Underrated: Memphis
How many schools this decade have landed the country’s top recruiting class and not been ranked in the preseason top 10? This Memphis team is the first.
If you want to doubt the Tigers, you’ll likely point to the fact that this roster is basketball all freshmen and underclassmen (nine players on the roster are freshmen and 13 of the 14 players are underclassmen) and that Penny Hardaway is only in his second season as head coach.
However, only looking at those factors is naïve and extremely shortsighted.
For starters, these aren’t normal freshmen. James Wiseman and Precious Achiuwa, likely starters in the frontcourt, are both projected to be lottery picks in the 2020 NBA Draft. They’re one of three teams (Arizona, Washington) that can claim that. Three other players – Boogie Ellis, DJ Jeffries, and Lester Quinones – were top 60 prospects as well. Those five should make up Memphis’ starting lineup, making them one of a select group of teams to have a lineup consisting of only top 60 recruits.
That doesn’t even bring Memphis’ talented returners or other freshmen into the mix. Long story short, this roster is loaded with (albeit young) talent.
As for Hardaway, he proved he could coach last season. He took over a team that had absolutely zero expectations and won 22 games, including nine of the last 13 games on their way to an NIT berth.
Memphis played at the nation’s seventh-fastest tempo last year and that style will only extenuate the amount of superior athleticism and skill that is on this roster.