NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Pros and cons of each landing spot for Trendon Watford
Memphis Tigers
Pros
Memphis looks poised to make a big run next season, locked and loaded with top recruit James Wiseman, and a good supporting cast.
The Tiger’s incoming class is one of the best in the country and includes three four-star recruits.
Adding Watford would make Memphis a perennial top-15 team in the country, with five total four+ star recruits. Watford and Wiseman would make one of the best one-two combos in the country and would make Memphis a legit National Championship contender.
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Memphis is close to Watford’s home state of Alabama and would allow Watford to both stay home and play meaningful basketball throughout the duration of his college career.
Cons
While Memphis looks good heading into next season, they are far from a sure thing. Penny Hardaway’s group put together a good season last year, but were underachievers for the most part, and could not make a run in a top-heavy American Conference.
Additionally, Hardaway is entering his second season as a college coach, and there is no telling if he is a good NBA draft prospect developer or not. Wiseman’s case is a little different, but for a non-top 10 recruit like Watford, the development in his freshman year is very key. Hardaway might not be the guy to engineer that development.
Memphis is a great fit for Watford if he were to be one-and-done, as he and Wiseman would be a great duo for all of one season, but the Tigers aren’t quite at the point of sustained success, and that alone should make Watford think twice about his decision.