was a reminder that exposure trumps all in college basketball, which is why Memphis and UMass agreed to play at this unconventional hour, because Calipari will do anything short of painting his chest to gain exposure, and following Monday Night Football offers great exposure.
Thus, there was a late-night reunion at FedExForum.
Here's what we had: A former UMass coach (Calipari) coached Memphis and a former Memphis assistant (Derek Kellogg) coached UMass. Meantime, the man who invented the Memphis offense (Vance Walberg) was on the UMass bench as an assistant while his son (Jason Walberg) was on the Memphis bench as an assistant. And then there was a former Memphis player (Shyrone Chatman) and another former Memphis assistant (Andy Allison) on the UMass bench as assistants, and a former UMass assistant (John Robic) was on the Memphis bench as an assistant while a Massachusetts native (Antonio Anderson) whose brother used to play for UMass scored 15 points for Memphis as the Memphis coach's daughter (Erin Calipari) watched from courtside before eventually boarding the UMass charter headed back to Amherst in the middle of the night.
She's a UMass student, in case you didn't know.
"I love you," Erin Calipari said as she hugged her father. "I'm leaving."
That was at 1:35 a.m.
"Wow," said Anderson, who got 12 rebounds and five assists to go with his 15 points. "I'm usually knocked out by now."
That goes for all of us.
Including Maximus Antonio Kellogg.
"His normal bedtime is 8," Derek Kellogg said. "But he's a battler."
I'll say.
The 6-month-old son of Derek and Nicole Kellogg sat on the first row behind the UMass bench under a maroon blanket, and though he conked out for a little while late in the first half the "battler" was wide awake for the final 10 minutes to watch Memphis pull away and make Calipari the all-time winningest coach in Memphis basketball history. Afterward, Calipari downplayed the significance of that achievement and instead talked about his team's 2-for-19 performance from 3-point range.
"If I was a recruit watching that, I'd say, 'I can play for them,'" Calipari said. "I'd say 'Those guys can't shoot. If I can shoot, I can play for them.'"
To most, this just sounded like Calipari being Calipari. But the words held a special coded meaning for those who follow recruiting, because Xavier Henry -- the nation's top-ranked shooting guard -- is expected to announce his college decision at some point Tuesday, and though nobody around Memphis was talking specifics everybody sure did seem to be in a chipper mood, like they kind of had a good feeling that some good news might be coming their way.
Or perhaps they were just delirious from a lack of sleep.
"I'm just happy the game is over," Calipari said as 2 a.m. approached, at which time somebody asked whether he was looking forward to returning the game to UMass next season. "Next year?" Calipari said. "I can't even think about tomorrow."
Funny thing was, it was already tomorrow.
