Martin: Penny gets his due, more Memphis sports predictions for 2025
Left to right, Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies, Memphis center Moussa Cisse, Tigers coach Penny Hardaway. (The Daily Memphian files)
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.
Welcome to the end of 2024.
As it relates to the Memphis sports scene, this was a tough year.
The end of the 2023-24 Memphis Tigers basketball season was as calamitous as you’ll see in college basketball. Then Penny Hardaway slashed and burned his whole staff. The Memphis Grizzlies wandered through the wilderness for the entire season, thanks to Ja Morant’s suspension and a revolving door of injuries.
As we finally turn the page on the year, the 2024-25 season is off to a much more promising start.
And, seeing as it’s the final day of the year, it’s time for the annual tradition that nobody asked for but will get anyway: my Memphis sports predictions for 2025!
Before we get to this year’s edition, let’s quickly review how my prognostications fared last year.
Memphis will break through to the second weekend. Ouch. (In fairness, at publishing time, the Tigers were a projected 4 seed by Joe Lunardi.)
Memphis football wins the AAC — and it’s still not good enough for some. Can we say that’s half-correct? Memphis didn’t win the American Athletic Conference football title game but did win 11 games, and parts of the fan base aren’t happy.
The wheels of realignment spin again — and it’s Memphis’ last best chance. Again, half-true, at the absolute least. Memphis declined a Pac-12 invitation, citing financial concerns. Will it prove to be their last chance to join a better league? There’s some chance of that.
So, moving forward to 2025.
Could this be the best Memphis sports year ever?
Topics
Memphis Tigers Basketball Subscriber Only Memphis Grizzlies Penny Hardaway Ja MorantThank you for supporting local journalism.
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