NCAA Basketball: Analyzing Makur Maker 5 potential college options

Memphis Tigers

If we’re talking about the development of big men, head coach Penny Hardaway of Memphis has done a pretty good job so far. He worked well with forward Kyvon Davenport in his first season and saw freshman Precious Achiuwa averaged 15.8 ppg and 10.8 rpg en route to winning AAC Player of the Year this year. And it was only three games but top 2020 recruit James Wiseman looked really good as well.

Coach Hardaway is very popular among the younger stars, just having a No. 1 recruiting class the year prior. They went empty this time around once Jalen Green went pro, combined with a number of underclassmen staying around. The team did land Virginia Tech scoring transfer Landers Nolley, who’d likely have to sit out next season by could get a waiver to add to the talent pool for next year.

Without Achiuwa around, the Tigers are in desperate need of a starting center for next season. Maker could come in and be the focal point of the offense, with no returning player who averaged over 11 ppg. It’s a good core of players that include Lester Quinones, DJ Jeffries and Boogie Ellis and with another year of experience (and possibly Maker) could be a frontrunner to win the AAC in 2021. And with several five-star prospects in next year’s class interested in Memphis, landing and excelling with this recruit could do wonders for the program.