Just forget Memphis ever made the NCAA Finals

August 21, 1:27 PMCollege Sports ExaminerJacob Osterhout

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I swear those were my SAT scores.

Remember when the highly-touted Memphis Tigers, led by a freshman phenom named Derrick Rose, stormed through the 2008 NCAA Tournament, coming within a free throw of winning the National Championship?

No, you don't.

Remember when the 2007-2008 Memphis Tigers raced through the most successful season in school history, compiling a 38-2 record while achieving their first A.P. No. 1 ranking in 25 years?

No, you don't.

Remember when the Memphis Tigers, coached by the slick yet affable John Calipari, became the first team in NCAA history to win 38 games in a single season?

No you don't.

You don't remember any of this because the NCAA says, for all intents and purposes, that it never happened. To punish former coach Calipari for violations that occurred during the recruitment and one year college tenure of freshman phenom Rose, the NCAA has stripped Memphis of its victories during the 2007-2008 season.

At issue are Rose's SAT scores, which were invalidated by the Educational Testing Service only after Rose has already been in college for an entire school year, and $2000 worth of charter plane service provided to Rose's brother free of charge.

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal,

The NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, however, did not ultimately consider the circumstances surrounding Rose’s SAT. Rather, the NCAA simply said that because the ETS invalidated Rose’s test score, it was a “strict liability” situation that required forfeiture of the 2007-08 season.

As is usually the case in these situations, neither Calipari nor Rose are still at Memphis, so while the NCAA felt they had to punish the Tigers, they did not feel it fair to hamper with anything other than a symbolic three-year probation the reconstruction efforts of new coach Josh Pastner, who has picked up the reigns after Calipari jumped ship to take over at Kentucky. So the NCAA did what most people do when they can't make the past conform to their vision of the future, they erased history.

Memphis is appealing the decision on the grounds that the NCAA clearinghouse originally certified Rose's transcript. If the university loses its appeal, it will be forced to return $615K it earned from the 2008 NCAA Tournament and its Final Four trophy. Memphis will also have to remove from the rafters all banners related to the season in question.

But even if the Tigers are forced to remove all physical vestiges of the 2007-2008 season, can you force fans to forget an unforgettable season? Can you tell them that Derrick Rose never wowed the crowds at FedExForum with his lightening quick first step and his ability to gracefully glide through the air? That he didn't drop 27 points on Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen? That he didn't humiliate UCLA's more experienced guards with a 25-point, 9-rebound, 4-assist performance in the Final Four?

Maybe the NCAA should borrow that mind-erasing device that Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones use in "Men in Black." That seems like the only way to enforce such a ridiculous punishment.

I know understand the absurdity of this punishment from personal experience. I was sitting mid-court in the Alamodome as Rose lead his Memphis Tigers to the doorstep of an NCAA Championship before blowing a nine-point lead in the last two minutes. I saw Mario Chalmers rise up and nail a last-second three over the outstretched arms of Rose.

I witnessed a proud Memphis team crumble in overtime. And I can tell you, it happened, no matter what the NCAA claims.