Memphis basketball tips off season at Blue and Gray Showcase

The vibes were immaculate inside Elma Roane Fieldhouse Friday night.

Penny Hardaway’s club—in front of a small crowd of students and loyal fans—focused on style over substance during its scrimmage at the Blue and Gray Showcase. The Tigers chunked up 3-pointers, punched in highlight slams and displayed as much grandeur as possible.

“It was just fun. Nobody played serious. But that was just the event because we had a really hard practice this morning, and the guys were really trying not to get injured,” Hardaway told reporters Friday. “It had some good stuff out there—some lobs, some dunks. That’s what you really want the crowd to see.”

Memphis utilized the same teams it did during Thursday’s Pro Day. Tyrese Hunter, PJ Haggerty, Colby Rogers, Nick Jourdain and Dain Dainja were placed on the white team (starters). Ragi Phillips, Damarien Yates, Jared Harris, PJ Carter and Tyreek Smith opposed them on the blue team (reserves).

The reserves narrowly beat the starters at Pro Day, but Friday’s scrimmage was a different story. The white team earned a comfortable 49-39 victory, and led by as many as 19 points in the second half. Hunter (16), Jourdain (13) and Rogers (11) combined for 40 points.

The game turned into a mini-dunk competition between Hunter (6-foot), Harris (6-foot-2) and Jourdain (6-foot-9). Jourdain—Memphis’ only returning scholarship—held an early advantage with 11 points and three slams in the first half. But what Hunter and Harris lack in size, they make up for in springs.

Hunter, who averaged 11.1 points and 4.1 assists for Texas last season, continuously soared through the air on fastbreak after fastbreak, while Harris finished the game off with an impressive dunk in between his legs. Hardaway later declared the 21-year-old transfer as the unofficial winner. But Jourdain gave his proverbial crown to the freshman, as did Hunter—begrudgingly.

“I feel like I haven’t gotten the chance to really showcase [my dunking] as much in the past systems I’ve played in,” Hunter said. “My freshman year, I had a lot of dunks. But now that I’m older, I’m more explosive and stronger. I think playing in a system that Memphis runs, it’ll be showcased a lot.”

Hunter’s intensity goes way beyond his dunking prowess, though. It extends to everything he does on the court. Whether it’s vocal leadership, body language or simply the way he plays, his energy is always there, even during a meaningless scrimmage when he chastised Haggerty for taking a deep 3-pointer.

He couldn’t turn it off if he wanted to either.

“It’s organic to me, honestly. Growing up with 13 brothers and sisters, being one of the youngest, getting beat up on my whole life playing sports and not weighing as much, I think that just installed there,” Hunter said. “I’m taking it to the game that I love, that I’m passionate about. This game can change my life and do a lot for me, my teammates and the university. So, I think it’s something that can’t be turned off. It’s 100% me.”

Dainja, a 6-foot-9 forward who averaged 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in limited minutes at Illinois last year, has yet to play the featured role he’ll be asked to fulfill at Memphis this season. He didn’t necessarily explode into stardom either Friday, scoring 6 points. But the box score didn’t tell the whole story.

Dainja notably excelled in many of the little things—playmaking, footwork, post moves. The Brooklyn Park, Minnesota native is as fundamentally sound as ever, which is why Hardaway believes Dainja’s poised for his best season yet.

“He’s a playmaker, honestly. He handles the ball like a guard. When we do the ballhandling drills in practice, he’s probably one of the best two or three ballhandlers on the team. He can make plays, pass the ball, score inside. He’s definitely a weapon,” Hardaway said. “We really haven’t had a big like Dain before [in my tenure]. We’ve had young bigs with Precious [Achiuwa] and Jalen Duren, who were great in their own right. But Dain is highly skilled down on that block.”

Dainja’s technical ability and basketball IQ may surprise those who are unfamiliar with him, but Hunter—a Racine, Wisconsin native—wasn’t the least bit shocked when the two became teammates this summer.

“I’ve been watching Dain since I was in high school. Both of us being Midwest kids, I’ve always been watching Dain and following his journey,” Hunter said. “I know Dain’s game. I know what he’s capable of. He’s doing everything to reach this potential to help himself in the future and this team.”

Team-bonding events like this are particularly important for Jourdain, who was a part of last year’s team that failed to make the NCAA Tournament despite a 15-2 start and a Associated Press (AP) No. 10 ranking in January. One of the biggest culprits of Memphis’ collapse is that the Tigers largely failed to build chemistry and rapport with one another.

Jourdain, however, says that’s been effortless this time around. Friday night only reasserted that.

“It was instant, because we connected quickly, especially on the court. We’ve been playing so much with each other, so it was quick finding everyone’s names, knowing where they’re from, kinda feeling their energy out, who they are,” he said.