Pellom fitting in well with Tigers
Vocal transfer has athleticism
It’s about an 800-mile drive from Wilmington, N.C., to Memphis, and David Pellom’s former high school coach, Kirk Angel, suspects he’ll make the trip two or three times this season to watch Pellom play at the University of Memphis.
As far as Angel is concerned, it’s a drive to see family.
“I’m married and I’ve got an 8- and 6-year-old, and he’s like my 22-yearold. I love him to death,” said Angel, the head coach at New Hanover High i n Wilmington. “When (coach) Josh Pastner called, we had a great conversation. I called (Pellom’s) mom and I said, ‘I’ll put it to you like this: if it were my 8- or 6-year-old, that’s where they would go.’ ”
It was Angel whom Pellom entrusted to oversee his recruitment after the athletic 6- 8, 220-pound former George Washington forward opted after the 2012-13 season to transfer to another school for his final year of eligibility. Angel said his phone didn’t stop ringing for three weeks, but Pastner’s call convinced him that Memphis was the right place for the graduate transfer.
“The style of play, just everything about the way Josh plays. I knew it was a perfect fit,” Angel said. “I was telling all the schools calling — Jamie Dixon at Pittsburgh and Cuonzo (Martin) at Tennessee — that (Pellom) is a large, smart kid. I mean, he’s got a degree now from George Washington and I said, ‘He’s not going somewhere just to sit on the bench for 25 minutes a game. He wants to play 25-plus.’
“I told David I really think with the class coming in (at Memphis), and now getting (transfer guard) Michael Dixon, Josh has got a chance to take those guys to the Final Four next year.”
Pellom, who began summer workouts at Memphis last week, sat out the 201213 season at George Washington with a wrist injury. The season before, he averaged 10.4 points and 6.1 rebounds and set a school season record for fieldgoal percentage (68.5).
He specializes in put-
back baskets, a weakness for the Tigers last season. But Memphis also appears to have added a player in Pellom who will be a leader vocally. Last week in workouts, Pellom didn’t hesitate to point out to Memphis’ younger players where they should be on the floor. On Saturday, he was the loudest voice in the Finch Center, at one point yelling, “Everybody talk! Everybody talk!” at his new teammates during shell drills.
“I think I feel more comfortable just because I’ve been there, played for three years and I know the expectations that coach Pastner has got for me,” Pellom said. “Coming in as a fifth-year guy, he expects me to be a leader on and off the court. So I try to be vocal — as much as I can — and lead people in the right direction. I talk to everybody, but the bigs more because I know the position they’re supposed to be in and the things they’re supposed to be doing.
ith Memphis having lost three of its top four re- bounders from last season in D.J. Stephens (graduated), Tarik Black (transferred to Kansas) and Adonis Thomas (declared for the NBA draft after two seasons), Pellom’s job description at Memphis is clear. The Tigers return just one regular frontcourt player from last season in sophomore forward Shaq Goodwin (4.4 rebounds per game) and are breaking in a pair of freshman bigs this summer in Austin Nichols and Dominic Woodson. Pellom’s experience should make him an immediate contributor.
“Basically my main focus is rebounding,” Pellom said. “After Black left, there’s not too many guys that rebound, and I’ll definitely bring that to the table. Then, you know, my presence and my voice.
“I really don’t care (if I start). At GW, my junior year I came off the bench and played (darn) near the whole game. My goals are to”start, but if I don’t, I’ll try to be the best sixth man in the country.”