Last Year: 26-9; Second (13-5), American Athletic Conference Tournament champions, lost in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament
Head Coach: Anfernee ‘Penny’ Hardaway (Sixth Year; 111-52 at Memphis, with two NCAA Tournament appearances)
Projected Starting Lineup
| PG Jahvon Quinerly – 6’1″, 185 – Senior (5th) |
| SG Caleb Mills – 6’5″, 185 – Senior (5th) |
| SF David Jones – 6’6″, 210 – Senior (5th) |
| PF Jonathan Pierre – 6’9″, 210 – Junior |
| F/C Jordan Brown – 6’11”, 225 – Senior (5th) |
Projected Starters’ 2022-23 Stats
Jahvon Quinerly: 8.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 3.6 apg, 0.7 spg – 35.7% 3FG @ Alabama
Caleb Mills: 13.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.3 spg, 0.6 bpg – @ Florida State
David Jones: 13.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.3 spg, 39.2% FG @ St. John’s
Jonathan Pierre: 14.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 0.8 spg – 40.5% 3FG @ Nova Southeastern
Jordan Brown: 19.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 bpg – 57.1% FG @ Louisiana-Lafayette
Experienced Reserves
| G Jayhlon Young – 6’2″, 185 – Senior |
| F Nick Jourdain – 6’9″, 220 – Senior |
| W Jaykwon Walton – 6’7″, 206 – Senior |
| G Jayden Hardaway – 6’5″, 205 – Senior (5th) |
| C Malcolm Dandridge – 6’9″, 260 – Senior (5th) |
| G Joe Cooper – 6’1″, 180 – Junior |
Experienced Reserves’ 2022-23 Stats
Jayhlon Young: 4.5 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.7 spg – 35.8% 3FG @ UCF
Nick Jourdain: 6.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.1 bpg – 50.0% FG @ Temple
Jaykwon Walton: 13.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.9 apg, 0.8 spg – 40.0% 3FG @ Wichita State
Jayden Hardaway: 5.4 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.6 apg, 0.4 spg – 33.8% 3FG
Malcolm Dandridge: 5.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.0 bpg, 0.6 spg – 57.5% FG
Joe Cooper: 15.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.7 apg – 37.4% FG @ Northwest Mississippi College
Freshmen
| G Carl Cherenfant – 6’5″, 190 – Freshman – Consensus Top 150 recruit |
| F Javonte ‘JJ’Taylor – 6’8″, 180 – Freshman – Consensus Top 150 recruit |
| F Ashton Hardaway – 6’8″, 210 – Freshman – Consensus Top 200 recruit |
Have you heard anything about Memphis basketball this offseason? The Tigers have made some headlines.
Head coach Penny Hardaway has been suspended three games for recruiting violations that happened years ago. Then there’s been the Tigers’ consistent courting and in some cases signing of players who are facing significant legal issues off the court. From a purely on-court perspective, it’s also a storyline that only two players in this team’s rotation this season are not new faces. So yeah, it’s been an eventful few months.
Coming off of a conference title, some programs bask in consistency and continuity. At Memphis, that’s all considered pretty dull. They had their celebration and then kept things interesting.
Coach Hardaway – a well-loved local son who played for the Tigers in the 1990’s before going on to international superstardom in the NBA – will rely heavily upon his staff to blend so many new faces together in – at least for a few tilts – his absence. This will be a roster featuring a true tapestry of individuals; from the coach’s sons to a former Division II star to transfers from pretty much everywhere, this is the sort of roster which pretty much could not have existed a decade ago. Now? It’s where college basketball is at in this moment of time. Penny is going to leave everyone else to ponder the full ramifications of what he and his program do and are: his focus is on piling up wins.
With just two (potentially three?) returning contributors this year, Memphis is looking at the task of establishing their new identity. Around which new stars will this squad coalesce? The top contenders to lead this group are three players who established themselves as proven top scoring options back where they each used to play: Jordan Brown, Caleb Mills, and David Jones.
In the long, long ago of 2018, young Jordan Brown was a prep basketball star in California. Rated a 5-star recruit back then, Brown has taken a journey through the landscape of college hoops in the five years since. He’s won, lost, overcome injuries, protected the rim of many different courts, signed with and transferred from three different schools. Along the way, Brown has been increasingly honored and decorated as a terrific player: and the lanky kid who started out at Nevada is now arriving on the Bluff as a full-grown man.
Last year, in his second season at Louisiana Lafayette, Brown scored 20+ points in 15 different games, posted nine double-doubles, and was named first-team All-Sun Belt. Being that the Ragin’ Cajuns had finished just a game over .500 the year before, Brown cranked his focus and production up a few notches once the calendar turned to March. Five of Brown’s double-doubles came over Louisiana’s last seven games, as he was named the Fun Belt’s tourney MVP and led his team to a near-upset of 4-seed Tennessee at the NCAA Tournament. Brown is one of the better post scorers around, and has now faced off against a variety of different players, body types and defensive approaches. The last two seasons, especially, Brown has grown his game and added post moves and confidence inside despite all the duress from foes who knew that right at the cup last year; tripe as he is around the lane. While he’s always liked to take short jumpers, Brown is a perplexing 61.2% foul shooter.
Though he’s not quite as well-traveled a veteran as Brown, Mills has started for a couple of pretty high-profile coaches and programs at his previous stops. The former Houston and Florida State guard has proven that he can create plays, stretch a defense, and even block some shots, and now we’ll look to do it all at the most efficient rates of his career. Though he won’t be required to do all of the ballhandling for this team, Mills has shown that he can blend his talents in among other strong guards. Though his exit from the Cougars following an injury-plagued sophomore season was a surprise, Mills generally worked out well alongside Anthony Polite, RayQuan Evans, and Darin Green at FSU in some talent-laden perimeter attacks. It’s just that, for his last year, Mills didn’t want to rebuild in Tallahassee: he wants to win.
In the pursuit of playing winning basketball, Mills has grown his assist rate steadily over the last few years, and finished at a 24.1% mark last season despite everything sorta falling apart for the Seminoles. Mills also maintained top-ten steals numbers in the ACC, pestering larger or smaller players, and his ability to keep the pressure on defensively should play well in Memphis. “Caleb immediately comes in and brings a ton of experience playing at the highest levels the last four years,” Hardaway enthused when Mills signed with the Tigers. “The thing that separates Caleb is his competitive drive, his desire to win and his versatility on both sides of the ball.” Mills has been a bit up-and-down as an outside shooter over the course of his career, but his up-swings have happened every other year. And since he shot a career-low 29.4% from the land of trey last winter, the hope is that Mills is set to have his most productive year in his final campaign.
There was a time, before his season at St. John’s, when David Jones was a nearly mythical figure. After a largely nondescript freshman season at DePaul, Jones started posting up huge performances against good teams as a sophomore. The second week of December, the youngster went off for 33 points and 14 boards at Louisville…back when Louisville wasn’t quite what they are now. He threw in a triple-double against Georgetown later in the year, and scored 20+ points eight times in 28 games, while ranking eighth in the Big East in rebounding, seventh in steals, and twelfth in blocked shots. Who was this guy? St. John’s tried to make Jones even more dangerous last year, but the Johnnies ended up being just about as much a danger to themselves as anyone else. So, Jones has come to Memphis, and he’s looking to recapture that star form.
“He’s going to get baskets multiple ways because he can knock down threes. He can get to the foul line, he gets offensive rebounds, he can run the fast break and go coast to coast,” Hardaway told WREG News 3 of Jones this fall. “He does it so many different ways out there on the court that he could very well be the guy because he’s going to play the minutes, and he has the ability to score multiple ways.” His new coach has even glimpsed a future where Jones, given his versatility on offense and defense, could become the Tigers’ best player. When Memphis journeyed to the Dominican Republic this summer to play an exhibition series, they got a taste of exactly how dangerous Jones can be. Playing in his home country, Jones competed against Memphis, as he is a member of the Dominican Republic’s national team – as is former Tigers star Lester Quiñones. Jones put up 12 points on a clean 5/5 from the floor against his teammates-to-be; a morsel to hint at his numbers to come. After waiting out a visa delay in returning to the USA, Jones has looked great in fall camp. “Ever since I got here, Penny’s been telling me and talking to me about being a great leader. Help the team with rebounds, pass. Play defense,” Jones said after the Tigers’ exhibition tune-up against Division II Lane College. Hardaway, his staff, and Memphis fans are all reasonably excited to finally see the full range of skills Jones brings.
Jones put up 12 points on a clean 5/5 from the floor against his teammates-to-be; a morsel to hint at his numbers to come
It’s possible that Memphis will also get to see the considerable talents of Deandre Williams for one more season. The now 27-year-old Williams has used up his regular eligibility and ‘Covid Year’, but believes that he should be allowed one final season of eligibility due to not playing as a freshman, back when he was an Evansville Purple Ace, due to the NCAA deeming him an academic non-qualifier at the time. An initial appeal was denied at the beginning of October, but Williams and his legal team have submitted additional documents for a re-review, and Memphis is hoping to get their star forward for one more run. Last winter, Williams was named to All-American Athletic Conference first team for a second time, averaging 17.7 points, 8.2 boards, and 2.9 assists along the way. He’s a terrific player, and would make Memphis significantly more dangerous if allowed to play.
While Mills can run the point, Hardaway and his staff see him working out even more smoothly paired up with a true floor general. So, the Tigers have also added Jahvon Quinerly to the backcourt. A former Villanova, Alabama, and New York City playground star, Quinerly has made quite a tour of high major college basketball, and hopes to simmer those experiences down into a luscious, playmaking sauce to pour over the Tigers’ full complement of talented ingredients. Removing his redshirt season, when the NCAA Tournament wasn’t played due to Covid-19, every one of Quinerly’s teams has gone to the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 11.7 points and 3.7 assists on 35% shooting from distance over three seasons for the Crimson Tide. When asked to play an important veteran role as the 6th man of last year’s team, Quinerly did so. He filled the role as play-making co-captain of a team which spent much of last year ranked in the Top 5 nationally, won a conference title, and played in the Sweet Sixteen so well that Quinerly earned SEC 6th Man of the Year. That’s the trajectory Coach Hardaway wants for this group, and he believes that Quinerly has the skill, experience, and bravado to help lift the Tigers to postseason success. While there have been intimations out of Tuscaloosa that Quinerly didn’t always give his best effort last year, he has also shown a flair for heroic plays over the years. Quinerly has been named to the preseason Bob Cousy Award watchlist, and is looking to go out on top – with a whole lot of wins.
| Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks) |
| 74.9 – Possessions Per Game (18th) |
| 15.3 – Opponent FT Made Per Game (323rd) |
| 40.1% – Opponent Shooting Percentage (16th) |
| 8.0 – Opponent 3FG Made Per Game (272nd) |
| 15.6 – Assists Per Game (24th) |
In addition to Quinerly and Mills, the Tigers’ backcourt is vastly deep and full of skill. It even features two of Penny’s sons – and they aren’t on the roster just because of their last names. By the new year, somebody is probably going to just stick an old-timey wooden sign in the ground outside of FedEx Forum which reads ‘Here be guards!’
The Tigers are the third team that former Wichita State scorer Jaykwon Walton has been committed to in the calendar year of 2023. With great size and an outside shot which improved dramatically last season, Walton had a breakout year for the Shockers after arriving from Georgia, where he barely played. Walton led the Shockers in scoring average and a bunch of shooting stats, and hopes to bring a quality deep threat to the Memphis rotation. Walton offers some versatility, as he can hop in for some minutes as more of a forward in a 4-out look, and his outside shot and ability to facilitate sometimes makes him a good option to provide matchup problems as an oversized off-guard.
Jayden Hardaway has played in 102 games already for his father, and returns to use his extra season as a proven support scorer. Jayden has also started 26 games over his four years, including 19 last year. Over his past two campaigns, Jayden has made 37.2% of his triple tries – good, reliable production for his coach to sub in when the Tigers need to space the floor. At 6’5″, Jayden brings more good size to the guard rotation; in fact, just two of the Tigers’ projected top 13 players stand shorter than 6’5″. Carl Cherenfant is another such player. The 4-star freshman plays even bigger than his listed size, exploding towards the rim offensively and causing his opponents fits with his quickness and dynamism on the other end. A very switchable stopper, Cherenfant makes plays with his high levels of effort and energy, then gets out and flies to the paint in transition. As his jumper improves, Cherenfant will be another big, strong matchup advantage for the Tigers.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| @ Texas A&M – December 10 |
| @ Ole Miss – December 2 |
| vs Virginia – December 19 |
| vs Clemson – December 16 |
| N – Michigan – November 22 |
That’s not all, folks! Jayhlon Young used to be a junior college star, and moved up to play for Central Florida last season. After seeing what Memphis could do, though, Young decided to join ’em. He’s a quick, sticky-fingered combo guard who can help to keep the offense flowing or take on a tough late-game defensive matchup. Young also shot the ball fairly well in his season down in Orlando, and added up, his range of skills should all prove quite valuable to the Tigers. Joe Cooper has also come aboard from the JuCo ranks this year, after proving his own credentials as a solid distributor and defender. Though Cooper will have to prove that he’s as clutch as the Milwaukee Beers legend with whom he shares a name, Cooper adds terrific depth as yet another proven playmaker. One guard who likely won’t play for the Tigers – but who is still listed as being on the team – is Mikey Williams. A touted 4-star guard who finished off his prep career in California, Williams has had legal issues swirling around him for much of the time he’s been committed to the Tigers. Accused of firing a gun into an occupied vehicle outside of his home this spring, Williams has pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges, and the situation is ongoing. “We just have to continue to support him,” Hardaway said this fall.
If Deandre Williams can’t play this season, the Tigers won’t be left without exciting, highly-athletic forwards. Division II Nova Southeastern was some kind of wagon last year; all four of the Sharks’ starters who still had eligibility remaining after their undefeated National Championship season transferred up a level, and will play for Division I teams this fall. Jonathan Pierre was a star forward on that squad, and now he’s going to play prime minutes for Coach Penny. Pierre is a serious talent: at a long and graceful 6’9″, he is as comfortable creating a shot for himself as he is setting up a teammate as he is thundering home a putback slam as he is forcing a turnover on the wing. One of those ‘positionless’ guys who can operate at the 4 spot yet has guard skills, Pierre was all but impossible to defend as the Sharks made their dominating run last winter. Now, Pierre will have to prove that he’s strong enough to handle AAC forwards and quick enough to hang against big-time perimeter athletes. Given the number of high major teams who checked in on his availability once he hit the Transfer Portal, though, the odds are that Pierre is going to transition to the bright lights just fine.
Nic Jourdain and Malcolm Dandridge offer contrasting playstyles up front, but similar solidity and experience. Both have played in the AAC for years already, been through the skirmishes of conference play & postseason, and have proven to be highly effective rim protectors. Jourdain spent his last three years at Temple, where he started 40 games total, and posted very similar numbers the past two seasons. He offers quickness, a long reach, and good energy both on the boards and when guarding a variety of other bigs. He’s got a jumper, and Jourdain has splashed 25 career triples. His outside is pretty streaky, though; and Jourdain has made less than 30% of his shot attempts away from the rim through most of his career so far. He’s just fine up close, though – Jourdain made 66.3% of his attempts near the cup last year, and almost half of them were dunks, per Bart Torvik. Dandridge has spent all four of his seasons in Memphis, and has contributed about 13 minutes and plenty of emphatic rejections over that span. He’s more wide and powerful where Jourdain is lithe, and AAC opponents know by now exactly how miserable it is trying to keep Dandridge away from the paint or a rebound he really wants. He’s fairly limited offensively, but Dandridge is a rock-solid presence setting picks or defending the lane. Last year, Memphis was oddly bad at allowing the opposition to pick up offensive boards. It will be up to Dandridge and Jourdain in particular to clean things up.
To cap off his deep roster of largely well-proven veterans, Coach Hardaway has added two more young forwards who will add even more variety to the Tigers. Javonte ‘JJ’ Taylor is a wing forward from Chicago who finished his prep career in California, playing on the same San Ysidro side as Mikey Williams. Taylor is long, bouncy and quick, and can score creatively around the paint or on slashes right to the basket. His jumper is streaky but Taylor has tantalizing three-level potential as a genuine top scorer. Consistency has been an issue for him, but Taylor has the easy athletic ability to make things happen even when he’s out of position. If he gets stronger and plays just as hard on every play, Taylor has true star potential. The other forward is another of Penny’s sons, Ashton Hardaway. He plays a bit more of a post game than the slashing Taylor, but Ashton Hardaway can also really shoot the rock. He won’t leap out of the gym, but Ashton Hardaway has a savvy game which spaces the floor, and he’s shown a few slick moves in isolation.
Competition for minutes will be fierce at each spot on the floor this year in Memphis. There are proven-solid producers, and Penny has added a great deal of rising talent to the mix. As is so often the case, the question for Penny’s team will be consistency. It took until two years back – his fourth in charge at Memphis – for Coach Hardaway to pick up his first NCAA Tournament victory. And it hasn’t been as though the Tigers are often at a talent disadvantage.
If one looks at the Tigers in a different light, though, it would appear that Hardaway – a young coach who has, himself, been evolving – might be figuring things out. With 26 wins and a conference tournament crown last winter, Hardaway’s team built upon the successes they’ve earned. This year, Memphis seems to have added some useful perimeter shooting, and the depth to both withstand foul trouble and continue attacking the boards in waves. The American has become stronger around them, but Memphis is ready to take it all on. The Tigers have gone a step further, putting together a very ambitious non-league slate which will test them throughout. It’s the behavior of a confident program. Memphis is a team which feels like have plenty to prove – and some things to show off. This year, they’re out to earn respect, wins, and some more hardware.
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