What Hardaway said about Jones, transfers
What Penny Hardaway said about incoming transfers
It’s all coming together for Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway.
Making his first public appearance of the offseason Thursday at Rotolo’s Craft & Crust in Collierville — the first of three “Tigers on Tour” fan events — Hardaway announced the program had formally signed all six of the transfers who had given him a verbal commitment.
Guards Tyrese Hunter, PJ Haggerty, Colby Rogers and Baraka Okojie, as well as big men Dain Dainja and Tyreek Smith, are set to join returning forward Nicholas Jourdain on the 2024-25 roster.
Hardaway still has five open scholarships, and he is “looking to sign a couple more,” he told emcee and the program’s radio play-by-play man Dave Woloshin.
Of course, there’s still ALL-AAC firstteam selection David Jones’ looming decision. The honorable mention Allamerican and the team’s leading scorer and rebounder last season is testing the NBA draft waters and will participate in the NBA combine, which is being held May 12-19 in Chicago.
Hardaway has long been optimistic that Jones will return to the Tigers for one more season, and his viewpoint hasn’t changed.
“I mean, I don’t want to jinx (Jones) with anything he’s doing with the NBA,” Hardaway said. “But I’m sticking with 70-30 (odds in favor of Jones returning). Honestly, I think he understands what it’s all about. He did not go in the (transfer) portal, because he loves this city. He fell in love with this city and fell in love with the team.
“I definitely will be looking forward to him coming back.”
Hardaway spoke briefly about each of the players he has added. He said Dainja (6-foot-10, 260 pounds) gives Memphis a “very skilled inside presence.” He called Rogers, who shot 40.9% beyond the arc with Wichita State last season, “arguably one of the best 3point shooters in the country, especially off the dribble.”
He compared Smith (6-8, 225), who transferred from SMU, to former Tigers great Joey Dorsey and said he fills the need for “that enforcer inside.”
But perhaps the two biggest gets of the offseason have been Hunter and Haggerty.
“When PJ went into the portal, he was the main guy we wanted,” Hardaway said. “He understands how to play the game, knows how to get his teammates involved and knows how to live at the free-throw line. Those are all great things.”
Hardaway added Hunter “wanted to play with PJ and Colby” and brings a winning mentality to the program. In three seasons with Iowa State and Texas, Hunter’s teams are 6-3 in nine NCAA tournament games.
Hardaway also expects Jourdain’s role to evolve some. The former Temple standout mainly occupied post positions on offense last season, averaging 6.5 points per game. But Hardaway said
Jourdain — who shot 40.5% from the 3point line on just 42 attempts — will help stretch things out this time around.
“He’s stretching it out to the 3-point line (more) and doing a phenomenal job working really hard this summer,” Hardaway said.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.