RE: Tarik refused to re-enter the game in 2nd half?
Jason Smith's article
Before the University of Memphis began practice Monday at the Finch Center, junior forward Tarik Black apologized to the team for his attitude in the second half of the Tigers' win over Harvard on Saturday.
Black was seen sitting emotionless on the bench as his teammates stood and cheered around him down the stretch in the Tigers' 60-50 win over Harvard at FedExForum.
Black had played just four minutes in the second half, contributing two points and four rebounds in 12 total minutes. After the game, Pastner said he wasn't going to "baby-sit" players and that those who don't produce will not play.
On Monday, after Memphis (14-3, 3-0 in Conference USA) concluded on-court preparations for its C-USA contest Tuesday against Tulane (13-5, 1-2) at FedExForum, Pastner said he planned to handle the situation with Black internally.
The team's third-leading scorer and rebounder, Black was a full participant in practice and appeared completely engaged, clapping in support of teammates and diving to the floor on more than one occasion for loose balls. At one point, teammates Geron Johnson, Chris Crawford and Shaq Goodwin went over to pick Black up and after he dove onto the floor.
"I thought he was really good (Monday) in practice. He had a great attitude. He was upbeat. I thought he had the right mindset. There's no doubt," said Pastner, who sat Black for a game in November after he walked out of a practice.
"You've got to remember we're dealing with college guys who are still in the maturation process. We look at guys and they're 6-7, 6-8, 6-9 and 245 or 250, and we just think they should be a certain (way). But some people handle pressure differently, and that's part of the reason for college is allowing you to grow and mature, make some mistakes and hopefully learn from them."
There's no question the Tigers could use a committed Black going forward, but they have proved they can win without getting big contributions from him. Still, Black is a valuable piece for a team that's arguably at its best offensively when he and freshman forward Shaq Goodwin are on the floor together.
Senior forward D.J. Stephens said he believed Black's apology was sincere and that Black is ready to move forward. The Tigers are seeking their ninth straight win Tuesday, hosting a Tulane team that boasts two of C-USA's top seven scorers in junior forward Josh Davis (third at 17.5 ppg) and sophomore guard Ricky Tarrant (seventh at 15.6).
"He'll definitely be fine," Stephens said of Black. "I mean, that's all a part of basketball. You always face a lot of adversity. You have your ups and downs. But the majority of the time, the most important thing is not the incident that happened, but how you recover from it.
"He's doing fine now. He came and apologized for the incident today before practice, and he did that on his own. So that showed leadership there and it showed that he's a brother of ours."
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Tarik refused to re-enter the game in 2nd half?
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