5 things to know about new Memphis guard Rogers
Colby Rogers, one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the country last season, will transfer to play for Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway in 2024-25.
Rogers (6-foot-4, 190 pounds), who spent the past two seasons at Wichita State (where he scored 16.4 points per game in 2023-24), announced his commitment to the Tigers after taking an official visit to Memphis on Sunday. The native of Covington, Georgia, who finished his prep career at Roselle Catholic (New Jersey), chose Memphis over offers from Alabama, Kansas and Michigan.
He is the third transfer Hardaway has landed this offseason, joining point guard PJ Haggerty and big man Dain Dainja. The Tigers also signed four-star guard Jared Harris (Silsbee High School, Texas) in November 2023.
Haggerty had a hand in Memphis landing Rogers.
“He actually reached out to me and said he wanted to play with me,” Rogers told The Commercial Appeal Sunday. “Which is a great feeling. Another great player who wants to play with, that made things easier.”
Hardaway is working to rebuild the majority of his roster. Only forward Nicholas Jourdain and walk-on guards Joe Cooper and Noah Stansbury are presently expected to return. Leading scorer David Jones has another season of eligibility, but it is unclear whether he will forgo it in favor of turning pro.
The regular signing period opens April 17 and runs through May 15 but players are still eligible to sign after that. There are more than 1,000 names still in the transfer portal, with more being added every day. The last day a player can enter the portal and still be eligible for the 2024-25 season is May 1, but players do not have to commit or sign by that date.
Here are five things to know about Rogers:
Colby Rogers has rare 3-point credentials
After sitting out the 2022-23 season at Wichita State to satisfy NCAA transfer rules, Rogers broke a Shockers record with 99 made 3-pointers last season. That ranked 17th among all Division I players, and his 40.9% 3-point percentage was the 25th-best rate in the nation.
Adding a marksman of Rogers’ caliber is significant for Hardaway. The Tigers have not had a player with more than 100 3-point attempts who made 40% or more of them since Lester Quinones did it in 2020-21. And only once in Memphis basketball history has a player made more than 90 3-pointers (Rodney Carney, 102, in 2005-06).
Rogers’ best work from deep came late in the season. In the team’s final six games, he connected on 51.8% (28 of 54) of his 3-point attempts.
A look back at Colby Rogers’ college career
Rogers’ collegiate career began at Cal Poly in 2019. He played two seasons there and was its second-leading scorer both seasons. In 49 games (25 starts), he averaged 10.0 points.
He transferred to Siena for the 202122 season, where he averaged 14.1 points per game and made second-team ALLMAAC.
What else Colby Rogers can do
As skilled as Rogers is beyond the arc, he is far from one-dimensional.
A workhorse (averaging 31.8 minutes per game or more each of the past three seasons, including 35.0 per game at Wichita State), he shot 39% inside the arc and hit on 82.8% of his free-throw attempts. He scored 16.4 points per game (ninth in the AAC) for the Shockers — 8.7 from long range and 7.7 elsewhere. He scored in double figures in 28 of 34 games and had 20 or more points 10 times. Rogers also averaged 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists at Wichita State, and had 35 steals in 34 games.
“I can shoot the ball, obviously, and space the floor,” he said. “(But) I can also contribute, in terms of playmaking and leadership. Being able to galvanize the team and be the guy that guys can lean on. I’m driven. I know what I want, but I’m also willing to sacrifice those things to win.”
How Colby Rogers fared against top competition
North Texas, Charlotte and SMU represented the top three scoring defenses in the AAC last season. Wichita State faced each team once, and Rogers averaged 13 points a game versus the Mean Green, 49ers and Mustangs.
South Florida, FAU and Charlotte finished first, second and third in the AAC standings. In four games against those teams, Rogers put up 14.8 points per game.
But Rogers struggled beyond the arc against the best 3-point defenses in the conference (South Florida, Charlotte and SMU). He was just 3-for-15 (20%) in three games against those teams.
How many seasons of eligibility Colby Rogers has left
Having already completed four seasons at the Division I level, 2024-25 will be Rogers’ final season of eligibility.
“I’m very strategic,” he said. “This is my career. I have one more year left, and I just wanted to make sure I kept the main thing the main thing and not get caught up with things that don’t really matter.”
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.