NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Ranking 2023 5-star wing Ron Holland’s top 8

Memphis Tigers

Memphis has been talked about significantly in nearly every off-season since head coach Penny Hardaway took the job. He’s experienced no difficulty whatsoever in making compelling cases for recruits to join his program, signing 15 players rated as a 4-star or higher including 5 rated as 5-stars. However, the program has only been to the NCAA Tournament once during his tenure and despite success recruiting talent to the Tigers his seat is getting warmer because of it.

Hardaway and Memphis have experienced some unfortunate luck during that span, most notably missing their best talent on the court for one reason or another. Injuries have consumed the majority of those absences, but offensive question marks have not helped buoy the team either under these circumstances.

The NBA pipeline under this coaching staff has not yet established its full potential, partly due to pro prospects transferring elsewhere prior to attempting that leap, but Hardaway is picking up steam and could have an ace or two up his sleeve.

As a player, Penny had a strong NBA career that was unfortunately cut short. Of the 4 players reaching the NBA under his guidance, outgoing star freshman Jalen Duren included, 3 will have been 1st round picks and big-men with mobility and versatile scoring traits. While draft stock cannot be locked in at this stage and must be played into, Holland certainly fits into this category of players should he join Memphis. The Tigers have also been given their fair share of TV exposure due to recruiting success ensuring opportunities to elevate his brand are not bypassed.