Memphis Basketball: How good can Tigers be without James Wiseman?

If Memphis Basketball loses star big man James Wiseman at any point due to NCAA eligibility concerns, how does it impact their potential?

Roughly an hour before Memphis Basketball was set to play their second game of the season, a home contest against UIC, news broke that Tigers star big man James Wiseman – the top-ranked freshman in the 2019 recruiting class and projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft – had been ruled ineligible by the NCAA.

The reason? Hardaway helped fund the Wiseman family’s move from Nashville to Memphis in 2017 when Hardaway was the coach at East High School in Memphis (Wiseman went on to play for him at East). The NCAA ruled that Hardaway was a booster – he had also made past gifts to the university long before he got into coaching – and that Wiseman was ineligible.

However, a temporary order was issued by a judge that allowed Wiseman to play in Memphis’ 92-46 win over the Flames. He scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the victory.

It’s clear that Memphis is going to fight to preserve Wiseman’s eligibility, as he was originally cleared by the NCAA in May, which they said in a statement.

It’s also clear the NCAA won’t back down, as they released the following statement during Memphis’ game.

This saga is unlikely to end any time soon, but there’s a legitimate chance that Wiseman may not play a full season for Memphis. That would be a significant blow for a Tigers team that had legitimate Final Four aspirations.

If Wiseman is ruled ineligible, or if he does miss significant time, what would it mean for Memphis from an on-court perspective?

The 7-1, 240-pound center is obviously the primary offensive threat in this team’s attack, but they have other talented freshmen who can step up and take over that role. Point guard Boogie Ellis showed his offensive prowess against UIC, leading the Tigers with 22 points and six three-pointers, all of which came in the first half.

Precious Achiuwa, DJ Jeffries, and Tyler Harris have also scored double-digit points in at least one of Memphis’ first two games, and freshman Lester Quinones is a noted scorer as well.

That said, Memphis would not be able to play their style anywhere near as effective as they have with Wiseman.

The Tigers play at one of the fastest paces in the country as they want to use their athleticism to get out in transition for easy buckets, and they have the kind of depth that will allow them to do that. From there, it’s a drive-and-kick offense designed to get layups or three-pointers, which is another area in which Memphis excels (42.6 percent as a team).

One of the reasons it works so well is because they have Wiseman in the middle, a legitimate force that requires a defense’s full attention, thereby creating more open opportunities for his teammates. He also provides them with a solid amount of rebounding and rim protection, allowing Hardaway to employ smaller, more guard-oriented lineups around him without sacrificing anything down low.

Wiseman is so good that he singlehandedly creates that balance. Without him, that balance is gone – and Memphis suddenly becomes a very small team. The offense would still work, but opponents would be able to put much more pressure on the perimeter without an interior threat, making things more difficult for everyone.

Jeffries would likely slide into the starting lineup without Wiseman, putting Achiuwa, a 6-9 wing, out of position in the middle. The only other forward in the current rotation is Lance Thomas, who would then become the only big man on the bench.

Neither of those three is the kind of interior presence Wiseman is though, so Hardaway would likely try to counteract that by trying to play even faster than before. Double down on the perimeter-oriented lineups in an attempt to run everyone out of the gym. It’d be their best chance to maximize the other talent of the roster.

No matter what Hardaway would do, Memphis needs Wiseman to make that Final Four run fans are dreaming of. He brings that needed balance and keeps the Tigers from being exploited inside, where they’re weak outside of him.

But their season wouldn’t end. The Tigers are talented enough and have such a distinct style of play that they’d still be a likely NCAA Tournament team. Ellis, Achiuwa, and Quinones would play much more featured roles, ones that they’re capable of playing.

It just wouldn’t be the dream season Memphis was looking to have.