Tigers will try several lineups
Hardaway will use exhibition to gauge best combinations
Less than a week ahead of Memphis basketball's first exhibition game against LeMoyne-Owen, Penny Hardaway is making no promises when it comes to his starting lineup.
In fact, the first-year coach hinted Thursday it may not be until after the Tigers' two preseason exhibition games that he has an idea of what his normal rotation might look like. Until then, fans can expect the coach's lineup combinations over the next two games to be experimental.
"We've been mixing and matching a bunch of different lineups in practice," Hardaway said. "Small lineups, big lineups, all different types of lineups just to see, but I haven't nailed down one lineup yet."
Don't expect anything too unorthodox, however. Hardaway said fans might see the team go "really small" at a few points, and two weeks ago he said he hopes to push the tempo on offense this season and avoid playing too many half-court sets.
Going with a quicker lineup would certainly help accomplish that. But would a "really small" lineup entail five guards on the floor at one time? Hardaway didn't rule that possibility out. "It could be," Hardaway said. "When we go small, we can get the ball up and down the floor," Hardaway added. "Our guards are our strength, and they can push the ball pretty quickly down the floor."
At AAC basketball media day in Philadelphia on Monday, Hardaway also acknowledged he had been experimenting with unconventional lineups in order to prepare his players for size and speed mismatches defensively.
The way senior guard Jeremiah Martin described the practice technique was "stacking the deck" on one
side of the court to give the other more of a challenge.
"We have done that with all our guards," Hardaway said. "We'll put three of the guards on one team, and then we'll have just one guard on the other. Then we'll sort of turn up the pressure on them a little bit and see how they respond to it. I don't believe in having all the best players on one team."
Another player likely to be thrust into a different role in eccentric lineups is senior Kyvon Davenport. At 6-foot-8, Davenport typically plays forward, but in small-ball scenarios he could be tasked with defending the opponent's center.
Davenport said Thursday playing center in smaller lineups is something he is "fine with," and previous coaches have asked him to do the same.
That's music to Hardaway's ears, especially with the eligibility of forward Lance Thomas still in question after his transfer from Louisville this summer. Thomas has applied for immediate eligibility this season, citing the FBI pay-forplay investigation and the firing of former coach Rick Pitino.
Hardaway said Thursday that he was "anxious" to receive word from the NCAA on Thomas' status before the season begins.
Until then, Hardaway will have to work with what's allowed. The good news is, the coach has two exhibition games to come up with a solution.
"Who you see start against LeMoyneOwen might not be the starters for the beginning of the season," Hardaway said. "That's what those two games — to try things out — that's what they are for. You'll see a lot of different lineups out there, and we'll see how it works."