Memphis Basketball: Tigers add needed wing depth with UTSA transfer PJ Carter

It’s been an interesting offseason for Memphis Basketball, who had a complete roster turnover after a disappointing past season. Only forward Nick Jourdain is back from the previous roster, with everyone else having either moved on or transferred. That included leading scorer David Jones, who opted to stay in the NBA Draft on the deadline.

The loss of Jones left a clear hole at the three-spot. The current roster includes Wichita State transfer Colby Rogers, who is a 6’5 scoring guard, as well as incoming freshman guard, Jared Harris. But there’s still a lack of depth overall that can come back to haunt the team.

The good news for the Tigers is that they were able to land yet another AAC player in PJ Carter, a one-time Rice transfer commit this offseason. He ultimately didn’t sign with them, making him one of the top wings available in the portal. After two years with little production at Campbell, the 6’5 guard had his most productive season last year at UTSA.

In 20 mpg and 10 starts, Carter averaged 9.5 ppg, shooting 42% from the field and more importantly, 40% from three-point range on four attempts a game. Some of the junior’s best games included 22 points at Charlotte, 23 at SMU, and a career-high 27 points versus Temple, making 6/7 from deep. He has enough size and shooting ability to provide depth on the wing behind Rogers.

If you include Moussa Cisse returning to Memphis, that would make it five players with AAC connections joining the Tigers this offseason. While they won’t rank high in most transfer portal rankings, these players are at least proven talents at this level and with better talent surrounding them, should be able to keep Memphis in the top-tier of the American.

Assuming PJ Carter is the last pickup, this rounds out a solid roster-rebuilding job by Coach Penny Hardaway.