Penny Hardaway’s 3 most pressing needs this offseason
Timeline acceleration.
That was top-of-mind for Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway when he was asked about his takeaways from a season that had ended in disappointing fashion just minutes earlier.
“Yeah, it's a lot to take away from it. (But) I guess one thing I could say is to just adjust some things in June and July when we come in,” Hardaway said.
“Get ahead of the game, because this group didn't really start doing some things that we needed back in June and July (2022) until (this) January, February.”
The delay in chemistry development in recent seasons could be, in part, attributed to the Tigers' relatively drawnout approach to roster management. Two years ago, Hardaway waited until September to put the finishing touches on his No. 1 recruiting class. Last offseason, Emmanuel Akot bailed the day before the semester began and Memphis scrambled to land Damaria Franklin on Aug. 29.
Hardaway has plenty of holes to fill again this season, mostly due to a sizeable senior class.
If he is to avoid another lag in the gelling process, he will have to begin addressing the team's needs soon.
Let's examine what the Tigers' specific, most pressing needs are exactly.
And not just any point guard. If the 2022-23 season demonstrated anything, it is just how important an experienced, talented lead guard is to a team's overall success.
Kendric Davis enjoyed one of the most productive individual seasons by any Tiger ever and helped the team win 26 games.
Finding another player to do that might be a tall order.
But landing a high IQ, playmaking veteran who has an all-conference caliber pedigree should be at the top of Memphis' wish list – whether 4-star point guard commit Ty-laur Johnson eventually signs or not.
Post players
If adding a qualified lead guard is No. 1 on the list of priorities, bringing in a big man (or, men) to shore up the Tigers' post presence should be a close second.
Deandre Williams, who was as versatile as any stretch big at Memphis in recent memory, is gone. Kaodirichi Akobundu-ehiogu is gone.
Malcolm Dandridge and Jahmar
Young Jr. may or may not be back for their final season of eligibility.
Outside of Williams, the Tigers struggled to get consistent production from its big men this season. Rebounding was a sore spot, too – Memphis ranked 330th in the country in defensive rebounding.
The coaching staff has been planning for months to resolve that via the transfer portal.
Another shooter
Outside shooting was an issue for the Tigers and that was with Williams hitting 40.3% of his threes and Davis connecting on 34.6% of his triples.
Keonte Kennedy (38.1%) will likely be back if he doesn't find enough interest from pro scouts in the event he decides to test the draft waters.
Jayden Hardaway (33.8%) and Johnathan Lawson (41.3%) are expected back as well.
But another deep threat would give Memphis a real punch it was missing this season.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.