Jonathan Pierre was always ‘physically prepared’ to play for Memphis. He’s now ‘mentally prepared’ too.

Jonathan Pierre wasn’t even scheduled to speak with reporters Wednesday afternoon.

Nick Jourdain was, but he had to go to class. Pierre served as Jourdain’s replacement.

The Division II transfer from Nova Southeastern was one of Penny Hardaway’s first additions this past off-season. Pierre—14.5 points, 3.4 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game last season—led the Sharks to a perfect 36-0 campaign, which culminated in a D-2 National Championship. He and Nova Southeastern went 31-1 in his freshman season.

Pierre, now a junior, holds a collegiate record of 68-1 after Memphis’ 94-77 win over Jackson State to open the 2023-24 season. He says Monday night’s game was a “dream come true.”

“When I got out there, it felt really great playing with my teammates [and] getting my first Division I win,” Pierre said. “I’m feeling really good about my record and that’s definitely something I wanna tell my kids about when I get older.”

The 6-foot-10 wing saw just nine minutes of action against JSU, and finished the game with 2 points and 2 assists while shooting 1-3 from the field. Rick Stansbury, who’s filling in for Hardaway while the latter is suspended, thought Pierre provided more value than what the stats showed. Stansbury even commended the ever-so thoughtful Pierre for his “cerebral” play-style Monday night.

“[Stansbury] refers to my court vision,” Pierre said. “I’ve always had to play point guard [prior to my growth-spurt]…It’s something I’ve always had. I’m starting to learn my new body now.”

By “new body,” Pierre refers to the massive growth-spurt he’s undergone throughout the past three years. He shot up from 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-7 in a matter of months during his senior season in high school, and grew two more inches while at Nova Southeastern. He says he’s grown another inch since arriving at Memphis, bringing his height up to 6-foot-10—without shoes.

Adjusting to his new-found tallness has been a challenge for Pierre throughout his college career. But he’s still taking all the necessary steps to be the best player he can for the Tigers.

“[I’m] definitely staying in the gym with Coach Penny and obviously with Coach Darby [Rich],” Pierre said. “Coming to this level, there’s so many resources to keep your body on line. You have massage therapists, chiropractors and dietitians. There’s so much resources for you to always take that next step.”

Pierre’s physical, on-the-court struggles weren’t nearly as prominent as his off-the-court struggles, though. He was ready to play basketball for Memphis the moment he arrived to campus in late May, but he wasn’t ready to be a Tiger just yet. That came with time.

“It was a struggle at first coming here, because I’ve been living in South Florida my whole life and going to school literally 20 minutes away from my home…I think I was physically prepared but not mentally prepared,” Pierre said. “[Being in] a new environment and not having that many friends, I feel like all that kind of took a toll. But honestly, I’ve developed some brothers here with [Jahvon Quinerly], David Jones and Jaykwon [Walton]…The coaches are starting to see what I can really do now, because I’m starting to be locked in with myself and I got used to the environment…Knowing me and my work ethic and the resources I have here, I’ll have no problem finding time on the court pretty soon.”

Now that Pierre’s fully integrated into Memphis’ culture—now that he fully understands what it means to be a Tiger, he can begin to look ahead to what this team can be. He says he can be a key in bringing it all together, and even calls himself the Tigers’ best passer. He’s been a winner for his entire collegiate career, and thus knows what a winning team looks like. Heck, he’s lost just one game in college so far, and that was in the 2022 Division II Elite Eight.

A central piece on a championship team team last season, Pierre now thinks the Tigers have a lot of those same winning qualities this season.

“It’s all about enjoying those little wins for each other, and being happy for each other,” he said. “I definitely see that here. David Jones had [15] in our first exhibition game, and then he had a pretty good game the next game. Jaykwon [Walton] popped off for 19 [against Jackson State], so there’s always gonna be different people. There’s so much talent on this team…We’re not really supposed to be playing our best basketball until March, but right now it’s starting to pick up really nice. I’m starting to see what I saw at Nova [Southeastern].”

Pierre and the Tigers—ranked No. 34 in KenPom—will get an early-season Quad 1 opportunity at No. 56 Missouri on Friday (8 p.m., SEC Network).