Tiger Basketball. It's back. But did it ever really leave?

My mother loves to tell the story about the time I met Elliot Perry. For those of you who don't know exactly who Elliot Perry is, I'll try to make this brief. In the late 80's and early 90's Elliot Perry was a force to be reckoned with on the famed, sometime infamous, Memphis State (University of Memphis) Tigers basketball team.

I loved EP. Or "Socks" as he later came to be known in his NBA career, because of course he wore knee high socks when he played.

My grandmother and I pulled up to where the autograph session was being held, she explicitly told me not to get out of the car until she came around to get me. I was 4 at the time so this was a pretty normal practice for me and Tootie. But that day was different. I was going to get a chance to meet Elliot Perry, the tall lanky, Rec-Spec clad Memphis hero. So naturally I opened the door on my own and proceeded to fall out face first on the asphalt.

As I walked in to meet the coaches and players, my face looked like someone had rubbed a piece of sand paper on it for half an hour or so. The head coach at the time, the legendary Larry Finch, looked at me, my bloodied face and then looked at my grandmother. According to her, the look he gave her said, "You evil old bird. You beat your grand kid?" But I was quite a precocious little one and told the whole story to every person who signed my ball.

However, as I strolled down the line of players, I couldn't find Elliot. Despite my above average intelligence for my age, I didn't figure out until I was later informed that athletic, prescription goggles don't have to be worn off the court.

By asking each of the other players where the star was, I'm sure they felt small, not as important, but they knew that he was the backbone of the team, and they were all willing to give him the spotlight if it helped the team play better and win more games. And Elliot wasn't a very selfish guy, so most of the praise thrown his way was passed off to Coach Finch or the players around him.

When I finally met him, it was like coming face to face with Superman. You couldn't put words on my emotions. He wasn't anything special, just a gracious player signing autographs for a kid with a scraped face. But he was my hero. And my face shined when I got home and showed off his signature to anyone that would look.

That time for Memphis Basketball was what most would call the glory days. After Elliot Perry left, Penny Hardaway came along. And then David Vaughan. And then Lorenzen Wright. And then Cedric Henderson. And it was good. NCAA Tournaments. All Americans. March Madness was when Memphis came together to support the home team.

Then things got bad. Coach Finch lost his touch for coaching and recruiting. We lost a hold of the hometown high schoolers. They went to other schools. So Memphis fans bid farewell to the glory days and waited for a rejuvenation.

And it finally came at the end of the 90's. It came in a young coach, one with NBA experience, Final Four experience and incredible chutzpah. John Calipari was here. And he led us to the Promised Land. It took awhile but he got us there. Like Moses leading the Egyptians to the Canaan, he got us there after a few bumps in the road.

He brought in Derrick Rose, Rodney Carney, Joey Dorsey, Antonio Anderson, Robert Dozier, Darius Washington Jr., Tyreke Evans, Chris Douglas-Roberts and so many others. And the whole city stood behind him, no matter how he carried out his business. If he cursed at his players like they were dogs, if he broke a few rules, if he was a little sleazy and sly, we applauded him for bringing us back to prominence in the national collegiate basketball picture.

But then he left for better things. He left to coach on bigger and brighter stages. And he left us with NCAA sanctions and stripped wins and forfeited tournament appearances. And we all thought we would never be OK again.

If you know anything about college hoops, you know after last night that the Memphis Tigers are going to be just fine. Josh Pastner, our new coach, had huge shoes to fill. Big Italian leather loafers. Loafers with grease from Coach Cal's hair on them.

But in just 40 minutes last night, Coach Paz let the Tiger Nation know that we are in great, albeit young hands. He nearly shocked Goliath in a game versus number one ranked Kansas, a game we were supposed to lose by over 20. And he has already given us the number one recruiting class in the nation for 2010-2011. And several of those recruits are hometown boys. Ones that want to win a title for the city, to bring home a trophy to Memphis.

Cal got great players. But they left early for the NBA. They caused trouble. They were awesome though. And I ate it all up at the time. But I feel like Memphis Tiger Basketball is about to return to the glory days of the 80's and early and mid-90's. The last four years were great with Cal, and the deep tournament runs. But with Coach Pastner at the reigns, I honestly feel like the best is yet to come.

I loved watching us destroy teams over the past several years. But the little kid who couldn't wait to see Elliot Perry that day when he was 4 is back inside me and ready to get that little boy like excitement all over again for Tiger Basketball.

It's hard to have a child like joy when you're cheering for something you know is probably wrong. That's kind of how I felt with Cal. Just a little guilty sometimes. But now the guilt is gone and Tiger Basketball is back.

Go Tigers.

Things are about to get fun...