|
Welcome to this week’s Tigers Basketball Insider.
Despite the dented vinyl paneling, broken driveway lights and runaway basketballs, I kept shooting.
No amount of damage — within reason, of course — to my childhood home in Raleigh, North Carolina, would stop me. I spent hours in the summer pulling up from the other side of the street, well before Steph Curry made it cool. Ten-year-old me swore I’d one day be NBA-bound. Or at least ACC-bound.
Obviously, neither of those avenues panned out. So, here I am.
As of last week, I am the new Memphis Tigers men’s basketball beat writer for The Daily Memphian.
For the past two years, I worked in Pennsylvania, first covering Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times, and most recently covering high school sports for the Beaver County Times. I’m ecstatic to now embark on this journey with you, Tigers fans. It’s going to be a wild ride, and I’m ready to chronicle every bit of it.
I began this column with a story about me being bad at basketball because somewhere between those bricks lies a lesson: I never ceased to try. In fact, it wasn’t until my junior year of high school — after putting up countless shots at the local YMCA and even spending some time with a trainer — that I realized I wouldn’t be playing basketball for a living.
I was relentless. And that’s the same type of reporter you’re going to get covering your squad.
Though I grew up in the heart of Tobacco Road, college basketball wasn’t in my blood from birth. My parents are Indian immigrants who didn’t connect with American sports and culture the same way my friends’ parents did. I found my love for hoops on my own.
Funny enough, this part of my path, at least in a way, ties back to Memphis basketball. In an attempt to fit in with my fourth-grade classmates, many of whom were North Carolina Tar Heels fans, I began to watch UNC basketball. Soon enough, I was hooked. By the time I was a fifth-grader, I had to watch every game of the Tar Heels’ 2007-08 season — all the way to their blowout loss to Kansas in the Final Four. (That, of course, is the same Final Four the Tigers last appeared in.)
As gut-wrenching as that loss was for me at the time, it marked the start of my obsession with college basketball. It wasn’t until I began my time as a student journalist in 2017 at the University of North Carolina — where I covered three of the final four seasons of Hall-of-Fame coach Roy Williams’ career — that I became more of an objective observer than a fan.
Whether it was speaking with Vince Carter a day after he announced he’d return to the NBA for a record 22nd season, learning about why former Penn State football players Amani Oruwariye and Jason Cabinda felt compelled to fight against racial injustice as pros or digging into now-Kentucky freshman Adou Thiero’s quest to fulfill his parents’ dreams, my goal as a sports writer has always been to share more than what meets the eye.
I’ll take this approach in Memphis, too, as I strive to provide you with the best Tigers basketball coverage I can.
Now, I admit: I’m new to the 901. Before getting to town about a month ago, I’d never stepped foot in this place. But I’m learning quickly. I know y’all love your fried chicken (Gus’s is bomb, by the way), homegrown rappers and, most importantly, your basketball.
Sure, I’m an outsider. I can already tell we’ve got plenty in common, though.
There’ll be times when I’m critical. You might not always agree with what I write. Still, I assure you I’ll always be fair.
I’m just as curious as you are to see if star transfer guard Kendric Davis can repeat as the AAC’s Player of the Year. Or if a veteran-laden group can get the Tigers back to the NCAA Tournament after the program snapped a seven-year drought this past March. Or if Penny Hardaway can further silence fans and media around the country who still doubt his ability as a head coach.
Like I mentioned earlier, we’re in this adventure together. So, let’s chat. Feel free to send me story ideas, feedback or hellos. You can always email me at pupadhyaya@dailymemphian.com or slide into my Twitter DMs (they’re open). I’ll also soon be co-hosting a podcast — “Tiger Talk” is a name we’ve been kicking around — with our Tigers football writer, Frank Bonner II. As we get closer to Memphis basketball’s first exhibition game against Christian Brothers on Oct. 23, I want to start a weekly mailbag, where you submit questions and I answer them in a forum of sorts.
My storytelling and analysis won’t give you all of the answers you’re in search of. But I won’t stop working until I get you as many of them as possible.
I’ll do what I did as a 10-year-old — and what I’ve done throughout my career as a young journalist. I’ll keep shooting.
More from your Insider:
Here’s a breakdown of all 10 of Memphis’ AAC opponents this season.
Memphis will begin conference play at home on Dec. 29 against South Florida. The Tigers end the season with a home game against Houston.
Memphis women’s basketball team starts play on Nov. 1 with an exhibition against Rust College and opens conference play on Dec. 30 at Temple.
..... |
