Ping: GE

[JeeberD]

So is Kareem Cooper as big a jerk and idiot as he sounds like? 'Cause apparently Coach Barbee is going to try and turn him around....

http://www.sportsline.com/columns/weblogs/entry/parrish_thoughts

Cooper searches for greener pastures at UTEP

Memphis sophomore Kareem Cooper will begin a visit to UTEP Thursday afternoon with a plan to transfer into the program now led by John Calipari's former assistant, Tony Barbee.

"I just want to look at him eye-to-eye and we're going to have a heart-to-heart," Barbee told CBS SportsLine.com on Thursday morning. "He's got to be willing to change."

Barbee was on the staff that lured Cooper to Memphis along with other Laurinburg (N.C.) Prep stars Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier and Shawne Williams. Packaged with Chris Douglas-Roberts, that recruiting class has led the Tigers to back-to-back Elite Eights, but Cooper is the one player who has never flourished on or off the court. Instead, he's struggled with his weight and discipline so much that Calipari no longer wanted the 6-foot-11 center on his roster, which precipitated the transfer.

Still, Calipari wants to help Cooper (not to mention Barbee).

That's why sources said he'll sign a waiver that will allow Cooper to transfer to a fellow Conference USA school without further penalty. Under normal circumstances, a student-athlete moving from one league institution to another must sit out two years. But if Calipari signs the waiver Cooper would miss just one season, meaning he'd be eligible to play for UTEP in the 2008-09 campaign.

"Last season I was the biggest guy on our bench," joked Barbee, who replaced Doc Sadler in August. "So Kareem has something we don't have here. At least we'd look the part."

[GoldenEagle]

I always felt Kareem had potential. But he was too lazy to get into shape to play our system. Which is why I am surprised that he would go to UTEP, it is the same system almost. That is not even to mention his off the court problems. But once a Tiger, always a Tiger and I guess Cal and Barbee are trying to help him out. Maybe the change of scenery will do him well.

[JeeberD]

I certainly hope the change will do him good, but I'm not holding my breath. We do have two incoming freshman centers, so maybe some competition will help him to get into shape? Though it sounds like that's part of what did him in at UM...

[LoneStarGirl]

We almost named our German shepherd Cooper because he was clumsy and too big like Kareem. He runs into the other dogs and us and runs sideways. But our dog eventually grew out of that stage... I dont think Kareem ever will.

[JeeberD]

Heh, that's funny. I guess I can only hope that he does grow out of his clumsy stage and leads us to some victories over the Tigers... :)

[JeeberD]

Dola-

Guess it's not a done deal after all...

http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/tigers/article/0,2844,MCA_25363_5600703,00.html

Transfer talk

While one former Memphis player has found a new college destination, another is in the process of looking for one.

Willis has settled on UNLV, which was his second choice coming out of high school. The Fresno, Calif., product also considered Hawaii and Pepperdine but committed shortly after visiting Las Vegas.

"I felt comfortable with everything. It's a perfect fit for me," Willis told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "I felt like it was the right thing, and I had to do what's best for me."

Center Kareem Cooper, meanwhile, will probably end up transferring to a program led by a former Memphis assistant. But it won't necessarily be the one you think.

Though Cooper was in El Paso this week visiting UTEP and second-year head coach Tony Barbee, don't be surprised if he ends up at Lamar with Steve Roccaforte.

Despite some media outlets inferring that Cooper's transfer to UTEP is a done deal, multiple sources close to the Memphis program maintain that Barbee has not decided whether to accept Cooper.

If UTEP is Cooper's destination, Memphis coach John Calipari confirmed he would sign a waiver of the Conference USA rule requiring players transferring within the league to sit out two years. Thus, Cooper would be eligible in 2008-09.


Glad to see that Coach Barbee is taking this seriously and is taking his time with it...