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9:54	Commercial Appeal - Hi all. Welcome to another live chat with Memphis Tiger basketball beat reporter Dan Wolken. Dan will be here shortly to begin.

9:55	[Comment From Paul_Knoxville] Who is the moderator of these chats with Dan? Surely it isn't a nameless person.

9:56	Commercial Appeal - Paul, usually it's me, Gary Robinson. This is an account on coveritlive of The Commercial Appeal, so when Dan gets here, I identify him and it identifies me as The Commercial Appeal.

9:56	Commercial Appeal - But nameless works too LOL

9:58	[Comment From Dan Wolken] I'm here

9:59	Commercial Appeal - Hi Dan

9:59	[Comment From Dan Wolken] I'm ready

9:59	Commercial Appeal - How about some overall thoughts from last night?

10:00

[Comment From Dan Wolken]
Overall, it was a solid effort for the first outing. There were some nerves offensively to start the game, guys rushing, trying to do a bit too much. But once they settled in and started moving their feet a little more defensively, their level of play picked up. There are still some defensive concerns, but there were good signs. They played better than I expected.

10:01

[Comment From Andrew]
Dan, any word on what Mack will have to do to re-earn his starting job? Or was this just a one game thing?

10:02

[Comment From Dan Wolken]
I think it was a one-game issue for missing a team meeting. However, it sounds like the starting lineup will get re-evaluated on a game-by-game basis. Truth be told, Roburt Sallie played better than Mack last night in many areas. Mack guarded better, but Sallie was pretty good on the glass. I'm not sure it's a huge issue anyway - they may both end up starting.

10:02

[Comment From Chip]
How many laps will #32 have to run today for trying to score at the end of the game when Pastner was telling him to hold the ball?

10:04

[Comment From Dan Wolken]
#32 is Malik Thomas. It was actually pretty funny because it happened right in front of me. I'll give the kid the benefit of the doubt that he didn't hear Pastner, who was yelling at him to let the clock run out. More than likely, he just got excited, saw an opportunity to score and never heard his coach. He's a freshman. It happens.

10:04

[Comment From Nate]
Who surprised you the most last night? Good surprise and bad surprise?

10:06

[Comment From Dan Wolken]
I don't think there were any huge surprises either way. It was a good night for Pierre. D.J. Stephens did some nice things when he was in there, which was a mild surprise. He is improving but still not expected to be a huge contributor. The only bad surprise was that nobody could guard #10. Both Elliot Williams and Willie Kemp got victimized for blow-bys. Memphis can't let its defense get broken down that quickly.

10:06

[Comment From Paul_Knoxville]
Do you feel this team will come and go with Elliot Williams or is there another player that could step in to that role? Who do you feel has the tools to become that player?

10:08

[Comment From Dan Wolken]
Bottom line, Elliot Williams has to be the guy every game. That's a lot to put on his shoulders, but there really isn't another option right now. He had a bad practice on Friday, and the team really played poorly, so you see what he means to them. Elliot is their best player, and he's going to have the ball in his hands a lot.

10:08

[Comment From Jimmy]
Thoughts on Barham? Sounds like he didn't have a good game offensively. Jitters?

10:09

[Comment From Dan Wolken]
He looked a little nervous to me, which is to be expected. He's also a freshman. You can't expect freshmen - even elite guys - to be great right from the start of the season. Drew has some things to work on defensively but he's getting better. He'll be fine.

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