Memphis basketball sets up first offseason visits

This story has been updated with new information.

Memphis basketball lacked size on the wing in 2024-25. Penny Hardaway hopes to fix that immediately this offseason.

Sources confirm to Bluff City Media that Memphis is setting up visits for transfer forwards Amarri Monroe, Chris Bell and Zachary Davis. Bell is expected to be on campus this weekend, while Monroe and Davis’ dates have yet to be determined.

Monroe, a 6-foot-7 junior from Quinnipiac, led the Bobcats to their second consecutive Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular-season championship this year before falling to Iona in the MAAC Tournament semifinals. He averaged 18.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.3 steals on 40.5% shooting. His 14 double-doubles tied for 18th in Division I.

Monroe’s efforts won him the MAAC Player of the Year award and a unanimous All-MAAC First Team selection. The Newburgh, New York native made the All-MAAC Second Team in 2023-24, his first season with Quinnipiac after spending his freshman year at Wofford.

Bell, a 6-foot-7 junior from Syracuse, has started 75 games in three seasons with the Orange. He started all 32 games in 2023-24, averaging 12 points and 2.3 rebounds while shooting 43.4% from the field and 42% from 3-point range. The Concord, California native also started 30 games as a freshman in 2022-23.

Bell made just 13 starts this season, however, putting up 9.3 points and a couple rebounds per game on 40.7% shooting (35.3% on 3-pointers). He and the Orange lost to SMU in the second round of the ACC Tournament earlier this month.

Davis, a 6-foot-7 junior from South Carolina, averaged 8.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals—all of which are career-highs— on 38.2% shooting this season. He also earned an adjusted defensive rating of 98 on Bart Torvik, which ranks the Gamecocks No. 61 in adjusted defensive efficiency.

The Orangeburg, South Carolina native is a pure defensive specialist, but his offensive game drastically improved in 2024-25. He scored a career-best 22 points twice this year after never logging more than 16 in his first two seasons. Davis and the Gamecocks went one-and-done in his lone NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023-24, bowing out to Oregon in the Round of 64.

Monroe, Bell and Davis, who all have one year of eligibility remaining, would fill three of many available spots on Memphis’ 2025-26 roster. The Tigers are expected to lose Tyrese Hunter, Nick Jourdain, Colby Rogers and Moussa Cisse due to expired eligibility. They also lost Jared Harris and Baraka Okojie to the transfer portal, so Hardaway must replace at least six players.

Dain Dainja is out of eligibility as of now, but he’s repeatedly expressed belief that he’s entitled to one more campaign. Sources say that Dainja plans to file for a waiver from the NCAA to potentially rejoin Memphis next season.

PJ Haggerty, PJ Carter, Dante Harris, redshirt Bouna Kebe and walk-on Damarien “Dink” Yates are all eligible to return next year. Eastern Florida guard Felipe Patino and Overtime Elite guard Daniel Vieira-Tuck are currently Memphis’ only incoming players.

This leaves the Tigers with seven open scholarships.

Besides Monroe, Bell and Davis, Memphis has reached out to the following players in the transfer portal:

South Dakota State center Oscar Cluff

Seton Hall guard Isaiah Coleman

South Carolina Upstate guard Brit Harris

Western Kentucky guard Julius Thedford

Purdue Fort Wayne guard Jalen Jackson

UMass Lowell guard Martin Somerville

Texas Rio Grand Valley guard Hasan Abdul-Hakim

Miami guard Jalil Bathea

Purdue Fort Wayne forward Chandler Cuthrell

Farleigh Dickinson guard Terrence Brown

Arkansas State guard Derrian Ford

Clemson guard Del Jones