Summer league should concern Grizzlies

After three games in Utah and three more in Las Vegas, it's time to take another look at the progress of the Summer League Grizzlies.

It's not been an especially good run for the young Grizzlies, who have lost three of their past four summer games.

The two most recent losses were heavy defeats to Orlando and Sacramento. Those games – and the others this summer – have revealed reasons to be concerned about the progress of some of the team's prospects.

Deyonta Davis struggles

While there is still confidence within the organization that Davis eventually can progress into a good player, he's not really showing it on the court. The Grizzlies drafted the 7-footer with the first pick in the second round of the 2016 draft; Davis was projected by many as a lottery pick but plummeted on draft

offseason workouts earlier this month.

Boyce is the eighth player to be added to the Memphis roster since Hardaway took over the program in April. Though Boyce will begin his college career as a walk on, Hardaway emphasized that he expects one of the Memphis area's best dunkers to become a significant contributor in the future.

“I see him doing really well. I think he’s going to be a fantastic college player,” Hardaway said. “He already has the athleticism and the speed. He just has to get the skill set and the ball-handling down. He can shoot it really well, but we’re going to develop him and get him better. He’s going to be a really good college player.”

Uncertain scholarship situation

What Boyce’s immediate role will be remains in flux due to the roster crunch the Tigers find themselves in at the moment.

Memphis currently has 14 scholarship players for the 2018-19 season, one more than the NCAA limit of 13, and Hardaway did not specify how the program plans to address the issue when asked about it during Tuesday’s media availability. He did, however, note that, “there are definitely going to be a couple redshirts. We can’t play everyone.”

Hardaway also expressed hope Louisville transfer Lance Thomas would be granted a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately this season without sitting out.

Hardaway is intrigued by the way 6foot-10 junior college transfer Isaiah Maurice and Thomas, a 6-foot-8 forward, can stretch the floor with their ability to shoot from outside.

The status of junior forward Karim Sameh Azab, who is undergoing medical treatment for leukemia, could provide clarity to the scholarship situation. When asked if Azab might recover in time to play this season, Hardaway admitted, “it’s going to be tough.”

Multiple sources within the Memphis athletic department told The Commercial Appeal last month that the men’s basketball program will likely attempt to secure a medical hardship waiver for Azab that would allow him to remain on scholarship but not count against the team’s 13-scholarship limit this season.

“He’s really battling. He’s definitely in our prayers every day,” Hardaway said. “It’ll be going smoothly and then he’ll catch a snag here or there. But right now, I can’t say about this year. But we just want him to be healthy.”