Memphis’ jumbled rotation, expectations before American play
Memphis basketball head coach Penny Hardaway reacts during the game against the Alabama State Hornets at FedExForum on Dec. 22. (Wes Hale/Special to The Daily Memphian)
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’ season and into the offseason, Upadhyaya and Martin will answer the most pressing questions surrounding the Tigers’ upcoming matchups, season-long storylines and more.
1. Memphis has made a midseason addition to its roster in each of the past two seasons: Dante Harris joined the Tigers over Christmas break last year, and Nae’Qwan Tomlin did so in early December 2023.
During a time in college basketball when Baylor is adding former NBA Draft pick James Nnaji and Utah is adding former Spanish pro Lucas Langarita, why are we not talking about Penny Hardaway making such a move to his roster?
Parth Upadhyaya: Well, there are several reasons. But none is more relevant than the fact that Memphis’ roster is already at the new 15-player maximum set last offseason as a result of the June 6 approval of the House v. NCAA settlement.
When the Tigers added Nae’Qwan Tomlin in December 2023, they had both a need in their frontcourt (Remember Jordan Brown’s “sickness”?), and the available roster space to address that need. And before adding Dante Harris in December 2024, Penny Hardaway went into the 2024-25 season with three of his 13 scholarships still available to maintain flexibility for a midseason move.
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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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