How Jahvon Quinerly went from Memphis basketball’s most scrutinized player to its unsung hero

The Memphis Tigers were in trouble last Sunday afternoon.

They had spent the better part of two weeks rebuilding their broken season. They had moved past their demons against Florida Atlantic, and coupled that with demolitions of Charlotte and East Carolina. This was no longer the team that couldn’t even win a home game versus Rice. No, this group was perhaps even stronger than the one ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 earlier this season.

But it’s funny how things can revert back to disaster so quickly.

Memphis—on its Senior Day nonetheless—trailed UAB 61-39 with 1:25 left in the game’s first half. The Blazers, who already embarrassed the Tigers on Jan. 28, were putting on a clinic inside a stunned FedExForum. They shot 67.6% from the field and 57.1% from the 3-point line in the first half, and went on a 41-19 run in nine minutes and 44 seconds. All the while, they held Memphis without a field goal for nearly seven minutes before the 1:03 mark in the opening period.

Penny Hardaway’s club was suddenly back to the worst version of itself. The one that blew a 20-point lead to South Florida. The one that—once again—fell to lowly Rice on its home floor. The one that got dusted by a combined 36 points at North Texas and SMU. And ultimately, the one that would cost Hardaway his third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The sixth-year coach wasn’t ready for Memphis’ turnaround to end just yet, however. So, he leaned on the one man he could trust in this volatile moment: the cool, calm and collected Jahvon Quinerly.

“I felt us reeling a little bit early, and JQ was the only one that had rhythm. I went to him and was like, ‘You have to carry us until everybody else comes along,’” Hardaway said postgame.

The 6-foot-1 guard rewarded Hardaway’s faith in him. He first stormed past Eric Gaines to break Memphis’ field goal drought. He then drove into Tony Toney for another two points with 17 seconds before halftime. Finally, he took advantage of a UAB turnover and drilled a deep 3-pointer in Toney’s face just as the first half’s final buzzer sounded. Quinerly led the Tigers at the half with 20 points on 5-for-7 shooting.

“[Hardaway saw] that I got going and I was getting downhill consistently, and he just told me to keep going. When he gives me his word like that, it makes it a lot easier to make plays for myself. And then organically, I’m able to make reads to my teammates because guys gotta stop me from scoring,” Quinerly said. “It definitely boosted my confidence for sure.”

Quinerly’s 7-0 run cut UAB’s lead to 61-46 at intermission. But, more importantly, it gave life to his teammates.

The Tigers came out of halftime with all gas and no brakes, and left the Blazers permanently shell-shocked within minutes. They used a 13-0 run (20-0 going back to the first half) in less than four minutes to cut UAB’s lead to 63-61 with 16:43 left to play. UAB coach Andy Kennedy got so incensed that he got himself ejected from the contest with back-to-back technical fouls.

Memphis then opened things up with a 29-9 run in 9:34 to take a 90-72 lead with 7:06 left to play, and UAB never recovered. David Jones and Nae’Qwan Tomlin combined for 39 points in the second half on 14-for-20 shooting. Jones recorded 32 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals for the game. And Tomlin wasn’t too far behind with his 28 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals.

The Tigers outscored UAB 67-26 in the final 21:15 of the contest, and won the game 106-87. But the rally wouldn’t have been possible without Quinerly, who finished the contest with 25 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals.

“He held it together there until the rest of the team came along, and that just kinda saved us,” Hardaway said during his weekly radio show Monday.

Quinerly, who’s averaging 16.5 points and 5.8 assists during the Tigers’ four-game winning streak, has received mostly positive discourse from fans lately—though he hasn’t gotten as much credit as Jones, Tomlin or Hardaway. But he was perhaps Memphis’ most scrutinized player during its struggles earlier this season.

The 25-year-old played his worst basketball of the year during a month-long stretch where his team lost six times in nine games. He scored 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting in the loss at UAB, 8 points on 3-for-11 shooting in the Rice loss on Jan. 31 and 3 points on 1-for-13 shooting in a win over Wichita State on Feb. 3. The disappointing stretch reached a breaking point in mid-February when he recorded 8 points, 3 assists and 3 turnovers on 3-for-10 shooting at North Texas on Feb. 15, and followed that up with 9 points, 5 assists and 5 turnovers on 4-for-11 shooting at SMU on Feb. 18.

During the latter game, one fan called Quinerly “the worst thing that’s ever happened to” Memphis basketball under Hardaway in a post on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter. After the game, Hardaway called his team’s effort and desire to win into question and even accused some players of quitting on the season. And while he didn’t name specific players, many fans connected Hardaway’s postgame comments to the fifth-year senior.

Alabama coach Nate Oats, who Quinerly played under from 2020-2023, allegedly took a shot his former point guard during October’s SEC Media Day when speaking about Quinerly’s replacement, Aaron Estrada.

“I think that makes us a lot better as a team when you don’t have to beg your point guard to bring effort every day,” Oats said.

Oats, however, later told the Tuscaloosa News that he has “all love for JQ” and that his comments were meant to hype up Estrada rather than slander Quinerly.

But Quinerly says he isn’t focused on negative press from the fans or the media. He instead cares about the love he’s received from the 901 and the mission still at hand for the Tigers—reaching the NCAA Tournament by earning an at-large bid or winning next week’s American Athletic Conference (AAC) Tournament.

“I don’t pay attention to [the scrutiny towards me],” he said on Feb. 23. “I feel like the city, for the most part, has embraced me. It’s been a transition for me, but I love playing here. I love playing in front of the packed FedExForum. I love playing for [Hardaway]…It’s a blessing to play here.”

Quinerly and the Tigers (22-8, 11-6 AAC) visit Florida Atlantic in their regular season finale Saturday (11 a.m., CBS).