PJ Haggerty has Memphis looking dangerous in March after absurd AAC Tournament performance

Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers still have two games to win for an American Athletic Conference Tournament title, but they got over an important hurdle in the AAC quarterfinals avenging last season’s tournament upset loss to Wichita State on Friday afternoon in Fort Worth. The Shockers have long been a thorn in the side of Hardaway and it was the seventh-year head coach’s big offseason transfer portal addition who led Memphis to the 83-80 win. 

Just in his third season of college basketball, PJ Haggerty is already well-traveled. Starting his career at TCU, Haggerty spent last year at Tulsa, leading the Golden Hurricanes with 21.2 points a game. Now, it feels like the 6-foot-3 three-level scoring guard has found his perfect fit playing for Hardaway. 

He’s had a borderline All-American season, averaging exactly 21.2 a game again with 5.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists (all identical to a season ago), and vindicated his AAC Player of the Year Award by tying the conference tournament’s single-game scoring record with 42 points, nine rebounds, and four assists against Wichita State. 

Shooting 49% from the field and 42% from three, Haggerty is one of the most efficient scorers in the country. While the Tigers aren’t done at the AAC Tournament, they’re a lock for the big dance and Haggerty’s dominant performance on Friday should have the rest of the country on high alert. 

While the Hardaway hire came with plenty of fanfare in Memphis, it hasn’t led to a ton of winning. The Tigers have won just one AAC Tournament title, in 2023, have qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice, and have yet to advance beyond the first weekend. This year’s team led by Haggerty and fellow transfer guard Tyrese Hunter, looks like Hardaway’s best chance at a Sweet 16. 

The on-court results have been underwhelming at Memphis, but if Haggerty can lead the Tigers on an NCAA Tournament run, the Hardaway hire and subsequent loyalty will finally pay off. With his name recognition, Memphis’s NIL resources, and the mass AAC exodus that saw Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF flee to the Big 12, the program could become a mid-major powerhouse in the one-bid league by attracting transfer portal stars. 

The addition of Haggerty has been transformative for Memphis, which last season leaned heavily on forwards David Jones Garcia and Nae’Qwan Tomlin, and a guard-centric offensive attack makes much more sense for the former point guard. Haggerty shoulders a 28% usage rate, the fifth highest in the AAC, and of the top six usage rate players in the conference, is the only one with an above-average true shooting percentage. He currently sits at 60.6%, an impressive mark for a ball-dominant guard. 

He’s capable of offensive outpourings like on Friday afternoon, but the reason he makes Memphis so terrifying in March Madness is his reliability. Even when the shot isn’t falling from outside, Haggerty, with his tight handle change of paced downhill attack, has a 93rd percentile free throw attempt rate of 54.3%, averaging 7.7 free throws a game, and he scores nearly 45% of his points in the paint. 10 of his 42 points came from the free-throw line, and he went just 0-2 from three. As a team, Memphis went 3-15 from deep and still managed an 83-point performance. 

According to ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, Memphis is currently a No. 8 seed, which would equal the highest the program has earned under Hardaway. That seed could slip if the Tigers fail to close out the AAC Tournament over the weekend, but either way, no team is going to be excited about a first-round matchup with arguably the most talented scoring guard in the country. 

He’s coached James Wiseman, but only for a few games, and Jalen Duran has blossomed into a solid pro for the Detroit Pistons, but as far as college basketball impact goes, Haggerty is the best player Hardaway has coached over his seven seasons. If the head coach can’t parlay this high-quality backcourt into an extended NCAA Tournament stay, then it could be time for Memphis to move on.