We sleep in May?
Not if you’re Penny Hardaway.
As a matter of fact, he may not sleep in June or early July either.
But if that lack of rest leads to Memphis having a better basketball team next season than the one that had a seven-point lead in the second half against eventual Final Four participant Florida Atlantic before losing by a point in the first round of the NCAA Tournament it will be worth it.
A word to the wise: Don’t rule it out of the realm of possibility.
If the Tigers —- who are reportedly a strong contender for Alabama grad transfer Jahvon Quinerly (8.7 points, 3.6 assists) — can procure a commitment from the former five-star point guard and also win their NCAA appeal that would grant do-everything forward DeAndre Williams (17.7 points, 8.2 rebounds) an additional year of eligibility, they’ll be in position to be a major factor nationally.
How major?
Memphis would be a consensus top 20 team with both Quinerly and Williams.
The recent additions of both Jordan Brown (Louisiana) and David Jones (St. John’s) have stabilized two starting spots for the Tigers with two all-conference caliber players. The 6-11 Brown averaged 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds last season while Jones has been a double-figure scorer in each of the past two seasons in the Big East at St. John’s and DePaul respectively. During that span, the 6-6 Jones has scored 15 or more points on 27 different occasions.
Caleb Mills (13 points) meanwhile, is a forgotten player nationally after transferring to Memphis from Florida State, but still boasts major potential. Remember: The 6-5 Mills was the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year prior to transferring to Florida State from Houston after just four games during the 2020-21 season.
Those three players plus the return of Williams and the potential addition of Quinerly would give Memphis a starting five good enough to compete with just about any team in the sport. It would also give the Tigers a starting five that’s significantly more talented than the team that earned an eight seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and lost to Florida Atlantic.
Memphis needs reinforcements to deal with a vicious non-conference schedule that only a mad scientist could have created.
Before beginning league play the Tigers will travel to Missouri, VCU, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M while also hosting Virginia, Clemson, and Vanderbilt. There’s also three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis, which features North Carolina, Villanova, Arkansas, Michigan, Texas Tech, Stanford, and Northern Iowa.
Yikes!
On The Side
- One thought after seeing the matchups for next season’s inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge? I’m floored that Duke wasn’t matched up with Kentucky. The Blue Devils will instead travel to Arkansas while the Wildcats will host Miami at Rupp Arena.
- UCLA incoming freshman Jan Vide is shining for Slovenia in the FIBA U19 World Cup in Hungary. The 6-6 Vide is currently averaging 18.5 points through his first four games in the event and looks like a potential starter next season in Westwood.
- Big 12 expansion means that the Big East is the only remaining power conference that will play a double round-robin league schedule next season.
- Georgetown and Notre Dame will start a home-and-home series next season in South Bend, multiple sources told College Hoops Today. There will be a return game in Washington D.C. during the 2024-25 season.
- West Virginia interim head coach Josh Eilert will be next week’s guest on the College Hoops Today Podcast.
Leftovers
- Florida, Minnesota, Wake Forest to headline early season tournament in Orlando, fourth team is TBD
- Weekend Brunch: Why the SEC’s depth may be unprecedented in 2024-25
- Arizona State, Grand Canyon to meet next season at Footprint Center
- St. John’s, New Mexico to meet on Nov. 17th at MSG
- Episode 446 — Kentucky’s Mark Pope