What a wacky past week it was for Memphis sports, especially over the weekend. And The Daily Memphian sports staff was there to chronicle it all.

Memphis Grizzlies beat Drew Hill was in the air traveling from Denver to Los Angeles between games against the Clippers as word of star guard Ja Morant’s late night — early Saturday morning, actually — of partying at a Colorado nightclub spread like wildfire via social media, replete with a shirtless dancing display and the flash of a weapon.

Morant’s representation issued a statement of apology in which he said he was “going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.

Columnist Geoff Calkins weighed in, and so did columnist Chris Harrington — two among many throughout the country lending commentary to the latest Morant news. The NBA said it would investigate to see if any league rules had been violated, and authorities from a suburban Denver police department said it would do the same to see if any Colorado laws had allegedly been broken.

Let’s just hope the kid — Morant is only 23 years old — gets better before the pressure that comes with living up to multi-millionaire superstar status gets the better of him.

Meanwhile, sold-out FedExForum rocked Sunday, and both Calkins and Tigers beat writer Parth Upadhyaya were there to witness the show.

It was Senior Day. Memphis State’s 1973 national runner-up Tigers were recognized at halftime, one day after a team reunion. Memories were shared, some as told in Tim Buckley stories on both late head coach Gene Bartow and 88-year-old, still-kicking assistant coach Lee Hunt. No. 1 Houston was in town, the atmosphere really was electric, and CBS was there to televise it all to a basketball-loving national audience.

The Tigers ultimately went down, losing by two only after a Cougars jumper beat the buzzer. But Memphis headed to this week’s American Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 2 seed and with confidence that it will soon be headed to its second straight NCAA Tournament, which leaves plenty to look forward to deep into March.

It’s Madness.

Oh, and Briarcrest’s boys and girls basketball teams both came up shy of winning state championships, one with the title-game loss, the other a semifinal-round loss in Cookeville. But preps writer John Varlas is back at it again, this time traveling to Murfreesboro tasked with keeping track of a long list of Memphis public school programs with state-title hopes of their own over the next couple weeks, starting with the Bartlett High girls.

Here’s a look back at the week that was. — Deputy sports editor Tim Buckley

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Report: Colorado police investigating Ja Morant video By Drew Hill

Herrington: Thoughts on Ja Morant’s absence, and Brandon Clarke’s By Chris Herrington

Memphis falls to No. 1 Houston at buzzer in heart-breaking finish By Parth Upadhyaya

Alex Lomax cherishes final stretch as a Tiger: 'It means the world' By Parth Upadhyaya

Kendric Davis receives Sporting News All-America nod By Parth Upadhyaya

His best friend is gone. His father is missing. But Kendric Davis has found 'joy' in Memphis. By Parth Upadhyaya

Memphis women on a roll going into AAC Tournament By Frank Bonner II

Final Four Memories: Gene Bartow 'loved being the head coach' By Tim Buckley

Brentwood Academy downs Briarcrest in state title game By John Varlas

Ensworth ousts Briarcrest girls in Division 2-AA state semifinals By John Varlas

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