Tigers Talk: Should Memphis mull adding Arterio Morris to ’24-’25 roster?
University of Memphis coach Penny Hardaway tries to slow his team down during a March 3 game. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)
Welcome to this edition of Tigers Talk with The Daily Memphian’s Tigers basketball beat writer Parth Upadhyaya and college sports columnist John Martin.
Periodically throughout Memphis’ offseason and into the season, Upadhyaya and Martin will answer the most pressing questions surrounding the Tigers’ upcoming matchups, season-long storylines and more.
1. Should Memphis consider adding Arterio Morris to its 2024-25 roster? Would you approve of the move if you were university president Bill Hardgrave or athletic director Ed Scott?
Parth Upadhyaya: There’s absolutely no need for Penny Hardaway and Memphis to make this move. The team — the players said themselves — has made significant progress on on- and off-the-court chemistry, understanding roles and more. And it’s important to note advanced analytics and some analysts expect the group to be plenty formidable as currently constructed.
Arterio Morris’ rape case may have been dismissed, but there’s a reason Kansas didn’t wait to see how things played out before kicking Morris off the team. Teams also aren’t exactly lining up for his services, either. Does Memphis want to be one of the only non-low-major programs in the country willing to take Morris? Sure, the guy was a five-star and a McDonald’s All-American out of high school in 2022, but he averaged just 4.6 points and 0.5 assists as a freshman at Texas in 2022-23. There’s way too much uncertainty about how much he’ll actually move the needle for the Tigers to justify the risk Hardaway, Hardgrave or Scott would be taking.
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Memphis Tigers Memphis Tigers Basketball Penny Hardaway 2024-25 college basketball season Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
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Parth Upadhyaya
Parth Upadhyaya covers the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team. A Raleigh, N.C., native and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Media and Journalism, Upadhyaya is a longtime college hoops junkie. Prior to joining The Daily Memphian in 2022, he covered high school sports in western Pennsylvania for the Beaver County Times and Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times.
John Martin
John Martin is a contributing college sports columnist for The Daily Memphian. Martin is a lifelong Memphian who’s covered the Memphis Tigers’ basketball program for more than a decade. Before joining The Daily Memphian team, he was the Memphis beat writer for The Athletic. Currently, he is the co-host of the Jason and John Show on 92.9 FM ESPN, weekdays at 11 a.m. Martin is a graduate of White Station High School and the University of Memphis.
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