McGriff Catches Fire, Helps Ignite a Hustle Win

The Memphis Hustle were back on center stage Saturday evening to take on the G League Ignite for the special edition of the “Hustle and Hounds Night,” where various local animal shelters and rescues showcase adoptable animals, share their missions, and connect with the community. For this year’s edition of “Hustle and Hounds Night,” Cameron McGriff decided to remind everyone that he had that dog in him as he erupted for his best performance of the season, helping catapult the squad to an important home victory.

Coming into tonight’s matchup, the Hustle were one game outside of .500 looking in at 6-7, while the G League Ignite were an atrocious 1-15 with not much hope left on the season. The Ignite were without potential NBA lottery picks Ron Holland and Matas Buzelis, who have both been projected as Grizzlies picks granted they land in the lottery, and it is still unclear as to whether or not they will be suited up for the Sunday night rematch that will air live on NBA TV. The Hustle are still running a condensed version of their roster, as a shorthanded Grizzlies squad still holds on to a chunk of the roster.

The game started out with a pretty neck-to-neck first half as both teams played an even game, leaving the Hustle trailing by five leading into the second half with nothing particularly transpiring through the first 24. The second half is where Memphis put their foot on the gas, and the Ignite appeared to run out of it. Cameron McGriff, who recently declared for the dunk contest, proved tonight he is far more than just a dunker with 28 points, eight rebounds, and an insane +28 on the floor when he was active, as he was uncontainable in the second half of play. Adonis Arms contributed 23 points, four rebounds, and three steals, and Dejon Jarreau almost notched yet another triple-double with 20 points, 11 assists, and eight rebounds on the evening; very impressive and much-needed play from those guys tonight.

Following the game, I talked to the head coach of the Hustle, Jason March, about the impact of the guys who are currently on the team and stepping up in place of the players who have been called up to the Grizzlies, and March had this to say:

“We’ve had to bring guys in because we only had seven. Hopefully, Timmy Allen’s close to returning, but whoever we bring in as an organization, our scouting department does a great job of identifying not only good players but good people. So they come in, and they’re willing to accept roles and learn and listen, and at the end of the day this is an opportunity. 
So if one man goes to the Grizzlies or whatever, it’s opening up more minutes for everyone else. At the beginning of the season, everyone wants all these minutes, and there’s only a few because, usually, you have a full roster. It always works itself out. Now everyone’s playing a ton. Nobody’s complaining about minutes anymore. And like I said, it just opens up opportunity for everyone, and they’ve done a great job of taking that opportunity and having success with it.”

March has now had 10 players under his coaching get called up to the NBA, a very impressive accomplishment.

The Hustle will face the G League Ignite again on Sunday for the second night in a row. Tip will be live from the Landers Center in Southaven, Mississippi, at 5:00 p.m. The game will be available for viewing on NBA TV.

For tickets, call (901) 888-HOOP, visit https://memphis.gleague.nba.com/ticket-central, or visit the Landers Center box office.

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