Some things never change.

Memphis’ free throw shooting woes, which contributed to their second-half collapse a year ago in the national title game, were on display once again.

The Tigers were a pitiful 15-of-30 from the line in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off championship game loss to Xavier Sunday night and missed critical free throws down the stretch.

A year ago, Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts both missed key foul shots in the waning moments against Kansas in the title game which allowed the Jayhawks to force overtime and ultimately win the national title.  

This time the Tigers misfired on five of their final six shots from the charity stripe – all in the final two minutes of a close game in which Xavier wound up winning, 63-58.

Freshman Tyreke Evans made one of two with two minutes remaining to cut the deficit to 57-54. Doneal Mack, arguably the team’s top shooter, missed a pair with 1:18 left and a chance to cut it to one. Then senior Robert Dozier, who had made 19-of-21 shots from the charity stripe this season, came up empty on a pair of free throws with 16.9 seconds remaining and, again, an opportunity to cut the lead to one.

The irony is that just as Rose and Douglas-Roberts had been two of the team’s top free throw shooters a year ago, Evans, Dozier and Mack combined to make 44-of-50 through four games this season – a sizzling 88 percent.

Memphis entered the game shooting more than 70 percent as a team – as opposed to the last two seasons, when the Tigers didn’t make more than 62 percent of their foul shots.

Memphis brought in three players this past weekend and the Tigers secured a commitment from one - under-the-radar junior college wing Darnell Dodson.

The former Pittsburgh signee didn't qualify out of high school and is spending the year at Miami Dade. Former Pittsburgh assistant coach Orlando Antigua is now an assistant at Memphis and took the lead on his recruitment.

According to sources close to the situation, Dodson committed on Monday afternoon.

Dodson is a long 6-foot-8 shooter.

``He is a top 50 player in the Class of 2009," Miami Dade coach Matt Eisele told me. "If he was at Pittsburgh, he'd be competing for a starting spot. He's 6-foot-8, can handle it and is a pure shooter."

Now the Tigers have three commits - Dodson and big man Will Coleman at Miami Dade and Dallas-area wing Nolan Dennis.

Xavier Henry and Thomas Robinson both visited this past weekend and will choose from Memphis and Kansas. The Tigers are also in the mix for the top-rated point guard in the country, John Wall, and are also trying to go after Lance Stephenson, Kenny Boynton, Dominic Cheek and Derrick Favors.

I should be in Memphis right now eating barbecue. Instead, I’m heading outside to shovel a foot of snow.

My flight this afternoon was canceled and now I’m slated to get into Memphis tomorrow late afternoon.

Memphis Commercial Appeal columnist Geoff Calkins gave me the best words of advice in the wake of my recent story which chronicled Memphis’ off-court issues - http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/7791324/Off-co
urt-problems-tainting-Memphis-program

Calkins told me to check in at my hotel under the name of William “Wes” Wesley – who just may be the No. 1 friend of the Tigers program.

After catching four more ranked teams in addition to one that was ranked in the preseason over the last three days, here are a few observations:

1) I find it hard to believe that there’s a team out there with better chemistry than the second-ranked Memphis Tigers. They play extremely unselfish together and go everywhere as a group – and we’re not just talking about a few of them. They go to the mall, out for meals and just about everywhere in a group of 13.

2) This is no disrespect to Hall of Famer Lute Olson, but this Arizona team plays harder than the Wildcats have played in recent years. Interim coach Kevin O’Neill, the future successor once Olson retires, will be scary once he adds some depth in the next couple of years. Right now Arizona has virtually nothing up front besides Jordan Hill.

3) Butler’s senior backcourt of A.J. Graves and Mike Green is among the nation’s best. Graves is an unconscious shooter with unlimited range and Green is a guy who powers his way to the basket and can also distribute the ball. They’ll be a tough out come tournament time because of their guard play and the toughness in the paint from freshman Matt Howard.

4) Southern Illinois just isn’t the same team this year. Don’t expect them to just roll through the Missouri Valley, either. The Salukis lack the overall toughness they had a year ago now than guards Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young are gone.

5) The worst call that I’ve seen this entire season came when Arizona big man Kirk Walters was hit with an intentional foul late in the game against Memphis. It was a clear block and there was nothing blatant about it.

6) If I were the AD at Ole Miss, I’d try and lock up Andy Kennedy for a long, long time. He’s one of the best up-and-coming coaches in the business. He can coach, is a proven recruiter and has a way about him with the players.

7) I got a chance to watch Illinois 2009 commitment D.J. Richardson, a long wing out of Peoria High. Illini coach Bruce Weber’s new approach of trying to offer a few of the state’s top young players has worked thus far – and Richardson has the potential to become a big-time player. He scored 28 points and was 5-for-10 from long distance against a team that had three D-1 players.

TEXAS GETTING JOHNSON BACK

I’ve seen Texas freshman Gary Johnson play at least 30 games while at Aldine High and throughout the spring and summers.

He’ll make a difference, but he’s certainly no savior.

Johnson, who will make his regular-season debut this week against TCU, will give Rick Barnes’ team energy, a rebounder and a player who can score in the low post, but the Longhorns will still need more consistency out of Connor Atchley and Justin Mason.

RANDOM NOTES: Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said he will play his former boss, Bob Huggins, in a home-and-home series with West Virginia beginning next season. Huggins is going to Ole Miss next season. ``Would have rather lose to someone you like or someone you don’t like?” Kennedy said. … One of the more overlooked additions at the break was that of South Florida wing Aaron Holmes, who left Florida State a year ago after just a few games. Holmes scored 20 points in 19 minutes and was 5-of-8 from long range in a win over Winston Salem State – his third game with the Bulls. … Ohio State freshman Jon Diebler just needed a little time to relax. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard struggled early and was just 7-of-45 from long range, but he’s 14-of-23 from long distance in the last four games. … Speaking of guys who like to let it fly from deep, UAB’s Robert Vaden has averaged more than 13 attempts from 3-point land in the last four games. He’s 23-of-53 in that span.