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Five Retirement Tips for Procrastinators

Photo: Brett Jordan | Unsplash

When it comes to fun life experiences, planning for retirement may rank just a bit higher than a root canal. However, putting off your retirement planning strategy is only going to harm you in the future. If you’ve been dragging your feet on establishing your retirement plan, now’s the time to get started.

Following are five important retirement planning strategies for procrastinators.

1. Determine how much you’ll need to retire.

The first step toward getting serious about retirement planning is to determine how much you’ll need to live in retirement. One of the best ways to arrive at this number is by working with a qualified wealth advisor to establish a comprehensive financial plan that takes into account your current financial situation, goals for the future, and any challenges with the potential to stand in your way.

Your financial plan should provide insight into your expected retirement lifestyle expenses, your estate planning goals, your tax liabilities, your investment return potential, your retirement income sources, inflation, and more. Taken together, this information can help you determine how much you may need to save to achieve your desired retirement lifestyle.

2. Evaluate your current expenses.

Are your current expenses making it difficult to save for the future? If so, it may be time to cut back. Start by tracking your spending over the last year. What patterns do you see? Maybe you spend a large portion of your income on housing. If so, does it make sense to downsize? Perhaps you carry a lot of debt. Interest rates and fees can add up, so you may want to really focus on paying off your debt. Even cutting back on smaller expenses, such as regularly eating out, can free up money to add to your retirement savings.

3. Enhance your income.

If you’ve put off planning for retirement, you may need to continue working longer in order to save. Not only does working longer allow you to set aside additional retirement savings but remaining in the workforce can allow you to delay taking Social Security benefits, which leads to a higher monthly benefit amount once you retire.

4. Contribute to a retirement account.

If you’re eligible to participate in an employer-sponsored plan but haven’t yet contributed, sign up immediately! Qualified retirement plans, such as 401ks and 403bs, provide a tax-efficient way to save for retirement. Also, many employers match a portion of your contributions, which means if you’re not saving in your employer-sponsored plan, you could be walking away from free money.

Even if you’re eligible for an employer-sponsored plan, you may want to consider saving additional dollars in an individual retirement account (IRA). In 2024, you can set aside up to $7,000 in a traditional or Roth (if your income is below a certain amount) IRA. For married couples filing jointly, your spouse can also make contributions, even if they’re not working.

5. Take advantage of catch-up contributions.

If you’re over the age of 50, the IRS allows you to make an additional $1,000 contribution. These catch-up contributions are especially helpful for those who procrastinate when it comes to saving for retirement, so make every effort to max them out.

Gene Gard, CFA, CFP, CFT-I, is a Partner and Private Wealth Manager with Creative Planning. Creative Planning is one of the nation’s largest Registered Investment Advisory firms providing comprehensive wealth management services to ensure all elements of a client’s financial life are working together, including investments, taxes, estate planning, and risk management. For more information or to request a free, no-obligation consultation, visit CreativePlanning.com.

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Politics Politics Feature

Election Time Again?

Tami Sawyer (Photo: Courtesy Tami Sawyer)

Yep, another election is coming up, and this one, a primary election scheduled for Tuesday, March 5th, involves just two offices — one of them being the presidency of the United States, the other being the clerkship of Shelby County’s General Sessions Court. (Note, early voting has already begun and ends on February 27th.)

Where the presidential primaries are concerned, there is not much suspense. Those voters selecting a Republican ballot will have eight choices, and that old saw about the value of a name being high up on the ballot list can safely be discarded.

Of the eight available GOP alternatives, one Donald J. Trump is last on the list. Those preceding the former president, in alphabetical order, are Ryan Binkley, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy, and David Stuckenberg.

Of these, only Haley, a former UN ambassador and the ex-governor of South Carolina, is still an active candidate opposing Trump, and she may be the only person in America or anywhere else who believes she has a ghost of a chance.

(It’s not against the law to believe in ghosts, but it’s certainly against the oddsboard.)

On the Democratic primary ballot, there is only one name — that of the incumbent president, Joe Biden.

Of course, voters who don’t cotton to the idea of a Biden-Trump repeat in the November 5th general election are free to fantasize and write in whomever they please on whichever ballot they choose.

Now, for the General Sessions clerk’s race: The two party candidates selected on March 5th will vie for the position in a general election on Thursday, August 8th. The same date holds for various elections in the county’s suburban municipalities and for primaries for state and federal positions on the November ballot.

Lisa Arnold, a former employee with the clerk’s office, is the only Republican on the March 5th GOP ballot, while Democratic voters have four candidates to choose from.

The Democrats are: Rheunte Benson, who is currently serving as criminal administrator with the clerk’s office and is making her second race for the clerk’s position, having run for it four years ago; Shelandra Ford, who served as Shelby County register of deeds from 2018-22 and was defeated in a reelection bid for that office four years ago by current register Willie Brooks; Joe Brown, the incumbent Criminal Court clerk, who previously served several terms as a member of the city council and who won out in a crowded primary for the clerk’s office four years ago.

And there is Tami Sawyer, the former activiste par excellence, county commissioner, and 2019 candidate for mayor. This is not the same Tami Sawyer who could “not wait” to seek the city’s highest office in what seems, in retrospect, to have been a premature move.

This is a new Sawyer, inclusive rather than confrontational, a solid organizer, and backed by an impressive chorus of Establishment Democrats while maintaining her woke base.

Her main obstacle to election might be the ritual name-ID advantages of opponents Ford (not a member of the well-known political clan but possessor of the same surname) and Brown (whose election in the first place was probably due to voters’ familiarity with his TV-judge namesake).

Sawyer is, in any case, widely regarded as the favorite, and she is expected, if elected, to use the new perch not as a sinecure but as the springboard for further political action.

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Blurb Book Features Books

To Read, or Not to Read?

Photo: Canva

I don’t know about you, but my TBR (“to be read,” for those not keeping up with the lingo) list keeps on growing and growing and growing, and yet I’m out here acting like I just don’t know what to read. Because I don’t. There are just too many choices. So, like any good journalist, I took advantage of my power, wielded my press badge (which doesn’t exist), and went to the source (Memphis’ booksellers) to ask the age-old question, “What should I read?”, and have someone else make the choice for me. It’s important work, I know. And I don’t do it just for me. I do it for the people. For you. 

Jasmine Settles, owner of Cafe Noir, whose brick and mortar is slated to open at the end of this month, has two suggestions for me — I mean, us — The Mayor of Maxwell Street by Avery Cunningham and Tenderheaded by Olatunde Osinaike. Of Tenderheaded, she says, “That was actually selected as a winner of the [2022] National Poetry Series. The book focuses on masculinity, Black male identity. And I love how the work is so gentle, but it has also kind of like a music rhythm to it. Just like how his work kind of expands with language and he will take a word and kind of build around it. And he is a coder, like a computer coder. I truly, really admire his work and his style.”

“I think The Mayor of Maxwell Street is a really good one as well,” Settles says. “[The author] is from Memphis. I think her work is brilliant.”  Within The Mayor of Maxwell Street, the daughter of the “wealthiest Negro in America,” Nelly Sawyer, finds herself the premier debutante of Black society after the sudden death of her only brother, and immediately, she is whisked off to a number of social engagements as part of her coming-out, much to her chagrin. She has her secrets, though — for the past year, she’s written as an undercover investigative journalist, reporting “the achievements and tribulations of everyday Black people living in the shadow of Jim Crow.” Nelly’s latest assignment: to identify the head of an underground crime syndicate, the so-called Mayor of Maxwell Street. Soon, she enlists the help of the mysterious low-level speakeasy manager, Jay Shorey.

Settles isn’t the only one recommending Cunningham’s debut novel; so is Jeremee DeMoir of DeMoir Books & Things. For younger readers, though, he recommends Jason Reynolds’ Stuntboy (Children’s) and  Keith F. Miller Jr.’s Pritty (YA). And for a more classic read, DeMoir has been reading Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin.

“He’s just a classic author, with a really amazing touch,” the online bookstore owner says. “He breathes fresh life into a romantic mystery. Giovanni’s Room is a classic queer novel that follows two characters in Paris as they’re going through discovering their identity within the queer community in Paris in the 1950s. So it’s a book definitely ahead of its time, but super refreshing and super current despite being written in the 20th century.”

Lastly, Corey Mesler of Burke’s Book Store gives his two cents on what’s in this month: “Claire Keegan’s outsize bandwagon is worth jumping on. I don’t mind being the hundred-thousandth reader to marvel at her spare, shimmering prose, and recommend her to all and sundry. Her latest, So Late in the Day, a collection of three short stories (two appeared in previous books) is more evidence that she is one of our best writers, despite her limited output. Quality over quantity. My favorite is her novel, Small Things Like These (the title might be a statement of purpose). You can read it in one sitting but you will savor its reverberations long after setting it down.”

All books mentioned can be purchased at the respective bookstore locations. Support indie and support local. For upcoming book events, including book clubs and author signings, visit the Flyer’s event calendar.

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News News Blog News Feature

Bill Would Mandate Gun Safety Courses at School For Every Tennessee Student

Credit: Tom Def on Unsplash

Every Tennessee student would have to get gun safety training at school under new Republican legislation, but some Democrats think the law accepts gun violence at school as a “new normal.” 

The Tennessee Schools Against Violence in Education (SAVE) Act already mandates school safety planning strategies. It covers fire emergencies, severe weather events, prohibits weapons, and more. The law also mandates school districts to have procedures in place to respond to the report of a firearm on campus. 

A new bill would add gun safety curriculum to the SAVE Act and parents could not opt their child out of the training.

With the new law, three state agencies — the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, the Tennessee Department of Education, and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency — would determine the most appropriate age to begin gun training for kids in school. But classes could start as early as pre-K and continue all the way through high school. Local school districts would then decide how to implement gun safety instruction into their students’ schedules. 

The bill would teach students about the safe storage of guns, school safety relating to guns, how to avoid injury if the student finds a gun, to never touch a found gun, and to immediately notify an adult of the location of a found gun. This instruction should be be “viewpoint neutral on political topics, such as gun rights, gun violence, and the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.” The training should also not include the use or presence of live ammunition, live fire, or live guns.

School districts would decide who teaches the gun safety courses. Those courses “are certainly not about how to handle a firearm or proper techniques or anything like that,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Chris Todd (R-Madison County). “This is literally going to be more on the lines of ‘if you see a gun, [tell] an adult.’”    

Todd said he sees gun training at school as just an extension of safety training already happening at schools within the SAVE. Act. He said members of gun clubs across the state, including the Alpha Gun Team of Memphis, stand behind the bill, too. 

”We see this proposed legislation as a critical step in averting firearm related accidents while fostering greater awareness and responsibility among gun owners,” Todd said in a Tuesday hearing. 

Rep. Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville), a retired school teacher, said schools have long drilled students to react to acts of nature, like fires and tornadoes. Gun have been around for a ling time, too, she said. 

“But we haven’t had our classes shot up,” she said. “This isn’t something we should just accept as the new normal. We can stop this. And this [bill] isn’t going to do it.”

Johnson said mandating students to take the gun safety course could trigger some students who had a history of gun violence in their family and would leave them at school alone without a parent to ensure they are okay. 

Todd said students cannot now opt out of fire safety training, even if they’ve been in a fire or lost their home in a fire. Students still need to learn fire safety, he said.

“I just think it’s part of life that we need to learn those skills,” Todd said. 

Rep. Vincent Dixie (D-Nashville) argued for an opt-out from the program, saying some parents may not want their children “talking [about], touching, or introduced to guns at all,” especially for some who want to opt out for “religious reasons.” 

“We should be able to have someone to opt out of this if they don’t choose this as appropriate for their child,” Dixie said. “I thought we believed in parents’ choice.”  

Rep. Mark Cochran (R-Englewood) countered, saying that the “chances of a minor seeing a gun at some point is … that’s a reality of life, as [Todd] mentioned earlier.”

Rep. John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge) told committee members that many teachers are “former veterans who are trained hunters who go through hunter safety training” and could easily teach the courses. He said allowing students to opt out of other safety training courses “is ridiculous” and that a parent’s objection to gun training “is entirely misplaced.”

“It would be the equivalent, for example, of us saying to an Amish parent, because they prefer to ride in a horse and buggy, that their children shouldn’t be trained on how to cross the street with automobile traffic,” Ragan said. “Safety is safety. Opting out of it is ridiculous.”

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News News Blog News Feature

Report Finds Traffic Enforcement Disproportionately Affects Black Residents in Memphis

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

New data shows that not only does traffic enforcement in Memphis seem to be ineffective in promoting a safer city, but Black residents receive four times as many traffic tickets as white residents.

Decarcerate Memphis, an organization devoted to solving systemic policing problems, published “The People’s Report 2024: Driving While BIPOC” on Monday, which includes data collected from 2017 to August 2023. The group says their findings conclude that traffic stops increased by a quarter following the death of Tyre Nichols.

“This year’s report shows racial disparities continue — 81 percent of citations are issued to people of color in Memphis, who also receive 90 percent of tickets with two or more citations per ticket,” the group says. “Furthermore, the report finds no relationship between traffic stops and reported crimes, while citations for non-moving violations are associated with an increase in traffic fatalities.”

In the aftermath of the death of Tyre Nichols, Memphis City Council passed a number of driving ordinances such as the Driving Equality Act in Honor of Tyre Nichols, which prohibits officers from pulling drivers over for minor violations such as broken tail lights. However, Decarcerate Memphis’ report says that the Memphis Police Department (MPD) issued more citations.

“Despite the ineffectiveness of non-moving violations on crime or road safety, MPD has significantly emphasized non-moving citations since 2020,” the report says. “After all traffic enforcement cratered in March 2020, MPD officers brought non-moving violations roaring back to pre-pandemic levels within months. Moving violations, meanwhile, are still in lockdown.”

A majority of MPD’s traffic citations (60-64 percent) since 2020 were the result of non-moving violations, the report says. The organization says this is a “weak strategy” and adds that court records proved that traffic enforcement does not help resolve serious crimes.

After pulling a random sample of 1,432 court cases in 2023, the group found that 150 of the cases were pretextual traffic stops with “minor infractions.” The data also concluded that 91 of these cases (61 percent) didn’t result in felony charges.

Discrimination was another key finding in the report, as Black people make up about 64 percent of Memphis’ population and were found to receive a majority of traffic tickets (74 percent.) This further proved the assertion that non-moving traffic violations are not only ineffective in public safety measures, but disproportionately affect people of color.

“Black residents make up 81 percent of defendants in criminal court — among pretextual traffic stop defendants, 91 percent are Black,” the report reads. “Counterintuitively, white defendants are more likely than Black defendants to be convicted of petty charges. This likely reflects a relative absence of summoning white Memphians to court for charges that aren’t worth pursuing.”

Decarcerate Memphis added that their data suggests racial disparities can be “partially explained” by the types of traffic enforcement such as the Organized Crime Unit and the now disbanded SCORPION unit. They say these officers “spend less time on safety-related citations than conventional units.”

To illustrate this, the group compared citations from the “top ticketers of uniform patrol and specialized unit.” The findings showed that 87 percent of the specialized unit officer’s citations were for non-moving violations, while the uniform patrol officer reported 22 percent. While specialized unit officers’ main goal is to “take guns and drugs off the streets,” the organization says they rarely achieve their goal by pulling over and searching “suspicious” cars.

“The burden of the fruitless detentions, searches, and petty charges falls squarely on poor people and people of color,” the report says. “This uniform patrol officer issued 73 percent of their tickets to Black drivers — still disproportionate by population, roughly in line with the overall racial disparity for MPD. “

The report concludes with a number of recommendations proposed by the group, heavily emphasizing traffic enforcement laws. They also urge the leadership of MPD to not only comply with these laws, but to provide timely updates to measure the success of their implementation.

Other suggestions include the end of specialized units as well as data transparency from these units. The group also encourages the deprioritization of non-moving violations.

“Memphis and Shelby County have, in some respects, truly become more threatening in recent years: traffic fatalities have risen, especially since 2020; fewer people are able to legally drive; and people of color face more discrimination on the road and in court. These developments occurred, not in spite of law enforcement efforts, but because of the ineffective and harmful approaches that law enforcement favors.”

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Sports The Fly-By

Two Teams, One Goal

Photo courtesy Anna Merritt

The University of Memphis cheerleading and dance teams won this year’s Universal Dance Association and Universal Cheer Association college national championship. The competition was held at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, last month. Through a display of talent, collaboration, and hard work, the teams reestablished themselves as strong competitors in the collegiate cheer and dance circuit. 

This is the one annual competition these teams compete in to showcase their skills.

“We love to put Memphis on the map, and we know as a spirit squad we represent the city and university,” said four-year cheer member Peyton Cathy.

In the Division IA small coed competition, Memphis Cheer defeated six other teams. Their final rating was 90.8 out of 100. After competing against five other teams on Division IA game day, the dance team emerged victorious, scoring 95.9. 

Despite being separate entities, the bond between the cheer and dance teams at U of M runs deep. United by a shared passion and a common goal, they operate as a cohesive unit, supporting and uplifting each other every step of the way. 

“I take pride in the fact that our program is family-oriented and it always has been,” said University of Memphis head coach of dance Carol Lloyd. “Cheer and dance support each other all season.” 

One of the main reasons athletes want to be a part of these programs, according to Lloyd, is the family-like atmosphere. 

“We have always been a very close-knit program,” said fourth-year dance team member Anna Merritt. “Yes, we are cheer and pom, but we come together and make Memphis Spirit Squad.” 

This isn’t the first time these two teams won national titles together (they both took home a national title in 2021), making it a two-peat for some of the squads’ current members.

“It feels nice to be able to finish the way I started,” said Merritt who was a part of the 2021 winning team.

These athletes work hard to succeed, not just for themselves but also to see their teammates happy. 

Photo courtesy Anna Merritt

“A lot of people come to Memphis just to win and now that they have that win, they can be happy with their retirement of cheer,” said Cathy. “I am just glad I was able to help lead us to a title.” 

The success of these teams can be attributed to more than just the family dynamic. Hard work, sacrifice, and leadership helped elevate them to the top. “Leadership alone, to me, is the drive behind all the success,” said coach Lloyd. 

The spirit squad is a familiar sight to many spectators and fans at games and school functions, but not everyone is aware of the work these athletes put in behind the scenes. Both the cheer and dance squads spent numerous hours honing their routines and techniques during the training sessions in the months leading up to the competition, aiming to perfect their stunts, jumps, tumbles, and complex choreography.

“There are countless hours, sacrifice, and dedication that a lot of these athletes [give],” said head coach of cheer, Tony Crump.

According to Lloyd, the dance team practices six hours a day, every day, for six weeks straight. Crump said athletes work all year around and the road to nationals starts immediately after try-outs. 

Not only have these athletes been growing in the collegiate circuit, but they have also been making waves online, reaching a larger audience. Their performances are shared out on multiple TikTok pages, and social media has led the sport of cheer and dance to gain more attention.

“It’s great to see the sport that you love and work hard doing, being more recognized by people that may not have known what our sport really entails,” said Cathy.

Photo courtesy Peyton Cathy
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News News Blog News Feature

Sen. Lamar Offers Bill to Provide Continuous Healthcare Coverage For Minors

Sen. London Lamar. Photo Credit: Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus

Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) has introduced a bill to ensure that children in Tennessee not only get equitable healthcare, but they’re able to keep it.

Lamar’s bill would implement continuous eligibility for children who are enrolled in TennCare and CoverKids. Senate Bill 1828, introduced by Lamar and Memphis Democrat Rep. Antonio Parkinson, would ensure that children who have healthcare coverage under these programs are continuously having their coverage renewed.

If passed, Lamar said this bill would solve the problem of children losing state healthcare coverage due to “procedural reasons — not eligibility.”

“[SB 1828] prohibits the bureau from subjecting the minor to a redetermination of eligibility or disenrollment except under certain circumstances,” reads the bill.

Lamar said accountability measures are included to ensure fraud isn’t being committed, and parents are not applying for any children who are deceased.

Lamar said she wanted to focus on topics that impact families the most. She said the most vulnerable populations in the state tend to be children, and she wanted to push for all children to have access to healthcare.

“I know one population we can make a direct impact on is those children who are under state healthcare insurance programs,” said Lamar. “What we did find out was that many kids were taken off the health insurance plans because of clerical issues.”

The 2023 State of The Child in Tennessee report from the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth showed that 29,154 children in the state were disenrolled from Medicaid due to procedural reasons, while 6,838 were disenrolled from Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for the same reason.

“A significant component to ensuring children have access to health care is to protect those who are already insured or are eligible for insurance from losing coverage due to procedural mistakes on an application,” the commission said in a statement.

Lamar said she doesn’t think procedural issues are enough to take children off of healthcare plans. She said it’s common that people change addresses and move out of state, and wanted to make sure the state does its due diligence.

“Our families and our state are stronger when every child has access to health care,” said Lamar. “When children get the health care they need, they are more likely to succeed in school, graduate from high school and attend college, earn higher wages, and grow up into healthy adults.”

While Lamar is adamant about pushing for the legislation to be passed, she anticipates that TennCare won’t want to approve it, as she believes it will want to continue its current re-enrollment process

“I think it will definitely be an uphill battle with folks across the aisle,” Lamar said. “We’re going to push the issue as best as we can to get the support we need to get this bill across the finish line. But no doubt about it, it’s going to be tough.”

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Film Features Film/TV

Music Video Monday: “Yeah Glo!” by GloRilla

GloRilla‘a got another hit on her hands with “Yeah Glo!” The song’s only been out for 10 days, but it’s already got more than four million views on YouTube. Like most tracks from the 901’s favorite diva, it’s incredibly catchy. Glo looks back on where she’s been, and can hardly believe how far she’s come.

UK-based director Troy Roscoe knows that Glo can act, and he gives her opportunities to show off her chops as different versions of herself. But my favorite shot can simply be called “POV MONEY.” You’ll know it when you see it.

If you would like to see your music video featured on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com.

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News News Blog News Feature

TN AG: State Constitution Allows Tickets to Legislative Session

State Capitol (Photo: Tennessee State Government)

A ticketing system that restricts public access to the Tennessee House of Representatives is allowable under the state’s constitution, according to a legal opinion from Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton surprised lawmakers and members of the public last month by introducing the new policy, which allocates one ticket for every lawmaker to give to the public during each House session.

In practice, the ticketing system has meant that Tennessee’s super-majority GOP House can control its audience while conducting public business.  GOP lawmakers get 75 tickets and Democrats 24, all for the west balcony overlooking the House floor. The east side of the gallery remains open to the media and public.

Sexton has defended the policy against criticism, saying representatives want to ensure visitors they know are arriving have seats, even if they are a few minutes late. He said lawmakers could also share tickets and noted that Congress also has a ticketing system.

Establishing a ticketing system falls within the authority of the General Assembly to regulate and manage access to the Capitol building, the legal opinion, issued last week, said.

According to the opinion, “the Tennessee Constitution contemplates that sessions during which the General Assembly conducts its business will be open to the public, but it does not guarantee the public a right of access to legislative sessions,” it said.

The Tennessee Constitutions says that “doors of each House and of committees of the whole shall be kept open, unless when the business shall be such as ought to be kept secret.”

The ticketing system, the opinion said, “would not run afoul of the “open door” provision of (the Tennessee Constitution) because it would not close the doors to the public; it would merely manage public access to the limited space that is available.”

Skrmetti opinion – House ticketing system

Tennessee Lookout is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Tennessee Lookout maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Holly McCall for questions: info@tennesseelookout.com. Follow Tennessee Lookout on Facebook and Twitter.

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Sports Tiger Blue

Memory Makers

David Jones leads the AAC in scoring (photo by Wes Hale).

When the University of Memphis hired Penny Hardaway to coach its basketball program in 2018, his task was to make Tiger hoops meaningful again, to make Tiger seasons memorable. (What stands out in your memory from the four seasons prior to Hardaway taking over? See how this works?) Hardaway’s first five seasons went well by some measures and fell short of expectations by others. But each, in its own way, was memorable. Which begs the question as March nears: How will the Tigers’ 2023-24 season stand out for local hoop historians? For context, a brief review of the Coach Penny era, seasons 1 through 5.

2018-19: The Year of Jeremiah

Before this season, no Tiger had ever scored 40 points in two different games. Jeremiah Martin did so in the same month (February). A player who averaged 2.7 points per game as a freshman under coach Josh Pastner became the fifth to score 700 in a single season (19.7 average). The pride of Mitchell High School made a mediocre (22-14) season unforgettable.

2019-20: The Year of Our Precious

Many in these parts remember this season as The Year Without Wiseman. The mighty NCAA decided Hardaway had violated rules in his recruiting of James Wiseman, leading to a suspension of the player and eventually his departure from the program. But let’s accentuate the positive. The team’s “other” five-star recruit, Precious Achiuwa, averaged 15.8 points and 10.8 rebounds and became the first Tiger to earn Player of the Year honors in the American Athletic Conference. The season ended prematurely with the Covid shutdown, so we’ll never know if that team (21-10) may have rallied in the AAC tourney for a bid to the Big Dance. But again, one player made the season rather remarkable.

2020-21: A National Title (Sorta)

Empty arenas and a team that couldn’t seem to decide its star. Landers Nolley? Boogie Ellis? Lester Quinones? A six-game winning streak late in the season wasn’t enough to get the Tigers into the NCAA tournament, so they headed to a slimmed-down NIT in north Texas. And they won the darn thing, beating Mississippi State in the final for the program’s second NIT crown. Did it fill a void? Meet Hardaway’s expectations? No and no. Did it make for a memorable ending to a pandemic-heavy winter of Tiger basketball? Emphatically yes.

2021-22: Dancing Days Return

This team beat a pair of Top-10 squads (Alabama and Houston) on its way to the program’s first NCAA tournament since 2014. Freshman Jalen Duren (12.0 points, 8.0 rebounds) played his way into the first round of the NBA draft and the Tigers gave top-ranked Gonzaga all it could handle in the second round of the NCAAs. A season that felt like Hardaway and the Tigers were on the right path.

2022-23: The Year of KD

After transferring from SMU, point guard Kendric Davis led the AAC in both scoring (21.9) and assists (5.4), somehow falling short in the league’s Player of the Year voting. Better yet, Davis helped the Tigers knock off top-ranked Houston — the first such upset in program history — and win their first AAC tournament. An overlooked timeout near the end of their clash with FAU in the opening round of the NCAA tournament ended the season prematurely. Davis became the second player to put up 700 points in a season under Hardaway.

How will we remember the current season when all is said and done? As of now, it’s The Midseason Massacre, a four-game losing streak that, in rasslin’ terms, knocked a Top-10 team entirely out of the ring. David Jones leads the AAC in scoring and is the kind of player who could help Memphis make a run in the conference tournament next month. It’s a good time for Tiger fans to remember basketball memories aren’t born but made.