Tigers secure commitment from Texas transfer Tyrese Hunter
Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway continued his backcourt makeover Monday, scoring commitments from transfer guards Tyrese Hunter and Baraka Okojie.
Hunter comes to the Tigers from Texas, where the 6-foot guard and Wisconsin native spent the past two seasons. Before that, he spent one season at Iowa State, making this the last season of eligibility for Hunter.
A few hours later, George Mason transfer Okojie announced he would soon be heading to Memphis, too.
The 6-foot-3 Okojie played 21 games (nine starts) for the Patriots as a freshman. Okojie scored 8.1 points per game, while averaging 2.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Okojie, who will be 19 in June and is from Ontario, Canada, has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Hunter and Okojie join the following group as newcomers to pledge to Hardaway this offseason: guards PJ Haggerty and Colby Rogers, and big man Dain Dainja.
Memphis will also welcome incoming freshman guard Jared Harris.
Hardaway is working to rebuild a roster depleted by expired eligibility, players entering the transfer portal and leading scorer David Jones declaring for the NBA Draft. Forward Nicholas Jourdain and walk-on guards Joe Cooper and Noah Stansbury could return. Jones could also be back since he elected not to sign with an agent, therefore maintaining his collegiate eligibility.
Tyrese Hunter
Hunter began his official visit to Memphis on April 19.
Hunter is no stranger to Memphis or Hardaway. In 2021, he scored 20 points at the Iverson Classic (held at Bartlett High School) and was honored as his team's MVP. Later that year, he scored nine points with five assists, three steals and three rebounds in Iowa State's win over the Tigers at the NIT Season Tip-off event at the Barclays
Center in Brooklyn.
A hard-nosed competitor and dogged defender, Hunter adds an array of elements Hardaway didn't have enough of on last season's roster, which finished 22-10 and missed the NCAA tournament. Hunter was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year at Iowa State after averaging 11.0 points, 4.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.
In his two seasons at Texas, Hunter scored 10.7 points per game to go along with 3.3 assists and 2.9 rebounds a game. He also had 75 steals in 71 career games.
Last season, he finished with careerbests in field goal percentage (45.2%) and 3-point percentage (37.2%).
Hunter is also a proven winner. The Cyclones reached the Sweet 16 in his only season with them, while the Longhorns got to the Elite Eight in 2023 and made it to the Round of 32 in 2024. In nine career March Madness games, Hunter has a 44.5% field goal percentage and 15 steals.
Hardaway, determined to improve the Tigers' defense after struggling on that end of the court in 2023-24, has also brought in a potential defensive stalwart in Okojie. He averaged 1.9 steals per game at George Mason, while 50 of his 61 rebounds were of the defensive variety.
Okojie also showed an elite ability to get to the free throw line last season. He finished fifth in the nation in free throw rate (82.9%) and drew an average of five fouls per game. Haggerty, as a freshman at Tulsa, drew 7.9 fouls per game.
While not much of a 3-point threat (5-of-21 there last season), Okojie shot 53.4% inside the arc and hit on 73.3% of his free throw attempts.
Okojie came on strong at the end of the season, when he assumed primary starting responsibilities. He started the last eight games of the season, including wins over both Dayton and Richmond. During that span, Okojie averaged 10.8 points per game (on 47.5% shooting from the field) and 4.0 assists a game.
The regular signing period is open 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 202425 season is May 1, but players do not have to commit or sign by that date.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.