UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS

When University of Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen met with Tigers basketball players Friday, he told them to trust him. The school will make a great hire in replacing Josh Pastner, Bowen assured them. And it’s going to do it quickly, he said, using the same approach it did four months ago when it hired football coach Mike Norvell. That search, which officially got underway on Nov. 29, was wrapped up in a tidy five days. It began with Bowen telling local media in a Sunday news conference that “urgency is a priority” and it ended four days later with Memphis drawing national praise for its hiring of a rising young star in the 34-year-old Norvell, who had been considered one of the nation’s top offensive coordinators at Arizona State. -Jason Smith, The Commercial Appeal– Read More