East’s Lomax helps restore Memphis tradition
Maybe things don’t have to change. Maybe basketball players who grow up in Memphis can still decide to play for the University of Memphis.
Maybe the foundation of the basketball program in the glorious past can be the foundation of the basketball program in a glorious future, too.
It certainly seems possible, after reading the tweet from East High point guard Alex Lomax, who committed to play for Memphis on Wednesday morning.
“After many prayers and thoughts I’m excited to announce my commitment to the University of Memphis,” he wrote. “A special thank you to coach (Anfernee) “Penny” Hardaway and staff for giving me the opportunity to be part of a great tradition.”
That tradition includes Larry Finch and Hardaway himself. It includes Elliot Perry and Lorenzen Wright. It includes William Bedford and Joe Jackson and Antonio Burks and Andre Turner and Ronnie Robinson and Vincent Askew and many of you know the list better than I do. Now that list includes Lomax. So maybe kids who grow up in this city can still want to play for the city’s team.
You wouldn’t have known it from the last few years, of course, when Tubby Smith not only didn’t successfully recruit a Memphis player, but he also chased off most of the Memphis players who were on the roster when he arrived.
I don’t write that to pile on Smith. I write it to debunk the myth — a myth that Smith believed in — that Memphis high school players are suddenly in a rush to get out of town.
“Things change,” Smith said. “The inner-city schools, like a Memphis, it’s a challenge in this day and time.
“Competing in the world today for Memphis is a big difference than what it was 10 years ago.” Or not, if the right coach is in place. It took Hardaway a couple of weeks to get something done that Smith couldn’t get done in three recruiting seasons.
Granted, Hardaway has a special connection to Lomax, having coached him — and helped raise him — since Lomax was at Lester Middle School. But while Lomax is the first significant Memphis player to commit to the program under Hardaway, he certainly won’t be the last.
That’s a very good thing, by the way. Despite what you’ll occasionally hear. There are those who say a college program can’t win with Memphis players. Those people are — how to put this delicately? — dumb.
Florida won with a Memphis player (Chris Chiozza) at point guard this year. Gonzaga won with a Memphis player (Johnathan Williams) at forward. Kansas won with a Memphis player (Lagerald Vick) at shooting guard. MTSU won with a Memphis player (Nick King) as Conference USA Player of the Year.
That doesn’t include Leron Black (a Memphis player who was the leading scorer at Illinois) or Jaylen Fisher (a Memphis player who was starting at point guard for TCU when he tore his meniscus) or William Douglas (a Memphis player who averaged nearly 15 minutes a game as a freshman for SMU) or Adarius Avery (a Memphis player who made it to the Final Four with Loyola Chicago.
And it doesn't include Dedric and K.J. Lawson, two Memphis players who sat out this year after transferring but are expected to be key contributors at Kansas next year.
So it’s absurd to say a college program can’t win with Memphis players. It’s self-loathing and wrong. The truth is, except for John Calipari, every successful Memphis coach has been successful precisely because of Memphis players who decided to stick around.
The 1972-73 Memphis Tigers were led to the Final Four by Finch and Robinson. The 1984-85 Memphis Tigers went to the Final Four with an all-Memphis starting five. Seven of the nine leading scorers on Hardaway’s 1991-92 Elite Eight team were from Memphis. It’s how the program was built.
That’s why Lomax’s decision to commit to Memphis was important. Because it reopened the only real pathway the program has to consistent success. Lomax correctly called it “a great tradition.” His decision is the latest evidence that tradition will be restored.