This past March, the sudden cancellation of the NCAA tournament and postseason altogether was the first domino to fall in what has been an endless string of Covid19-related postponements and outright cancellations. With college basketball set to make its triumphant return in the coming weeks, as different as it may look and feel, the Memphis Tigers are just eager to be back on the floor.
A year ago, the hype machine surrounding the number one overall recruiting class understandably brought expectations that, in hindsight, were probably unreasonable for a second-year head coach with the youngest roster in the country. Still, 2019-2020 was not without its positives. The Tigers scored the program’s biggest win in years on the road at Tennessee last December, finished with a 15-3 record at home and even posted the second-highest team defensive efficiency rating in the country behind only Virginia.
For Penny Hardaway, year three will be less about remaking the roster and geared more towards player development. For Memphis to take the next step and truly contend in the American Athletic Conference, it will be pivotal that the returning players step up.
“It’s refreshing to have the freshmen [now sophomores] understand their roles and their jobs now,” Hardaway said. “I think they put a lot of pressure on themselves, so I am really happy to see that group of Damion Baugh, D.J., Lester and those guys basically just kind of come together and understand what they need to do. I’m happy to see them back out there.”
For players like Alex Lomax, D.J. Jeffries and Boogie Ellis, whether they can take a step forward or not this upcoming season will be a huge factor in how successful this team can be. While growing pains are a given, they will be counted on as marquee players. There is no James Wiseman, Precious Achiuwa or even Jeremian Martin around anymore to funnel the ball to when games get chippy. It is time they prove they are capable of carrying the load too.
“We had a lot of freshmen last year that have a season under their belt,” junior point guard Alex Lomax said. “They know what to expect. They know there is not going to be anything given to them, they’ve got to work for everything and just come in with a chip on their shoulder. The game is kind of slowing down for all of us at the same time, so that’s just a plus for everybody.”
In his first two years as coach, Hardaway was forced lean heavily on freshman players to round out his rotation. However, with transfer players Landers Nolley II and Deandre Williams each boasting significant college experience already, Hardaway and his staff will benefit from being able to worry less about teaching certain concepts that younger players may not be as familiar with and instead find ways to immediately utilize their strengths. Expect both Nolley and Williams to serve as vocal leaders for this team.
“We got a lot older,” Jeffries said. “We’re not freshmen like we were last year. We know what to expect this year coming in and now we’ve got older guys that have been there and done that. We’re not young anymore. We just have one freshman, Moussa, so we just have to lift him up and teach him the ins-and-outs of college.”
Memphis will tip off its season next Wednesday afternoon against St. Mary’s (CA) from the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Tip against the Gaels is set for 3:30pm.
