Though Memphis went into Wednesday night with two players sidelined with injuries, it was how much — or how little — a couple of the team’s seemingly healthy players played that stood out the most.

Forward Aaron Bradshaw never entered Memphis’ 86-70 win over New Orleans, while center Thierno Sylla only played two second-half minutes. 

This, too, despite the Tigers (3-4) already missing forward Ashton Hardaway (who was out with a sprained left knee) and guard Curtis Givens (thigh bruise) — and despite guard Julius Thedford exiting the game late in the first half with a right-knee injury.

Memphis cruises to double-digit win over New Orleans

Coach Penny Hardaway — who has spoken several times publicly through the first few weeks of this season about a lack of effort and energy from some of his players — at first kept his explanation short when asked during his postgame news conference about the usage of Bradshaw and Sylla. He said it was simply a “coach’s decision.” 

But when asked minutes later if what he deems to be a lack of want-to from Bradshaw and Sylla was the reason either barely played, he elaborated.

“I think that it’s a multitude of things,” Hardaway explained. “But, yeah, if guys aren’t on the floor, that means that they’re not giving everything. If they’re not starting, they’re not giving everything. We’re giving the guys the chance to get on the floor to put a product (out there) that the team, the university and the city would be proud of — just playing as hard as they can play and having some grit and toughness. Those are the guys that we’re going with.”

“And we’re asking everyone else, when (they get their) opportunity, to do the same.”

Bradshaw’s struggles, in particular, to this point in the season have been concerning. 

Box score: Memphis 86, New Orleans 70

The 7-foot-1 Ohio State transfer big man was a consensus five-star, top-five recruit in the 2023 class and a McDonald’s All-American. He was projected to be a one-and-done NBA Draft lottery pick when he committed to play his freshman season at Kentucky.

But Bradshaw — after an underwhelming campaign with the Wildcats in 2023-24 and another with the Buckeyes last season — has averaged just 6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 12 minutes per game through the six games he played for Memphis. The Rahway, New Jersey, native fouled out of three of those games and has twice as many fouls (23) as he does rebounds (10).

While Sylla wasn’t expected to be as critical of a piece as Bradshaw was for the Tigers coming into this season, his limited minutes Wednesday raised eyebrows, too — especially after he’d previously started all four games in which he’d played.

Sylla didn’t enter the game against New Orleans at all before halftime. And when he checked in at the nine-minute mark of the second half, he was subbed right back out with 7:09 remaining. 

The 6-11 Stephen F. Austin transfer center — who did not travel with Memphis last month to the Bahamas for the Baha Mar Hoops Championship for reasons publicly unknown — had averaged 3.3 points and three rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game through four games before Wednesday.

A look at Memphis in NCAA’s first NET rankings of season

“I think what’s happening is some guys just think they’re going harder than they are,” Hardaway said. “But there’s a standard here at Memphis for us and a level that we want to play at. So we’ve been showing more film and showing guys where they’re lacking and when they’re doing well. We show them both sides of it: ‘This is when you’re doing really well. (But) this is when you look like you’re bored, like you’re in hybrid mode or you’re shutting down — and we can’t do that.’ We’re trying to get a consistent group of young men to understand that it’s all out, every single possession. And then when you need a rest, just raise your hand and come out of the game.” 

“That’s the bar we’ve given them. Whether that’s realistic or not, that’s what we’re pushing for to get out of this hole. Because we’ve dug ourselves a hole.”

The Tigers play Baylor on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS) at FedExForum in what is the first of three consecutive games against opponents ranked in the top 30 of KenPom and top 70 of the NCAA’s NET rankings.