With every game the Memphis Tigers play, Kendric Davis adds a layer to what will be a one-year legacy for the program. The fifth-year guard was considered the best free-agent acquisition before the season tipped off in November. (And yes, let’s start calling players like Davis “free agents.” College basketball stars are going to be pursued with as much vigor as any pro at the end of a contract. “Transfer” is far too quaint in modern context.) But how would Davis fit alongside veteran mainstays like DeAndre Williams and Alex Lomax? Could he adapt to a new culture under head coach/local hero Penny Hardaway? (The best Tiger player under Hardaway will be, at best, the second-most popular man in the program.) Could he help other rookie vets — like Keonte Kennedy and Elijah McCadden — be better as Tigers than they were in other uniforms?
Davis is checking each box. Through Sunday’s action (16 games), the former SMU Mustang leads the American Athletic Conference in scoring (20.0 points per game) and, remarkably, assists (6.1). He’s third in the AAC in steals (2.3), a category topped by his current backcourt buddy, Lomax (3.0). In Saturday’s win over East Carolina, Davis struggled in the first half, scoring only two points and taking a shot to the face that briefly sidelined him. The Pirates had the crowd at FedExForum on shock alert with an 11-point lead shortly before halftime. But the Tigers — a pack of seniors, remember — stormed out for the second half and administered a 26-3 run that had ECU effectively beaten with ten minutes still left on the clock.
It was not a good afternoon for Davis. He missed 14 of the 20 shots he took, including all six three-point attempts. He committed a team-high five turnovers. And the Tigers still won handily (69-59). When the reigning AAC Player of the Year is at his best, Memphis looks like a dangerous team come March. If they can win when Davis under-performs — he still played 33 minutes and scored 14 points last Saturday — the Tigers appear to have the roster composition of a champion.
• An AAC scoring title for Davis won’t be such a big deal for the player. He led the league after both the 2020-21 season and 2021-22. But what about such an achievement for the Memphis program? Going back a half-century, only four Tigers have led a conference in scoring (and none since Memphis joined the AAC in 2013). Keith Lee topped the Metro Conference as a senior in 1984-85, Elliot Perry led the Metro in 1990-91, Penny Hardaway paced the Great Midwest Conference in 1992-93, and Will Barton led Conference USA in 2011-12. Perry and Hardaway each finished second in assists the season they led their league in scoring. That is the company Kendric Davis is keeping this winter as leading man for the Memphis Tigers.
• Have you noticed any missing banners from the rafters at FedExForum? Four NIT banners (from 1963, ’67, ’72, and ’77) have been taken down, along with a pair of NCAA (1986 and 2013). The NCAA banners need to be returned to their spots, of course, but I’ve long advocated the removal of NIT banners, except for those representing seasons Memphis reached at least the semifinals (1957, 2001, ’02, ’05, and ’21). How about finding room for a pair of banners to acknowledge conference championships (one regular-season, another for tournaments)? The NIT is no longer a goal for any program, like Memphis, that begins each season with Big Dance expectations. But a conference title? Those are all too rare, special teams that earned recognition for posterity.
