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Welcome to this week’s Tigers Basketball Insider. Below you’ll find the latest news and analysis from The Daily Memphian’s Parth Upadhyaya, John Martin and Tim Buckley.
Coach Penny Hardaway’s roster is almost set.
I can’t believe I just typed that sentence.
It’s Tuesday, Sept. 19, and there’s less than seven weeks until Memphis’ Nov. 6 season-opener against Jackson State, yet some pieces are just now coming together for the Tigers. Others are still pending.
But, hey, a year into covering this team, I’ve realized that’s just how things tend to work around here.
St. John’s transfer David Jones finally arrived on campus last week from the Dominican Republic. And, according to a report from CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein days later, Wichita State transfer Jaykwon Walton officially graduated from WSU and will be immediately eligible to suit up.
That’s two players who averaged double-digit points at their previous stops now good to go for the Tigers. They’ll likely either battle it out for a starting spot or both start — depending on what the NCAA rules on DeAndre Williams.
Which now brings us to the questions that Memphis is still waiting to have answered.
DeAndre Williams, a former All-AAC forward, continues to wait for word from the NCAA on his request for reconsideration regarding his eligibility status. Memphis’ athletics compliance office sent the necessary documents to the NCAA in mid-July in an attempt to prove DeAndre Williams was wrongfully stripped of a year of collegiate eligibility in 2018-19, but a decision has yet to be made.
And then, of course, there’s freshman guard Mikey Williams. The 6-foot-3 combo guard had his preliminary hearing postponed for a third time earlier this month after his April 13 arrest for allegedly shooting at an occupied vehicle outside his San Diego-area home on March 27. He faces six felony gun charges.
Hardaway told reporters on Sept. 1 that he was still optimistic that the NCAA would grant DeAndre Williams one more season.
“We’re just waiting,” he said. “We feel like we have a really good case — we presented a really good case for them. And we’ll see what they do.”
Hardaway also said nothing about Mikey Williams’ status with the program had changed when he last spoke to reporters on Sept. 7, two days after the latest snag in the four-star signee’s legal saga. He also added that he believed Mikey Williams’ was enrolled at Memphis. (Mikey Williams is indeed in the university’s online student directory, and he’s still listed on the team’s online roster.)
“We’re just trying to continue to support him,” Hardaway said. “That’s about it. That’s all I can do.”
Whether DeAndre Williams or Mikey Williams are able to play or not, the Tigers are an NCAA Tournament-caliber team. (Of course, if DeAndre Williams is cleared, the conversation shifts from simply making the Big Dance to making a Final Four run.)
But it’s still fascinating to watch all of this play out less than two months from the start of the season.
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University of Memphis athletic director Laird Vearch said this a “moment of truth” for the Tigers. But it’s more than that. It’s a moment of truth for a city that wants to keep its major-league status.
The Tigers and Rebels have a December basketball date in Oxford, but the two schools have not played football since 2019. And nothing is scheduled going forward.
The addition of Jared Harris will give coach Penny Hardaway another developmental player who could stay multiple seasons.
“We’re just trying to continue to support him,” Hardaway said. “That’s about it. That’s all I can do.”
Williams’ preliminary hearing has been postponed for a third time.
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