Memphis basketball is less than a week away from officially opening its 2023-24 campaign.
Four days away, to be exact. The Tigers take on Jackson State inside FedExForum on Monday night.
Memphis must leap over one last hurdle to get there, however. And that hurdle is a second exhibition game against local, Division II foe LeMoyne-Owen.
The Tigers’ first exhibition was a near-flawless affair last Sunday, as Memphis trounced Lane College 106-49. Penny Hardaway’s club totaled five double-digit scorers for the afternoon.
St. John’s transfer wing David Jones led the way with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists—all three statistics being a team-high. Louisiana transfer big Jordan Brown and fifth-year center Malcolm Dandridge both recorded 14 points and 6 rebounds. Freshman wing Ashton Hardaway tacked on 13 points and made 3 of 5 attempts from three-point range. And Florida State transfer guard Caleb Mills scored 11 points while shooting 3-4 from the field.
Now, was it just an exhibition game against what most would call an inferior opponent? Yes.
But did the Tigers look about as good as they reasonably could’ve while playing dominant, unselfish basketball? Also, yes. Memphis compiled 24 assists, and all but two of its players scored at least once during the game.
Tonight’s matchup against the Magicians gives Memphis a chance to top its performance versus Lane. Like Sunday’s exhibition, the game is not expected to be televised or livestreamed. Fans who cannot attend, however, can still tune in to the live radio broadcast on News Talk 98.9—The Roar of Memphis or keep track of the live stats on gotigersgo.com.
Jahvon Quinerly will likely be available.
The Alabama transfer point guard didn’t play in the Tigers’ first exhibition against Lane.
Penny Hardaway told reporters after the game that Quinerly sat out for precautionary reasons with a hyperextended knee. Hardaway also said the former SEC Preseason Player of the Year had missed some time in practice. Quinerly tore his ACL during the 2022 NCAA Tournament and returned after just eight months, struggling to find his footing with the Crimson Tide for most of the 2022-23 season.
He seemingly returned to form down the stretch, however, with a 24-point performance against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament Championship game and a 22-point showing against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament—which helped Alabama advance to the Sweet 16.
Quinerly seems to be in good spirits about his chances of playing against LeMoyne-Owen, writing “debut! let’s get it,” in reference to tonight’s game on his Instagram story yesterday.
Can the Tigers put on another 3-point clinic?
Memphis shot abnormally well from 3-point range against Lane College.
The Tigers made 70% of their deep-ball attempts in the first half, and finished the game at a 50% clip.
Jones was 2-2 from beyond the arc. Ashton Hardaway, as previously mentioned, was 3-5. Mills, Jayden Hardaway, Jonathan Pierre and Jayhlon Young each hit a 3-pointer as well.
Throughout Penny Hardaway’s tenure, the Tigers have struggled mightily to be a consistent threat from the perimeter. Memphis’ 2021-22 team has proven to be his best 3-point shooting team thus far, and it collectively shot just 35.9% from deep.
The good news is the eldest Hardaway thinks the 2023-24 Tigers have a chance to break this unfortunate trend.
“I’m very excited because we haven’t had a lot of great three-point shooting teams [during] my tenure here,” he said Sunday. “I like having that spacing because if [the Tigers’ opponents] go double-team, then we have guys that can make them pay.”
Memphis’ frontcourt should continue to impose its will.
The paint belonged to the Tigers against Lane, and a game against LeMoyne-Owen will likely yield a similar result.
That doesn’t make what Memphis did Sunday any less impressive, though. Its current group of big men looks to be about as experienced and polished as any group Hardaway’s ever had as the Tigers’ coach.
Brown—last year’s Lou Henson Award winner—is obviously the headliner. The 6-foot-11 center averaged 19.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for Louisiana last season, leading the Ragin’ Cajuns to a Sun Belt Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
The 6-foot-9 Dandridge, who’s been with Memphis since 2019, is no slouch, though. Neither is 6-foot-9 Temple transfer Nick Jourdain.
The terrifying trio helped the Tigers out-rebound Lane 49-35, block 6 of the Dragons’ shots and score 50 points in the paint. Brown and Dandridge combined for 3 blocks.
And to think it could get even better if 27-year-old DeAndre Williams is able to return to the Tigers. The All-AAC forward has been pursuing an additional year of eligibility since at least May 31, when he released a statement announcing his intentions to try for a waiver.
The application stems from the 2018-19 season, in which he 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. Williams and his legal team allege that he received bad advice from people in positions 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, he 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.
His initial waiver was denied by the NCAA, sources confirm to Bluff City Media. Memphis, however, resubmitted the application with additional documents provided by attorney Don Jackson in September. Some think the waiver will be approved, while others aren’t as optimistic.
But regardless of what happens with Williams’ waiver, Dandridge seems elated about the Tigers’ current frontcourt situation.
“It’s definitely a blessing [to be a part of it],” he said Sunday. “I feel like we have the best frontcourt in not only the country, but definitely in the [AAC]. So, we’re just gonna have to show everyone what we’re made of…We’re gonna keep pushing each other in practice, and we’re gonna make each other better.”