Memphis Basketball Speaks on Mikey Williams, DeAndre Williams, the Tigers’ Potential and More

Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway and four players—Malcolm Dandridge, Nick Jourdain, Jayhlon Young and Jaykwon Walton—spoke to the media following an open practice Wednesday afternoon.

They each fielded questions about a myriad of topics, including the uncertainties surrounding both Mikey and DeAndre Williams (no relation).

Mikey Williams, a 4-star freshman guard, has yet to join the team due to ongoing legal proceedings. He’s still trying to resolve his six gun-related felony charges that stem from an incident at his (San Diego, Calif.) home back in March. Mikey Williams allegedly shot at a moving car filled with five people—including three minors—as it was driving away from the house. If convicted, he could possibly spend up to 28 years in state prison.

His preliminary court hearing for these charges has been postponed several times, most recently from Sept. 5 to Oct. 10. Memphis Athletics released a statement regarding Mikey Williams early Wednesday morning.

“While Mikey Williams is enrolled in online classes at the University of Memphis and remains on the roster, he will not have access to team-related facilities or activities until his pending legal process in California is complete,” the statement reads in part. “The process to assess and determine his status with the team will be initiated at that time.”

DeAndre Williams, meanwhile, is still awaiting an answer from the NCAA regarding his eligibility for this season. His attorney, Don Jackson, reportedly submitted all required documents for the waiver to Memphis’ compliance department in July. Jackson later submitted additional documents earlier this month.

This waiver application stems from the 2018-19 season, in which DeAndre Williams was enrolled at Evansville but didn’t play due to being academically ineligible. The NCAA still counted that year of eligibility against him, however, citing a “delayed enrollment” violation. The 26-year-old, who turns 27 next month, and his legal team allege that he received bad advice from people in position of authority while in high school, which includes having him enroll in an online institution that wasn’t NCAA accredited, and that the violation would’ve never happened without that poor advisement. To clarify, the 6-foot-9, All-AAC forward used his COVID-19 waiver to play last season, and is now trying to get that first year of eligibility back to play this season.

Hardaway didn’t offer much comment regarding DeAndre Williams’ situation, saying that he hopes to have a decision “soon.”

He did, however, reiterate his support for Mikey Williams despite Memphis’ earlier statement.

“I mean, we’re just supporting him,” Hardaway said. “There is no news that’s come out to make us change our minds or think any differently.”

He also commented on the difficulty of managing the two situations on top of integrating a new group into the program.

“We’re trying our best because we haven’t had [Mikey or DeAndre Williams] here,” Hardaway said. “And the rest of the guys are filling in, man, and doing whatever takes to keep us going until those guys get here.”

Dandridge expressed a similar sentiment to Hardaway towards Mikey Williams, adding that the whole team is “praying” for the 6-foot-3 guard.

“The Best Group I’ve Ever Played With.”

The Tigers are still something of a work in progress, which is to be expected of a team filled with late arrivals.

Walton, a transfer from Wichita State, still thinks very highly of his new team in spite of that. He even went as far as to call Memphis “the best group” he’s ever played with.

“[There’s] so much talent. You got myself, Jahvon [Quinerly], Jordan Brown. There’s just a lot of different pieces,” he said. “You never know who’s going to have a big night. That’s the scary part about us.”

Hardaway named Walton along with Caleb Mills and Jahvon Quinerly as players who’ve tried to step up and become leaders.

Dandridge, who’s entering his fifth season at Memphis, called the opportunity to gel with his new teammates a “great” experience. He also called this year’s locker room “different.”

“There’s some great people around [here]. Some great players [and] great environment,” he said. “That was a big thing for me coming back to school: my environment, you know, how comfortable I wanted to be and how uncomfortable. So, it’s definitely great to be with the new faces around here.”

Jourdain, a transfer from Temple, has been on campus since late May. He acknowledges the learning curves ahead for the Tigers, but is also excited about what Memphis can be.

“Everyone is so versatile. Everyone can do everything. There’s not one player that’s one-dimensional,” he said. “So, it’s super cool to play with those guys and get to gel with those guys as we build a stronger team.”

Hardaway also sees some bumps in the road for the Tigers before the season gets underway, but seems confident in his team’s ability to gel.

“Everybody’s trying to find their footing,” he said. “The veteran players, Jayden [Hardaway] and Malcolm [Dandridge], are looking good because they know the system. Everybody else is still trying to figure it out. So, everyone [that’s] new is doing well. They just need more time.”

Young, a former junior college player and transfer from UCF, is appreciative of his journey to Memphis and the chance to play on what could be a special team.

“I’ve just been taking it one step at a time, just trying to enjoy everything,” he said. “JUCO is way harder. You don’t have as much. When you make it [and] level up like this, it feels great.”