The Memphis Tigers did just enough to defeat San Francisco 76-70 Saturday afternoon at FedExForum in their season opener. It wasn't pretty, but after two blowout defeats in preseason exhibitions, head coach Penny Hardaway's team passed its first test.
The Tigers did some things really well, but they still have clear vulnerabilities. Here are some takeaways from game one of the campaign:
Hustle from the bench guards
Julius Thedford's impact was incredible in the first half against San Francisco. The Memphis native came off the bench and grabbed 8 rebounds in his 11 first half minutes. He also had 3 assists, a block and a steal in the opening 20 minutes. He played limited minutes in the second half, but he was on the court to help close out the victory.
"He's just tough, relentless, and doesn't need the ball to be effective," Hardaway said of Thedford's performance.
Fellow reserve wing Quante Berry also provided some crucial minutes for the Tigers. Berry, a Temple transfer, helped stop the bleeding in the second half after Memphis' 23 point lead was whittled down to 6. He hit a three and then tapped in an offensive rebound to stabilize his team.
The Dons made another push, cutting the lead down to four, but Berry drilled a three again to give the Tigers some breathing room. Berry led Memphis with 17 points, shooting 6-8 from the field.
Majok's energy boost
The most surprising storyline of the contest was freshman big man Simon Majok's effectiveness. Majok came into the game deep into the first half, but, once he entered, he did not leave until the end of the half. In that seven minute stretch, he put up 5 points, 2 rebounds and a block.
“Simon is a worker," Hardaway said. "If he’s not number one, he's number two coming to the gym.”
Foul Happy Bigs
In what has become a somewhat troubling trend if you include the exhibition contests for Memphis, the Tigers' big men struggled to defend without fouling. Most notably, Ohio State transfer Aaron Bradshaw fouled out in only 8 minutes on the court.
Reserve big Tariq Ingraham picked up two fouls in less than a minute on the court, while Thierno Sylla finished the game with 3 fouls.
Trouble with Zone
After Memphis' second exhibition game, coach Hardaway told the media that his team had not practiced zone offense yet.
That was evident in the second half, when, after Memphis opened up their 23-point lead, the Dons switched to a 1-3-1 trapping zone. The Tigers were not nearly as bad as they were against Auburn, but the offense still stalled against the zone, giving San Francisco a way back into the game.
A Look Ahead to What's Next
The Tigers next challenge will come Tuesday in Oxford, where Memphis will play Chris Beard's Ole Miss Rebels in the first road game for Hardaway and company in an SEC environment.
The Rebels are 2-0 on the young season with comfortable victories over Louisiana Monroe and Southeastern Louisiana.
Ole Miss is led by a trio of seniors in 1000 point scorer Malik Dia, Kansas transfer AJ Storr and former French professional Ilias Kamardine.
Storr and Dia have been around college basketball for years. Storr is a volume scorer, while Dia provides versatility down low. Kamardine, however, is a relative unknown, as the Tigers' matchup with the Rebels will be his third game in the United States.
“He’s obviously a best-player type guy with his talent, but he has that humility too,” Beard said of Kamardine after the Rebels' victory over ULM.
In his two games of college basketball, the 6'5 Kamardine is averaging 14 points and 5.5 assists as the catalyst for Ole Miss' offense.
“I feel better and better every day. We have three days to work before Memphis," Kamardine said after the ULM game. "If we want to compete with Memphis, we have to play a little bit better than that.”
Memphis will look to improve to 2-0 on the season Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. The game will be streamed on the SEC Network.
I'm a senior journalism major with a sports media concentration. I have been at the Daily Helmsman for three years now, including two years as the sports editor.
