Memphis guard Tyrese Hunter (knee) is available for No. 14 Memphis’ road game at South Florida tonight (8 p.m., ESPN2), Penny Hardaway told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein Thursday afternoon.
Hunter’s injury has been a constant issue all season, but it never affected his availability until the Tigers’ rematch with Temple last Sunday. In fact, the 6-foot senior’s absence marked the first time he’s missed a game in his college career—he had started every single one too.
Hunter participated in Sunday’s pregame warmups despite his knee swelling that morning, but was ultimately ruled out 20 minutes before tipoff. Memphis also held him out of practices this week, a program spokesperson told Bluff City Media on Tuesday.
“It’s just difficult because when you’re not yourself, you don’t really wanna chance it,” Hardaway said during his weekly radio show Monday. “If you go out there and try to play, you know, not feeling well, you can hurt something else or injure that knee even more. You don’t wanna do that. He made the right decision.”
Hunter (14.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game) will return to the Tigers’ starting lineup. Dante Harris, who filled in for Hunter and scored 14 points against Temple, is back on the bench.