Blue Dream

Blue Dream is the firsthand story of how Ryan Luttrell spent his days in class at the University of Memphis and his nights researching and influencing the school’s next basketball team. At the time Blue Dream started, Ryan was working on a master’s degree in sports commerce, and what a perfect time, as the Memphis Tigers were ranked #1, a dream come true from his childhood. He religiously followed the team and one day decided to attend a practice with his 7-year-old son, Carter. The entire season seemed like a whirlwind, but as the players moved on to the NBA, the new recruits came, and this time, Ryan was already a fixture. Overnight, he became friends with the new recruits and assistant coaches, and as a result, he was privy to the most intimate secrets of how Calipari and his staff worked and maneuvered in the underworld of recruiting. Ryan seemed to be the only outsider allowed into this world, and the information was flowing so frequently that he began reporting for several local news outlets, including one that became an ESPN affiliate. Ryan had moved from being a fan to being an insider to now being an influencer of the entire program and began having daily meetings at Pastner’s new office. Then the NCAA changed everything, as it seemed convinced that Ryan coerced athletes from his tournaments to commit to Memphis. Over the course of three separate investigations (all of which he was cleared in), NCAA coaches stopped talking to Ryan, and his relationship with Pastner and his staff became more than strained. At the same time, Ryan began to see the effects that his involvement in this recruiting world were having on everyone around him, especially his now-11-year-old son, Carter, who was intertwined in the world of basketball, right in front of Ryan. Ryan began to realize that he wasn’t going to change the way that recruiting works for college basketball programs. He had to find a way out. He needed to wake up from this Blue Dream…