Inside the leadup to Tigers’ resounding win
Jaykwon Walton walked onto the court inside Fedexforum with 16:54 on the clock Wednesday.
The Memphis basketball senior – the subject of some rather intense scrutiny both inside and outside the Tigers’ locker room due to a perceived lack of effort and energy during the team’s nasty loss at SMU last week – strolled right up to Charlotte’s leading scorer, Lu’cye Patterson, and got right in his cage.
Before even a single second ticked away, referee’s whistles rang out. With a pointed nudge, Walton baited Patterson into reacting. While Walton picked up a technical foul, so did Patterson. When play resumed, Memphis immediately put the ball in Walton’s hands, and a keyed-up Patterson committed his third foul in less than four minutes.
And Penny Hardaway loved it. “Absolutely,” said the Tigers’ coach. “I told him, ‘We’ve just got to be the most physical team from this point on. No matter what.’”
An unconventional spark, to be sure. But it was a spark, nonetheless. And one that Memphis badly needed. One that set the tone for a game the Tigers (19-8, 8-6 AAC) won 76-52 against Charlotte (17-9, 11-3). It was their second-largest margin of victory this season. It was the fewest points they have allowed in a game this season. It catapulted them up 11 spots in Kenpom, from No. 90 to 79th.
It was a resounding response at a time when something less would have likely been met with indifference – or, worse, more vitriol. But, after losing six of their last nine games, Memphis literally answered Hardaway’s call.
The sixth-year coach brought the
team together less than 24 hours after it got obliterated at SMU, 106-79 for the program’s most lopsided loss in four years. He had just one question.
“’Have we let go of the rope?’ said Hardaway. “And they said, ‘No.’ ”
That was all he needed to hear. The Tigers went through a 90-minute practice Monday, which Hardaway has since described as “the hardest practice of the season.” The first half of it was unlike any other. It consisted of nothing but box-out drills and transition defense repetitions. The coaching staff put orange stoppers inside the hoops on both ends of the Laurie-walton Family Basketball Center practice court, ensuring every shot would need to be rebounded.
It worked. Memphis secured 38 rebounds (14 on the offensive end) to Charlotte’s 20, which is the fewest an opponent has totaled since Tulane also tallied 20 on Dec. 29, 2021.
“They took it as a challenge this time,” Hardaway said. “In the past, it was shut down. But we talked about just hitting today. Not just rebounding, but actually hitting with physicality. That’s what it’s going to take for people to stop coming in and rebounding on us.
“This city is about toughness. Fight and scrap, no matter if you win or lose the game. Give effort every single time. Not one effort but multiple efforts.”
While Walton might have been the catalyst, Nae’qwan Tomlin was the embodiment of the kind of energy and effort Hardaway is hoping to see from everyone from now on. Tomlin finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, including four on the offensive end.
Hardaway pulled Tomlin aside prior to the game at SMU, imploring the 6foot-9 forward to up his intensity level.
“He was telling me he needs more from me,” said Tomlin.
Hardaway knows it can’t be for just one game, though. Not from Tomlin or anyone else. He wants Memphis to finish the regular season strong and carry some momentum into the AAC Tournament, which begins March 12 in Fort Worth. Because, if the Tigers do that, Hardaway firmly believes they can get be part of March Madness.
But on one condition.
“You can’t be wishy-washy,” he said. “You can’t do this tonight and then come back (Sunday) against FAU and not fight. You’ve got to consistently do it over and over and over again, and let the chips fall where they may.”