NCAA Basketball Roundtable: Gonzaga’s flaws, Iowa State’s rise and beating Purdue
3. What solution would you offer to solve Memphis Basketball’s problems?
Mauro
Look at the sidelines. I have never been a big fan of Penny Hardaway as the coach of Memphis and have been one of his harshest critics. This is the best roster the Tigers have had under Penny and they still likely won’t make the tournament. It is time for the Hardaway experiment to end.
Burgess
Oh Memphis, this one is easy. It doesn’t matter how much talent is on this roster, things won’t get better until they start to value the basketball and fix their turnover issues.
Rosenberg
Closing out games is my top solution to solve Memphis’ problems. For example, Mizzou women’s basketball are currently 8-1 and a key factor to that is their ability to close out games when their opponents went on runs. They struggled with that the past two seasons. Closing out games is the difference-maker in all close games no matter the opponent. Limiting runs, playing hard defense, and taking care of the ball while on offense will help Memphis immensely.
Zacher
I would never advocate for anyone to lose their job, but something needs to be done about who is setting the identity of the Tigers – that, of course, starts with Penny Hardaway. Memphis has no rhythm of any sort, especially on the offensive end, and that’s unforgivable with how much talent is on the roster.
With Emoni Bates, Jalen Duren, and Landers Nolley all on board, Memphis should be cruising – but they’re coming off a three-game losing streak to Iowa State, Ole Miss, and an absolutely abysmal road loss to Georgia. They’re averaging 67 points in those three games and surrendering 1.06 points per possession during that streak. There’s no actual structure to this team, or to the program as a whole – this isn’t Hardaway’s first time struggling with a roster filled with talented newcomers and proven veterans.
Something has to give, whether it’d be Hardaway finally adopting some identity, Larry Brown providing something off the bench, or – again, I would never advocate for this, but there has to be something if things don’t change – a new change in leadership.