Penny Hardaway learned a lot about his seventh team in its two exhibitions against top-10 opponents this month.
The Tigers, though they lost both games, took No. 9 North Carolina and No. 2 Alabama down to the wire—the latter essentially being a road game in Huntsville, Alabama. But Hardaway isn’t overlooking Monday’s regular season opener at home against Missouri (7 p.m., ESPN+), which didn’t win a single SEC game last year.
”Those two games definitely helped us understand who we [are],” he told reporters Thursday. “But we can’t look at Missouri and go, ‘Oh, they’re not Alabama. They’re not North Carolina.’ That’s not our mindset. Every game is gonna be hard, but we can dictate who we are every single night.”
Who or what does Memphis need to be moving forward, though? What have the Tigers done well so far? Where do they need to improve?
Hardaway, Colby Rogers and Moussa Cisse discussed that and more this afternoon.
Can Memphis fix its 3-point shooting woes?
The Tigers struggled mightily from beyond the arc throughout exhibition play.
They made just six combined 3-pointers against North Carolina and Alabama, shooting 16.2% behind the perimeter in both games. Four players—Rogers, PJ Haggerty, Tyrese Hunter and PJ Carter—accounted for those makes.
Hardaway said after the Alabama game earlier this week that it’s “too early” to make any judgments about Memphis’ perimeter shooting, but he’s not dismissing the issue either.
”You can say it’s a concern,” he said Thursday. “As long as we take good shots and we miss good shots, we feel like those will drop. We just gotta stay away from what we would call, ‘bronze-level shots,’ where they’re not good looks. They’re one dribble and a shot, two dribbles and a shot, taking a shot too early in the shot clock. That’s not favorable for us
”We shoot more than anybody. I talk about that every year. I’m really big on shooting. And when you get into these arenas and these other places, you just gotta lock in and knock down your shots.”
Rogers, a Wichita State transfer and a career 39.2% 3-pointer shooter, isn’t overly worried about the Tigers’ woes from deep just yet.
”I think it’s just shots not falling. I don’t really look too much into it…It’s part of the game,” he said. “Granted, we do kinda [need to] find some easier looks offensively. But I think that’ll come in due time.”
Has Haggerty become the Tigers’ centerpiece?
The Tulsa transfer just might be the key to unlocking Memphis’ offense after two immense scoring outputs against Alabama and North Carolina.
Haggerty scored 24 points in the Tigers’ 84-76 loss to UNC earlier this month. Fifteen of those points came in the second half on 6-for-7 shooting.
He took things to another level in the Alabama game, where Memphis shot a porous 27.8% from the field in the opening period.
Haggerty exploded out of halftime to help the Tigers outpace the Crimson Tide 59-47 in the final 20 minutes. He ultimately scored 28 points in the second half alone, finishing with a game-high 32 on 9-for-22 (8-for-14 in the second half) shooting.
Memphis still lost the contest 96-88, but it may have found its next superstar in the process.
”He’s kinda putting himself in a position to say, ‘Hey, I’m the guy that you can count on,’” Hardaway said. “In our system, there’s really not one primary ballhandler. But he is the guy. He’s proven himself in the first two games to have the ball in his hands when we need a basket or a decision.”
Memphis isn’t losing focus.
Rogers and Cisse don’t have any Halloween celebration plans. Neither of them are dressing up or attending parties.
”Rest and recovery,” Rogers said of his Halloween plans. “Crib, sleep, eat.”
In fact, Cisse didn’t even know about the holiday.
”Is today Halloween?” he asked reporters. “I don’t really celebrate, so no costume. I’ll probably stay in the gym.”
Cisse, who played his freshman season at Memphis, may not be in tune with the holiday calendar. But the 7-foot senior is perfectly in tune with the opportunity he has to finish his college career where it began.
Hardaway has repeatedly cited him and Hunter as the Tigers’ vocal leaders this year, a role Cisse doesn’t take lightly.
”Me having five years and ending it where I started, it’s a blessing for me. So, I’m gonna take advantage and maximize my full potential. I’m not gonna take no moment for granted, so I’m gonna go full speed and give everything I got for the city,” he said. “I wish when I was a freshman I had guys like me, Tyrese and Colby around. I’ve been through a lot of different programs, so I know what it takes to be a leader.
“I wanna make the city happy. Every time we come out here and play basketball, whether it’s wins or losses, and show the city that we’re gonna fight and bring the energy every single time.”