It’s hard not to feel somewhat giddy after the Memphis Tigers’ season-opening win Tuesday night at FedExForum. With the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech playing the role of lamb, Tiger coach Penny Hardaway unleashed his pair of five-star lions — freshmen Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren — and watched the home team roar to an 89-65 victory that was never in doubt. The crowd of 13,000 barely seemed to glance at the NIT championship banner unveiled before the opening tip. There are bigger prizes, surely, ahead. (As with blue-chip recruits, the Tigers have a surplus of flags hanging from the FedExForum rafters. With the new addition, you can gaze at 19 NIT banners. But that’s another column, for another day.)
Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant had a courtside seat for this show. Perhaps more importantly, so did Bates’s father. Neither fan left disappointed. Bates hit six of his nine shots (including four three-pointers) and dished out four assists (one a no-look feed to Duren for a first-half dunk) in 30 minutes of action. Duren hit seven of his ten shots (most of the rim-rattling variety), pulled down six rebounds and blocked five shots in 31 minutes of action. In a rare convergence of hype and reality, the stars were stars Tuesday night and, for now, all is well in “Tiger Nation.”
But don’t tell Hardaway. According to the fourth-year coach, the Tigers didn’t capitalize on fast breaks as they should have. “Our subs weren’t ready to play,” he added. (More on that in bit.) Once the Tigers took a big lead — they scored the game’s first 13 points — some players “went through the motions,” according to the coach, allowing Tennessee Tech to stay within reach on the scoreboard. This was quibbling, a coach’s first motivational tool after a blowout win. A team dripping in freshman talent won its first game by 24 points . . . but has another game to play Saturday night. Fix that fast break!
How deep is the 12th-ranked Tigers’ talent? Swingman Landers Nolley earned first-team all-conference honors last season, when he led Memphis in scoring. Nolley came off the bench Tuesday night (and scored 10 points in 20 minutes). Josh Minott — merely a four-star freshman — hit three of four shots and scored seven points in 13 minutes. And Hardaway’s son, Jayden, delivered eight points and three steals in 13 minutes. All three players would start for many of the Tigers’ opponents this season.
A roster that appeared 15 deep in the preseason has already been shaved to 13 players, with Hardaway confirming after Tuesday’s game that freshmen Sam Onu and Johnathan Lawson will redshirt this season to retain a year of eligibility. Four players who are not redshirting each saw minimal playing time in the opener: Malcolm Dandridge, Chandler Lawson, Tyler Harris, and John Camden. This is the abundance of riches — and egos — Hardaway must manage for 29 more regular-season games, a conference tournament, and (giddy hope) an NCAA tournament run.
And there is room for improvement, even for Bates (age 17) and Duren (who turns 18 on November 18th). Between the dunks Duren completed Tuesday night, he actually missed one, and committed an offensive foul, when he tried to jump over a defender. When asked about the misplay after the game, Duren smiled and said, “The missed dunk . . . that won’t happen too often.” Stars as confident as they are talented. Tiger basketball is back, and then some.
