Temple guard Quante Berry to visit Memphis basketball

Penny Hardaway hopes to flip yet another American Athletic Conference (AAC) foe this offseason.

Former Temple guard Quante Berry, who entered the transfer portal earlier this week, is visiting Memphis on Friday, multiple sources told Bluff City Media Thursday.

The 6-foot-4 sophomore averaged 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 46.3% from the field and 33.8% from 3-point range. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Berry helped Temple become one of two AAC teams to defeat Memphis last season, recording 19 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a block on 8-for-12 shooting (2-of-4 on 3-pointers) in the Owls’ 88-81 upset victory over the Tigers on Jan. 16. He also notched 16 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 steals on 6-for-13 shooting during Temple’s rematch with Memphis on Feb. 9, which the Tigers won 90-82.

Berry and the Owls started 6-3 in AAC play, but finished 9-9 after leading scorer Jamal Mashburn Jr. missed all but one of their final nine regular-season games with a lower leg injury. Both he and Berry (finger) sat out Temple’s loss to Tulsa in the second round of the AAC Tournament.

Berry would help fill the void left by starting point guard Tyrese Hunter, whose eligibility is now expired. Memphis is also expected to lose Nick Jourdain, Colby Rogers and Moussa Cisse to exhausted eligibility, and Jared Harris and Baraka Okojie to the transfer portal. This means Hardaway must replace at least six players.

Dain Dainja is currently out of eligibility too, but he’s repeatedly expressed belief that he’s entitled to an additional 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 can all return in 2025-26. Eastern Florida guard Felipe Patino and Overtime Elite guard Daniel Vieira-Tuck are the only incoming players for next year’s team as of now.

This leaves Memphis with seven open scholarships.

Besides Berry, Memphis has reached out to the following players in the transfer portal:

South Dakota State center Oscar Cluff

Quinnipiac forward Amarri Monroe (visit pending)

Syracuse forward Chris Bell (visit pending)

South Carolina forward Zachary Davis (visit pending)

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