Memphis Basketball: Loss of star wing David Jones to NBA a hit for 2024-25 hopes
Memphis Basketball was a "loser" on the NBA Draft deadline date, having lost leading scorer David Jones. How do they bounce back from the departure?
There’s no question that Memphis Basketball was one of the most disappointing teams in the country last season, despite winning 22 games and being ranked at one point. However, a poor run in AAC play took them out of postseason contention.
The one brightspot on the team was David Jones, a transfer from St. John’s. He was the one consistent contributor for the Tigers, leading them with 21.8 ppg and 7.6 rpg. That includes scoring 10+ points in every game, including 36 points from Arkansas. Jones had entered the NBA Draft Combine but didn’t have the greatest results, leaving open the possibility that he returned for a 5th year.
However, that didn’t happen, as Jones decided to stay in the draft and go pro. That’s a loss for Memphis, which had good offseason momentum with its roster pickups. They landed 21 ppg scoring guard PJ Haggerty from Tulsa, along with double-digit scoring guard from Texas, Tyrese Hunter.
In the frontcourt, Memphis also landed Dain Dainja (Illinois), and Tyreek Smith (SMU) and brought Moussa Cisse back from Ole Miss. The hole for the team now is on the wings, with only Wichita State transfer Colby Rogers capable of playing at the three-spot. Otherwise, the team would have to play plenty of three-guard lineups.
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Look for the Tigers to focus on trying to land one of the top available transfer forwards. Current options includes Arthur Kaluma, Jamir Watkins, and even Trevon Brazile, who also came back from the draft process. They’ll need to land one of those targets if they want to have any chance of being a preseason top-25 team for the 2024-25 campaign.