Memphis poses latest challenge in early gauntlet
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M coach Buzz Williams isn’t tight with Penny Hardaway, but Williams does feel a connection with the Memphis coach from back when Williams was on a shoestring budget as a young assistant in college basketball, save for at least one worthy expense.
“I don’t know Coach,” Williams said, “but I used to buy his shoes.”
The No. 21 Aggies (7-2) host Hardaway and Memphis (6-2) at 3 p.m. Sunday. A&M transfer guard Jace Carter is too young to remember Hardaway, 52, as a four-time NBA All-Star in the mid- to late-1990s. But Carter said his father Chris was a huge fan of the guard who rose to prominence with the Orlando Magic.
“My dad loved Penny Hardaway,” Carter said of the rangy shooter who also had an impressive Nike shoe line. “When he got the job (at Memphis) … and when I started getting recruited, it was coach ( Johnny) Dawkins at (Central Florida) and Penny Hardaway were the people he liked, and my dad would say, ‘Did they call yet?’ ”
Alas, a call from Hardaway never came, one more reason Carter would love to have a good game against the Tigers. Carter was still playing for Illinois-Chicago a year ago when Memphis defeated A&M 83-79 at FedEx Forum, and the Tigers hold a 6-4 advantage in the series.
“This is huge,” Williams said of one of A&M’s handful of marquee nonconference contests this season as the Aggies try to make a second consecutive NCAA Tournament. “We’re playing an NBA (former star) who cares enough about kids that he wants to coach, and he’s only going to coach guys who have a chance to play in the NBA — that’s who is on his team.”
The Aggies, who are coming off an 89-64 home victory over DePaul, might not have any future NBA stars, but they are a veteran squad seemingly built for a deep run in the NCAA postseason.
A&M has played a rugged nonconference schedule
that includes wins over Ohio State, SMU, Penn State and Iowa State and losses away from Reed Arena to No. 11 Florida Atlantic and Virginia.
The Aggies are down two of their top players, however, with four more nonconference games before SEC play starts on Jan. 6 against LSU at Reed Arena.
Senior forward Julius Marble has not been with the team all season as he goes through what Williams has described as a “university process” to determine whether he can eventually rejoin the program.
Senior guard Tyrece Radford has missed the last three games with an undisclosed illness. Williams said before the season that he will not discuss injuries or illnesses this year. Williams was asked how he can replace Radford in the lineup if the versatile guard is out for an extended period.
“I don’t think we can replace him,” Williams said. “(But) we’ve played without multiple guys every game this season. That’s just part of it. So (there’s) accountability of every possession of every (player), because you just don’t know.”
While the Memphis game is big, and is only A&M’s fourth home game to date, the next one on the schedule is even bigger: against No. 3 UH at Toyota Center at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The Aggies are coming off one of their most impressive showings of the season, having scored 62 points in the first half against DePaul on Wednesday — second most in a first half in program history — and made 14 of their 31 3-pointers overall.
“No shot was a bad shot the other night,” A&M forward Solomon Washington said. “Coach Buzz tells us the shots are going to fall and to trust your work.”