Projected Starting Lineup
G – Willie Kemp 6-2 Jr. (13.8 MPG, 5.0 PPG, 1.5 APG)
G – Tyreke Evans 6-6 Fr. (5-Star Prospect)
G – Antonio Anderson 6-6 Sr. (29.5 MPG, 8.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG)
F – Robert Dozier 6-9 Sr. (26.0 MPG, 9.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG)
F – Shawn Taggart 6-10 Jr. (17.1 MPG, 5.9 PPG, 4.2 RPG)

Impact Bench Players
G – Doneal Mack 6-5 Jr. (12.5 MPG, 6.9 PPG, 1.6 RPG)
G – Jeff Robinson 6-5 So. (9.1 MPG, 3.0 PPG, 2.3 RPG)
F – Wesley Witherspoon 6-8 Fr. (4-Star Prospect)

Guards
Of Memphis’ 14 players on their roster, eight are listed as guards, and of the eight guys that we think will play the most, five of those are guards so they are obviously very deep at the position. Making a return back to the starting lineup will be PG Willie Kemp. Kemp started in all but one game his freshman season before coming off the bench behind Derrick Rose last season. He looked a lot better in that role, but the Tigers will be forced to start him, and his backup is unclear at this point. Memphis will also have to replace Chris Douglas-Roberts, who took the same route as Rose to the NBA. Freshman Tyreke Evans is the likely player to fill that void. He’s one of the best players in this class, and has good size for his position. Evans is known as a great deep shooter who will also penetrate to the hoop. Antonio Anderson will be the senior leader of this team, and he’s led the team in minutes since his freshman year. Coming off the bench once again, but probably more often this season will be Doneal Mack and Jeff Robinson. Mack is a guy they will bring in when they need someone who can shoot the three, and Robinson is the guy they’ll use in rebounding and defensive situations.


Forwards
Since Memphis is so deep at guard, it’s no surprise that they lack depth in their frontcourt. Fortunately, they only lost one starter as Joey Dorsey was a senior last season. Shawn Taggart will be the guy Calipari looks to fill his role. That shouldn’t be a huge concern because Taggart started a handful of games last season, and is good enough to be a starter. He’s a solid rebounder, defender, and just a smart player overall so he’ll be fine. Robert Dozier will return as the other forward starter. Dozier’s not a huge force offensively, but they really count on him for defense and rebounding. They’d probably be better off trying to get him less involved on offense. The main guy off the bench will likely be freshman Wesley Witherspoon, and they do have a couple of more four star recruits that could see some time. Witherspoon is a skinny guy who’s not known as a finisher so expect him to play out on the wing.

Final Thoughts
Memphis has to replace three starters, including two of the best players in the country, and that’s never an easy task. As a result, expecting another deep run into March is probably wishful thinking because they probably aren’t quite talented enough. They were extremely good at driving to the basket last season and scoring in the paint. That was key because they weren’t a good shooting team, and the returning players shot less than 35% from deep last season. Without Rose, Douglas-Roberts, and Dorsey, they won’t get nearly as many easy baskets like they did last season which should be the main concern for this team. Nevertheless, you can be sure that Calipari will have this team playing outstanding defense because Memphis always does, and this team has a lot of height. The starting lineup will have a lot of experience, and Evans will give them some spark. The Tigers are still a team to be reckoned with.

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