After what looked to be a promising 2020 season for Memphis Basketball, it was filled with disappointment and NCAA recruiting scandals.
Memphis Basketball entered the 2019-2020 season with a ton of hype. Coach Penny Hardaway brought in the #1 recruiting class in the nation including top-20 prospects, such as James Wiseman and Precious Achiuwa. Unfortunately, though, the hype train fell off the tracks when the NCAA suspended Wiseman for 12 games when they found that Wiseman’s mother was paid $11,500 by Hardaway for moving expenses. Then later in December, Wiseman announced he would not be returning to Memphis and instead would be getting ready for the upcoming NBA Draft.
Even with all that, Memphis got off to a hot start, starting the season off 12-1 and was even ninth in the AP Poll. The Tigers quickly slowed down after that and went 21-10 (10-8 Conf.) and finished fifth in the conference.
In Wiseman’s absence, Achiuwa stepped up this year scoring 15 points and 10 rebounds a game along with D.J. Jeffries and Lester Quinones chipping in with 10 points a game. The Tigers also got some good production from Boogie Ellis and Tyler Harris who both averaged eight points a game.
The Tigers most likely would not have received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament but the Tigers did have a shot at winning the AAC Tournament. Yes, the Tigers were streaky all year but they lost some close games in the regular season and it’s not like there was a runaway favorite in the AAC this year. We all know the Tigers had the most talent of any team in the American and I think if the AAC Tournament happened the Tigers had a good chance of winning the tournament.
Next year the Tigers will get better and improve as most of the roster this year was freshman and sophomores. And we all know Penny Hardaway is an excellent recruiter. Here is an in-depth look at the Tigers 2019-2020 season.