Tigers’ new strength coach impressed

Memphis basketball spent June, under new strength and conditioning coach Darby Rich, building a foundation.

The Tigers will spend the next month stacking bricks on top of it.

“You don’t want to load kids up too much before they’re ready,” Rich said. “You’ve got to be patient and realize if you push too far too early you can get them nicked up.”

The early workouts have produced positive results, Rich said. But it’s the mindset of the seven freshmen (who make up the No. 1 recruiting class in the country) that has blown him away.

“Your fear is there will be this great sense of entitlement because they’ve been recruited so hard,” he said. “What I’ve seen is a greater sense of urgency. They’re in the gym all the time. I don’t want to say (it’s been) shocking. I’m not going to talk about any program specifically, but we see it when kids come in aloof and they don’t want to earn anything.

“It’s just not that way (with these guys). They’re not acting like everything should be handed to them. That’s very, very refreshing.”

In an interview with The Commercial Appeal, Rich provided feedback on each member of the Tigers’ roster.

Precious Achiuwa

“I don’t have Precious totally figured out. He’s got a really good physique from an aesthetic standpoint. He’s very careful with his diet. I think he can get a lot stronger. He’s just so narrow-waisted. To carry around that kind of frame, he’s got to keep his core stronger to keep up with the running, jumping and banging.”

Damion Baugh

“He’s wiry strong. He’s explosive. He’s got a motor that runs all day long. But he really needs to gain true strength, and that’s just going to come from being in the weight room. He moves well. He could help us defensively if we played a game tomorrow. But like everybody on this team, he needs to be able to play through contact.”

Ryan Boyce

See STRENGTH, Page 2B