Memphis basketball recruiting hot board
F Malcolm Dandridge, 6-9, Memphis
Dandridge had his first in-home visit with a college coach when Hardaway visited last week and officially offered his former player a Memphis scholarship offer.
Dandridge said Ole Miss and Alabama have also been actively recruiting him and he reportedly picked up a scholarship offer from Arkansas this past weekend after a solid showing during college basketball’s first evaluation period.
“I always liked Memphis,” said Dandridge, who added that he's not focused on picking a school or narrowing his choices at this point. “With Penny being the coach, he’s basically been coaching me everything I know, so it’s just a fun experience.”
F D.J. Jeffries, 6-8, Olive Branch
Olive Branch native D.J. Jeffries reiterated Friday night that he is committed to Kentucky, but left the door slightly ajar if Hardaway were to come calling.
“Penny, for all he’s done for me, that’s something I’ll always listen,” Jeffries said. “I’ll enjoy him recruiting me, but I’m all Kentucky right now.”
G Jalen Lecque, 6-4, Teaneck, N.J.
Memphis began recruiting Lecque, one of the top guards in the 2019 class, once Hardaway and assistant coach Mike Miller joined the fold. Lecque had a previous relationship with Miller after going through a workout in Memphis in which the two worked on Lecque’s shooting form.
Lecque said he hasn’t spoken to Hardaway much yet, but the two got to know each other last year when Hardaway was still affiliated with Team Penny. Lecque had an in-home visit with Kentucky coach John Calipari last week. He is also considering reclassifying to the 2018 class once July’s evaluation period is complete.
F Trendon Watford, 6-8, Mountain Brook, Ala.
Watford is another top-10 2019 prospect tied to Miller. His older brother, former Indiana star Christian Watford, played for Miller’s former Memphisbased AAU team, M33M. Miller then visited Trendon Watford last week and offered him a scholarship with the Tigers.
"I have a strong relationship with Mike Miller. They’ve been on me pretty hard these last few weeks,” Watford said on Saturday. “Obviously, they have NBA experience, which is where I want to go. Me and Penny somewhat play alike, so I could just get bits and pieces to pick from his mind.”
Watford also conducted in home visits with Indiana, Vanderbilt, LSU and TCU last week. He noted that Alabama, Kansas and Florida State remain heavily involved as well. Watford called Indiana G Tyler Harris, Memphis — Rivals 4 stars (No. 69); ESPN 4 stars; 247 Sports 3 stars (No. 129 composite, No. 143 247 Sports) G Alex Lomax, Memphis — Rivals 4 stars (129); ESPN 4 stars; 247 Sports 3 stars (No. 145 composite, No. 175 247 Sports) G Antwann Jones, Florida — Rivals 4 stars (115); ESPN 4 stars; 247 Sports 4 stars (No. 92 composite, No. 109 247 Sports) F/C Isaiah Maurice (JUCO), Durham, N.C. — Averaged 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game at South Plains Junior College G Jayden Hardaway, Memphis/South Florida 2018/19 F/C James Wiseman, Memphis — Rivals 5 stars (2); ESPN 5 stars (1); 247 Sports 5 stars (No. 1 compositive, No. 1 247 Sports) 2019 F Trendon Watford, Birmingham, Ala. — Rivals 5 stars (12); ESPN 5 stars (9); 247 Sports 5 stars (No. 9 composite, No. 13 247 Sports) 2019 F Chandler Lawson, Memphis — Rivals 4 stars (73); ESPN 5 stars (26); 247 Sports 4 stars (No. 40 composite, No. 51 247 Sports) 2019 F Malcolm Dandridge, Memphis — Rivals 3 stars (119); ESPN 4 stars; 247 Sports (No. 117 composite, No. 94 247 Sports) 2020 G Jalen Green, Fresno, Calif. — Rivals 5 stars (1); 247 Sports 5 stars (1) 2020 CG Matthew Murrell, Memphis — Rivals 3 stars; 247 Sports 3 stars (125) 2020 F Cameron Mathews, Olive Branch — Rivals 3 stars; 247 Sports 3 stars (132) Chattanooga G/F Nat Dixon (grad) Auburn G Desean Murray (grad) Arkansas F Darious Hall (freshman) 2018 G Keonte Kennedy, Austin, Texas — Rivals 3 stars; ESPN 4 stars; 247 Sports 3 stars (No. 228 composite; No. 232 247 Sports) 2019 G/F D.J. Jeffries, Olive Branch (Kentucky commit) — Rivals 4 stars (53); ESPN 5 stars (17); 247 Sports 4 stars (No. 26 composite; No. 27 247 Sports) 2019 F Matthew Hurt, Rochester, Minn. — Rivals 5 stars (5); ESPN 5 stars (5); 247 Sports 5 stars (No. 4 composite, No. 4 247 Sports) 2019 G Jalen Lecque — Rivals 5 stars (9); ESPN 5 stars (10); 247 Sports 5 stars (No. 12 composite, No. 10 247 Sports) 2019 G Bryan Antoine, New Jersey — Rivals 5 stars (8); ESPN (7); 247 Sports 5 stars (No. 7 composite, No. 8 247 Sports) 2019 F Scottie Lewis, New Jersey — Rivals 5 stars (11); ESPN 5 stars (8); 247 Sports 5 stars (No. 6 composite, No. 9 247 Sports) 2019 G/F Antavion Collum, Memphis — Rivals 4 stars (93); ESPN 3 stars; 247 Sports 4 stars (No. 155 composite, No. 91 247 Sports) 2019 G Jaykwon Walton, Montgomery, Ala. — Rivals 3 stars (125); ESPN 4 stars; 247 Sports 4 stars (No. 127 composite, No. 92 247 Sports) “a second home” because of how often he visited his brother there.
G Keonte Kennedy, 6-4, Austin, Texas
Kennedy announced Saturday that he had requested a release from his national letter of intent at Xavier, and his father confirmed Sunday that Memphis reached out to Kennedy’s high school coach expressing interest.
Kennedy, a 2018 prospect, was recruited by former coach Tubby Smith’s staff and took an official visit to Memphis last September before committing to Xavier. Hardaway said last week he'd like to add a shooter to fill the Tigers' last open scholarship for next season and that is considered one of Kennedy's strength.
"It's attractive," Kez Kennedy said of Memphis. "You got two NBA players that played for a long time over there. That's definitely appealing."
G Bryan Antoine and G Scottie Lewis, 6-5, Tinton Falls, N.J.
These two five-star teammates from New Jersey were supposed to have an in-home visit with Memphis last week. But the founder of their AAU team, Brian Klatsky, said Sunday the meeting got called off when the Memphis staff ran into a scheduling conflict.
The two sides are attempting to reschedule for some time next month.
Offered Potential transfers Pittsburgh G Parker Stewart (freshman) Others of interest 2019 F Javon Franklin, Little Rock, Ark. (JUCO)