Six months after John Calipari left for Kentucky, the wounds of a traumatic offseason are no longer defining scars on the University of Memphis basketball program.
Bitterness over a coaching departure has given way to excitement about a new regime. Concern about the future has become anticipation of a return to national prominence.
But to this point, the new Josh Pastner-led era of Tiger basketball has only existed in theory, without a tangible product for fans to see.
That's about to change.
In one week, the Tigers will make their debut at Memphis Madness, an open-to-the-public event at FedExForum that signifies the official start of practice for the 2009-10 season. And after the offseason Memphis has had - including major roster turnover, an NCAA hearing on violations from the 2007-08 season and injuries to a pair of players expected to contribute - it can't come a moment too soon.
"It's been a long offseason starting back in April with a lot of peaks and valleys," Pastner said. "It seems like the offseason was a season in itself, but part of the fun will be getting on the court and just starting practice. I just think there's a lot of excitement because the focus is going to be back on basketball."
Despite all the changes in the program and the obstacles Pastner has encountered in his first few months on the job, Memphis officials have not noticed any tangible differences in the level of enthusiasm for Tiger basketball - especially at the box office.
In a year when Memphis asked its fans to pay more money for seats despite a bad economy, the Tigers' season-ticket holders did not abandon ship after Calipari left, which is crucial for an athletic department that relies on men's basketball for most of its revenue.
Though Memphis has not yet sold out its season tickets, associate athletic director Bill Lansden said Thursday that only 150 or so seats remained on the lower two levels with a few hundred more still open on the upper deck.
"Based on our early order of season tickets and renewals, so far we haven't missed a beat," athletic director R.C. Johnson said. "When (Calipari) first left, there was a lot of anger. Then there was the interest level on the search. I think Josh's press conference probably got the ball rolling, and ever since the interest has been sky high. People are just ecstatic."
On Thursday night, the enthusiasm for the Pastner era was played out at the third annual "High Tops" party hosted by the Memphis Rebounders organization. The last two years, the party was at Calipari's home in the Galloway area of East Memphis; this year, the approximately 400 fans in attendance drove out to Collierville for a different kind of experience - but one without any hint of longing for the former coach.
"What's his face did us a favor," Tiger fan Leigh Meador said. "We are lucky and blessed."
Added Barbara Stratton: "I think it was more shock when he left. It was more about the expectation of where are we going to go now, and then have Josh fall in our laps, we couldn't have conjured up somebody like him."
Though Pastner understands that his nearly perfect approval rating can only go down - and surely will after his first loss - he intends to capitalize on the current mood of the Memphis fan base.
With several key recruits scheduled to be in town, Pastner is lobbying hard for fans to fill FedExForum to capacity next Friday night - the event is free and doesn't require any ticket to get in - as he hopes his public unveiling as the head coach will continue the wave of positive momentum he has been riding since April.
"As (Pastner) said, 'Let's not play any games right now. We're doing great as it is,'" Johnson said. "I don't know how good we're going to be - the bar has been raised so high - but I have a lot of faith in Josh. He's done a remarkable job on the recruiting trail, and he's put a good staff together. I know people are excited right now."
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