Seth Henigan passed for 269 yards and ran for 64 in the Tigers' win over Boise State. (Wes Hale)
Last Saturday’s game at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium felt like a battle of college football’s misfit toys. On the visitors sideline was Boise State, famous for the blue turf of its home stadium and a recent streak of 16 consecutive seasons with a bowl appearance. Hosting, of course, were our Memphis Tigers, a program with nary a losing season since 2014 and three Top-25 finishes securely in the record books. Yet somehow both the Broncos (Mountain West Conference) and Tigers (American Athletic) remain outside the dance hall as the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and ACC continue to morph into a new quartet (Power 4?) of mega-leagues. Rejects always have each other … right?
On a sweltering final afternoon of September, the Tigers prevailed by a score of 35-32. It was the best game in the country not played by one of those “Power 4” programs. The win improved Memphis to 4-1 for the season with a bye week now before reigning AAC champion Tulane comes to town for a clash (a slash?) on Friday the 13th. It was an important victory for coach Ryan Silverfield’s team and confirmed three important truths we’ve learned about the 2023 squad.
• Resilient. For real. Every coach of every team in every sport likes to claim his group is “resilient,” that his players have the backbone to bounce back when necessary. While this can’t possibly be true for every team in America, it appears to be a quality these Tigers possess as a collective. When Memphis fell behind Boise State, 17-0, it appeared some shine had faded from the team in blue and gray. Wins over Bethune-Cookman and Arkansas State go only so far, and how much does a narrow win over Navy mean? But the Tigers bounced back in powerful fashion, scoring the game’s next 28 points. Better still, when the Broncos closed the Tiger lead to three points (28-25) midway through the fourth quarter, Memphis took possession and drove 75 yards, chewing up more than six minutes of playing time and scoring the touchdown (a one-yard scramble by Blake Watson) that proved to be decisive.
“We had an inexcusable, pedestrian start,” said Silverfield in his postgame comments. “That’s on me. I’ll take the blame. But our guys’ belief in what we’re doing is amazing. They fight, and they find a way to finish. That’s a team win. It took every single person.”
• Blake Watson is The Guy. At halftime of Saturday’s game, the Tigers saluted DeAngelo Williams, the greatest Tiger of all-time and the first Memphis player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Fittingly, Tiger running back Blake Watson carried the ball 19 times for 113 yards for a Williams-like 5.9-yard average and scored two touchdowns, including that game-winner in the fourth quarter. Watson’s emergence separates this team from those of the last three seasons in which no Tiger ball carrier topped even 700 yards. Through only five games, Watson has 455 yards rushing, putting him on track for a 1,000-yard campaign, if not quite a DeAngelo Williams performance. Championship teams, universally, run the ball well. Keep an eye on the Old Dominion transfer as this season rolls along.
• The football gods are smiling. Late in the Tigers’ win over Navy, a Midshipman play that had resulted in a first down deep in Memphis territory was reviewed by the officials and determined to actually be short of first-down yardage. When Watson scored the Tigers’ final touchdown late in Saturday’s game, he dropped the ball before landing in the end zone. But another official review determined that Watson had broken the proverbial plane of the end zone with the football before it was dislodged. Not one, but two critical reviews have favored the Tigers (?!?) in a single month.
Senior linebacker Geoffrey Cantin-Arku made the play of the game against Boise State, blocking a third-quarter field goal attempt, picking up the ball and sprinting 80 yards to seize the lead (21-17) for the home team. The native of Quebec (and former Syracuse Orange) was asked after the game about his play, and what it might represent in a season, so far, going largely the Tigers’ way. “Last year, we didn’t fight like this,” he acknowledged. “The spirit in the locker room is different. We’ve all got each others’ back. We’re gonna come to work.”
The Memphis Sand Aquifer will get continued scientific oversight with a new five-year contract awarded to a group at the University of Memphis (U of M) and a new science director at Protect Our Aquifer (POA).
Researchers with the Center for Applied Earth Sciences and Engineering Research (CAESER) at the U of M will continue to monitor the aquifer’s water quality for the next five years. The group recently won an updated contract from the city of Memphis, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW) worth $9.75 million.
Earlier this year, the group reported that the protective clay layer that protects the Memphis-area’s drinking water was once thought to “have a few holes in it” but they thought at the time that “it’s looking more like Swiss cheese.” Before the study, the aquifer was thought to have two to six breaches, now researchers believe the figure could range from six to 36.
“In the past, we probably thought of this clay layer as protective of our groundwater supply,” CAESER’s director, Dr. Brian Waldron, said during an MLGW meeting in April. “It was a continuous layer of clay with a few holes in it. Well, we’re starting to believe that it’s looking more like Swiss cheese.”
Results of CEASAR’s full study of the layer is expected next month.
City leaders and MLGW officials hired the group in 2018 to study water quality and the protective clay layer, concerned about impacts to water quality. While the water “is safe for now,” Waldron said, the clay layer is not as protective as once thought. For this, he suggested a proactive approach to leaders and they awarded his group the renewed contract.
The money will support programs to develop technology to remotely sensing breaches in urban areas, developing computer models to better understand the movement of water and contaminants, and the movement of water between the many aquifers below the city’s surface.
The aquifer will have another scientific eye upon it as POA recently hired its first scientific director. The group hired hydrogeologist and state licensed professional geologist, Dr. Scott Schoefernacker earlier this month.
Schoefernacker spent the past 11 years with CAESER investigating, protecting, and sustaining
groundwater resources in Shelby County and West Tennessee. Prior to CAESER, Schoefernacker worked as a geologist for the Memphis-based environmental consulting firm EnSafe conducting various environmental investigations and site assessments across the United States.
“We’ve been fighting with our science hand behind our back since the beginning”, said POA founder and board chair Ward Archer. “Although every decision we’ve made has been science-driven, having a scientist of Scott’s caliber on our team is going to strengthen our organization.”
The Tennessee Legislature recently passed a recommendation from Governor Bill Lee that will allow for the University of Memphis to receive $5.488 million for campus safety and security upgrades.
According to the university, these upgrades will be for this current fiscal year, and the investment is non-recurring.
In a statement, U of M president Bill Hardgrave said that a “safe, thriving campus,” is their number one priority. The money will be used to “fund proven measures that ensure our students, faculty and staff feel safe on our campus.”
The Flyerreported that the university was named the safest large campus in 2022 by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
The university said that the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) and Homeland Security did a campus-wide assessment in 2021, which they used to determine five different areas that would receive investments from the funding. The following breakdown was provided by the university:
$2.193 million for upgrade and installation of LED lighting
$1.46 million for perimeter fencing and parking lot access control
$773,000 for intelligent camera installations
$750,000 for a comprehensive notification system
$312,000 for mobile trailers and patrol vehicle replacements
While the investment will be used to upgrade and install equipment around campus, the university said that they are continuing to work with partner organizations such as MLGW.
“In addition to making the strategic investments [noted above] to improve campus safety and security, the UofM is continuing to work with MLGW to improve lighting on perimeter neighborhood streets,” said the university in a statement. The school will also work with the Memphis Police Department to better coordinate efforts on police patrols on and around campus.
“The UofM will also coordinate with other law enforcement and community partners such as the University Neighborhood Development Corporation to curb crime, specifically auto related crime,” the university said. The majority of crimes on campus are auto-related.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) released its 2022 Crime on Campus report, which provided “information on crimes, reported to TBI through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System, that occurred on college or university campuses.”
According to the report, a majority of the crimes reported at the University of Memphis were larceny and theft offenses (111.) While 36 of the crimes reported in this category were “theft from [a] building,” there were 26 reports of theft from a motor vehicle, and 32 reports of theft of motor vehicle parts.
There were also 47 reports of motor vehicle theft, according to the report.
The university has previously encouraged students and other members of the campus community to utilize the LiveSafe app, which provides an avenue for students to directly communicate with police services on campus through text, pictures, video, and audio. However, Everbridge Crisis Management will replace the app this summer.
“Everbridge will orchestrate all crisis response activities, teams, and resources to accelerate critical event recovery times and allow the UofM to continue prioritizing safety and security,” added the university.
The University of Memphis basketball program has had its share of “one-and-done” sensations since the turn of the century. In his lone year as a Tiger (2001-02), Dajuan Wagner led Memphis to its first NIT title. In 2008, Derrick Rose famously (some would say infamously) took the Tigers to the cusp of a national championship. A year later, filling Rose’s void nicely, Tyreke Evans was the star of another 30-win team. In 2020, playing in the vapor trail of the James Wiseman controversy, Precious Achiuwa became the first Tiger to be named American Athletic Conference Player of the Year. And just last season, Jalen Duren was the centerpiece for a Tiger team that returned to the NCAA tournament after eight long years.
But Kendric Davis is a different breed of the one-and-done species. His most obvious distinction from the five players mentioned above: Davis is not a freshman, but a fifth-year senior. Memphis is the third college program he’s represented. He turns 24 in May (Davis is three months older than the Grizzlies’ Ja Morant) and is a father. When Davis all but surely wins this year’s AAC Player of the Year trophy, it will be his second, having earned the award in his final of three seasons at SMU last year. Having led the AAC in both scoring (21.5 points per game) and assists (5.6), Davis will leave a permanent imprint on Memphis basketball history, and in a span of time that feels as brief as the point guard’s head-bob crossover.
“It’s been fun,” says Davis. “I wish I had more than a year.”
Kendric Davis broke the AAC’s career scoring record while leading the league in both points and assists. (Photo: Larry Kuzniewski)
Why is Davis a Memphis Tiger for this one — perhaps historic — year? You might call it the value of a Penny. When Davis entered the transfer portal after the 2021-22 season, he fielded calls from the likes of Kentucky and Kansas, blue-blooded institutions where most college players would offer a kidney to play one season. But as his phone was blowing up with calls and texts, three numbers caught Davis’ eye: 901. “I didn’t know the number,” reflects Davis, “but I knew 901 was Memphis, and I knew Memphis was Penny Hardaway.”
Davis first got to know Hardaway as an opponent, more familiar with the former NBA star’s line of Nike shoes (and One Cent brand) than the rising coach of a conference rival. And when Davis struggled against the Tigers during the 2020-21 season (he shot a combined 5-for-27 in two games against Memphis), he actually approached Hardaway after one of the games to find out the coach’s secret for shackling his performance. Before granting a photo request from Davis, Hardaway advised him to look more for his own shot within the flow of an offensive possession. At that time a pass-first point guard, Davis became predictable when double-teamed or cornered with the basketball. The advice came back to bite Hardaway a year later, when SMU beat the Tigers twice and Davis averaged 23.5 points in the Mustang victories. Look for his own shot, he did. And when the opportunity surfaced for Davis to play for Hardaway instead of against him, he pounced.
Coach Penny Hardaway became a father figure to Davis while plotting a course for a second straight NCAA tournament. (Photo: Larry Kuzniewski)
“Memphis has exceeded my expectations,” says Davis. “The city. The love. Great teammates. Coach Penny has been unbelievable to me, helping me grow on and off the floor, building a bond that’s probably going to last my whole life. Putting on that Tiger jersey is an honor.”
Davis’ father John went missing in the fall of 2021, shortly after an October visit with his son in Dallas. (A truck driver, John’s rig was discovered in November, but with no sign of its owner.) Davis acknowledges Hardaway filling a void in his life, one he didn’t anticipate or ask for, but one the Memphis coach has occupied beyond a basketball relationship.
“We clicked from the first phone call,” says Davis. “I was ecstatic. My parents, their friends, they used to wear his Orlando Magic jersey. He was before my time. I looked him up, and he was like a 6’7” Kyrie Irving. If he didn’t get hurt, he might have gone down as a top-five point guard. His game could exist in this era. And he’s taken my game to another level.”
Davis is a father himself, now. (Kendric Jr. will turn 2 this fall.) So there’s a multigenerational component to leaning on Hardaway as a role model, a standard for success beyond the hardwood. “I’ve struggled a long time,” he says, “finding that father figure you need. I have a son, and I need someone to teach me how to be a daddy. Penny’s someone you can look up to; I want to be like that someday. We can relate. Similar backgrounds. What he wanted in life, I want in life. His attitude, his passion for the game. Lots of people want things from you, and it can be challenging, balancing it all. I’ve learned more from him than anybody else. I wish I had two or three years [to play for him].”
Are the current Tigers built for March basketball, all the madness of win-or-go-home conditions? Davis nods emphatically when posed the question: “You look at teams that are successful in March: veterans, great guard play, and you’ve got a great four-man. Oral Roberts went to the Sweet 16 with that [in 2021], and we’ve got way more talent. We took Alabama [to the wire] at their house and lost by three points. That tells you how good we are. I guarantee you, in March Madness, teams won’t want to play Memphis.”
DeAndre Williams has averaged 17.0 points and 7.6 rebounds on his way to all-conference honors. (Photo: Larry Kuzniewski)
Davis points to a certain partner in crime in establishing expectations for the Tigers in the weeks ahead. That great “four-man” — or power forward — is DeAndre Williams, the 26-year-old fifth-year senior who may well join Davis on the AAC’s all-conference first team. Having struggled with a propensity for foul trouble his first two seasons as a Tiger, Williams has found a balance between defending aggressively and sloppily, with the result of one of the best seasons by a Memphis forward in the last decade. Averaging 17.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, Williams reeled off 26 consecutive games with at least 10 points. On February 12th against Temple, he scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds on his way to earning AAC Player of the Week honors. If that DeAndre Williams shows up, Memphis is a stiff test.
“I’m locked in,” says Williams, “on whatever it takes for us to win. Getting to the [NCAA] tournament is tough. We gotta put our hard hats on and just grind out wins. I wouldn’t think my last year would be my best year, but that’s how it’s gone. I’m happy. It’s a testament to my teammates and coaches, helping me succeed. I’m loving the ride, every moment. I want to leave my mark, on the team and the city.” On February 19th, Williams scored his 1000th point in a Memphis uniform, the first Tiger to reach that milestone in more than four years. So consider one significant mark already left.
There’s been an urgency this winter we don’t always see with the Tiger program. The roster is built almost entirely around seniors, six of them fifth-year players clinging to an extra year of eligibility granted in the aftermath of a Covid-restricted 2020-21 season. Davis has never played in the NCAA tournament. He has a fire in his belly, having been snubbed last season at SMU despite the Mustangs winning 24 games and finishing second in the AAC (ahead of Memphis, and the Tigers made the field). Keonte Kennedy (currently sidelined with a broken hand) and Elijah McCadden haven’t played in an NCAA tournament, each of them critical role players who transferred to Memphis to be part of one last attempt at the effervescent “madness” that can make a good season unforgettable.
Says Davis, “I remind my teammates all the time: We don’t have any redos. Whatever you’ve got, give it all. If there’s something you have left, it’s not gonna help this summer. Give it all. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. We’re in desperation mode now. Coach tells us we have family depending on this. Our lives are depending on this. I’ve got my son. I feel like I shine the brightest in the biggest games, and March Madness is all big games. I’m due. I feel like the nation needs that. I owe the [selection] committee one.”
At this point, the 2022-23 Tigers may enter the history books as the best Memphis team to go an entire season without being ranked among the nation’s top 25. And it doesn’t match the eye test. Just last Sunday at FedExForum, the country’s top-ranked team — the Houston Cougars — needed a buzzer-beating shot by Jamal Shead to win its 11th straight game. With a 23-8 record and second-place finish in the AAC, the Tigers will play in the NCAA tournament. First comes the AAC tournament in Fort Worth this week. If the Tigers are to win the event for the first time, they’ll likely have to beat a pair of teams (Tulane and Houston) that have already beaten them twice this season. Would Davis like to play the Cougars a third time? “Bad,” he says. “It’s on my mind.”
When asked about a factor that will determine the Tigers’ fate in the coming weeks, Davis goes back to his reason for wearing blue and gray to finish his college career. “Just listen to Coach Penny’s game plan. He spends hours and hours, studying habits of players, what teams like to do, what they don’t like to do, what you can expect out of time-outs. When we follow his game plan, we usually win.
“And also, taking it game by game. We can’t control what the committee thinks. If we keep stacking wins, that’s all that matters. We had one of the best nonconference schedules in the country. It’s prepared us. It’s built us. We’re ready for March. Coach always tells me, ‘It’s your time now.’”
Front Row (l to r): Isaiah Capps, Chanise Thompson, Ashanti Crowder, Aaron Wallace
Back row (l to r): Marja Martin-Carruth, Director, Avron B. Fogelman Center for Professional Career Development; Bonita Terry-Malone, Senior Director, Corporate Foundation Relations, University of Memphis; Trevia Chatman, President, Bank of America, Memphis; Dr. Gregory W. Boller, Interim Dean, Fogelman College of Business & Economics, University of Memphis
The University of Memphis’ Fogelman College of Business and Economics has partnered with Bank of America to launch the FCBE Career Fellows Program.
According to a statement released by the University of Memphis, the purpose of this program is to “engage, educate and effectively prepare African American students for professional success.”
According to Marja Martin-Carruth, director of the Avron B. Fogelman Center for Complete Professional Development at the University of Memphis, this partnership came about over a year ago.
“In a general sense, Bank of America was looking for ways to basically focus on their economic mobility,” said Martin-Carruth. “With their economic mobility, and aligning it with some of their college initiatives, they were looking to partner with a business school, specifically Fogelman, and hone in on some of the resources and programs that we currently have in place.”
“Career opportunities are a critical pillar in addressing the racial equality gap in our country,” said Trevia Chatman, president of Bank of America Memphis, in a statement. “In partnership with the U of M, the FCBE Career Fellows Program is designed to further equip Black/African American undergraduate business students with career development support and guidance to help ensure their success and position them for career advancement.”
The program is designed for African-American juniors, and it focuses on a group of students who may be looking for guidance, additional resources, help in connecting the dots to career readiness, internships, and preparing for their future career goals.
“Oftentimes, what we’ve seen over the last couple of years, even after the pandemic, students are having to juggle, or balance between ‘am I going to go to my part-time job so maybe I can make ends meet, or am I going to take advantage of this internship opportunity,’” said Martin-Carruth. She addedthat students may also not know what options are available to them, but there are a number of resources available at Fogelman that are designed to equip students for success.
The program hopes to show students that they can still have an internship that gives them the same financial stability as a part-time job, while also providing guidance from mentors and showing them how to take advantage of their resources.
“Some students just don’t take advantage of those resources, or know how to access them,” said Martin-Carruth. “With this program and with us kind of customizing a professional development plan with each of the fellows, we’re able to work with them specifically with their major, what their career/internship interests are, align some of our resources with what their ultimate goals are to give them that extra nudge that they need to make sure they have everything aligned.”
Dionne Warwick was the featured performer at the Schedit Family Performing Arts Centre. With her are the Scheidt children: Susan Arney, Helen Gronauer, Rudi Scheidt Jr., and Elkan Scheidt (Credit: Al Kapone)
Covering the February 4th grand opening gala for the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center at University of Memphis brought back fond memories of the late Honey and Rudi Scheidt.
A photo of the couple appeared with the first party I ever covered. It was a visit to Memphis by the Metropolitan Opera. The after-party was at the old Justine’s restaurant. It was in 1980, when I was working for the Memphis Press-Scimitar.
I wasn’t taking photos back then, so the photographer on the assignment took the the picture of the Scheidts. But I took many pictures of the couple later on. I saw the Scheidts at concerts, art exhibit openings, and other cultural events and fund-raisers over several decades.
I got to know Honey and Rudi, and I was always happy to see them at parties. I loved Honey’s graciousness and Rudi’s wit. They were friendly and fun. And I got to know their children — Susan Arney, Rudi Scheidt Jr., Elkan Scheidt, and Helen Gronauer.
The Scheidts were big supporters of Memphis music. In 2000, Rudi gave his first donation for the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at U of M, Arney says. “He gave a huge donation to improve the program and they named it after him,” Arney says.
“They wanted to keep Memphis on the map as far as music,” Gronauer told the audience during the concert portion of the evening. She and her brothers and sister took the stage and talked about their parents and the legacy they left.
Ironically, Elkan said, “None of us can sing a tune.”
The Scheidts are continuing to keep Memphis on the map through their philanthropy. “We Zoom every Monday morning to talk,” Arney says.
And that will continue with the next generation of 11 grandchildren, she adds. “Just any kind of cause, whether charity or not, that we can help make Memphis a better city.”
Susan Arney, Rudi Scheidt Jr., Caryn Scheidt, Kyle Polack, Rachel Polack, Ezra Polack, Lindsay Grass, David Grass, Helen Gronauer, Mimi Scheidt at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)Laurie and Elkan Scheidt at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)The Scheidt children — Helen Gronauer, Elkan Scheidt, Rudi Scheidt Jr., and Susan Arney — on stage at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Kevin Sanders, director of the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music, at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The gala concert featured the University Symphony Orchestra, University Singers, and the Mighty Sound of the South Pep Band.
Al Kapone, who performed at Rudi’s birthday parties in February for years at the Germantown Performing Arts Centre, was master of ceremonies.
Yours truly with David and Yvonne Acey and Al Kapone at the after party at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. Al Kapone was master of ceremonies at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Dionne Warwick was the featured performer. Warwick, who complimented the U of M performers, also sang just about every one of her hit songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Her more-than-an-hour-long concert included “Message to Michael,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” and “Anyone Who Had a Heart.”
She performed duets with her drummer, the fantastic David Elliott.
Warwick invited the audience to sing along with “That’s What Friends Are For.” Instead of the lighters music fans once used to show their appreciation back in the day, audience members at the gala waved their lit cell phones.
Dionne Warwick at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)Drummer/vocalist David Elliott performs with Dionne Warwick at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
The evening began with a tour of the building and continued with dinner in a tent. Following the concert, guests returned to the tent for music and dancing to The Bar-Kays. And Krystal hamburgers and Gibson’s doughnuts.
The crowd gets into it at the after party featuring The Bar-Kays at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)James Alexander of The Bar-Kays at the after party at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)The Bar-Kays perform at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)
Asked what she thought about the evening, Arney says, “It was magical. To me, for a building opening for the first time and everything being new — all employees, all visitors, all community — and you’re student based, there was nothing that I noticed that went wrong. And truly better than I would have ever expected.”
The 82,000 square-foot Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center cost around $40,000,000, Arney says.
The building is paid for, but much more is needed for the center, Arney told the audience. For instance, they need $1.5 million dollars for grand pianos. The pianos cost $200,000 apiece, she said.
I think it’s safe to say Rudi and Honey would have given the gala a thumbs up. “I know they’re here tonight looking at all of us,” Rudi Jr. said.
Jimmy Tashie, Nancy Tashie, and Rabbi Micah Greenstein at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)Mario Monterosso, Dabney Coors, and Kortland Whalum at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)Billy Orgel and that writer guy at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Billy Orgel)Merry and Johnny Moore at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)Mike and Sharon Goldstein at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)Kathy and Roger Sapp at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)Kate Duignan and Chris Peck at the Scheidt Family Performing Arts Center gala. (Credit: Michael Donahue)We Saw You
Kendric Davis and Penny Hardaway (photo by Larry Kuzniewski)
The Memphis Tigers are competing in their tenth season as members of the American Athletic Conference. They have yet to win a league championship, neither a regular-season title nor the postseason tournament. (The Tigers have twice lost in the tournament final.) What kind of chances do the 2022-23 Tigers have for ending this drought, for earning the program’s first conference crown since they were Conference USA champs in 2013? With mighty Houston setting the pace, Memphis can’t afford more than four losses among their 18 league games. Even three defeats might be too many to top the Cougars, so Sunday’s loss at Tulane didn’t help. But there are three factors that, if blended properly, could result in a first-place finish for Memphis.
• Senior motivation. No fewer than ten Tiger seniors are competing for playing time, for coach Penny Hardaway’s trust as he distributes a total of 200 player minutes each game. Half of these players are fifth-year seniors, now midway through their final college rodeo. For this group of Tigers … this is it. There’s no building for a 2024 run. There’s no more time for development, for learning where they best fit, for establishing rapport with teammates. There’s something to be said for desperation when it comes to chasing a championship.
Hardaway has been starting a pair of point guards: Alex Lomax and Kendric Davis (both fifth-year seniors). It’s intentional, and as much for the leadership intangible as the skill sets Lomax and Davis bring. Memphis is 11-4 and has four SEC notches on its belt, but has yet to crack the Top 25. Lomax and Davis see this, as do each of their senior brethren. The search for national attention — “respect” is the word used in front of cameras — remains a motivator for Hardaway’s leaders. “Add DeAndre [Williams],” says Hardaway, “and that’s three guys who understand time, possession, the moment. They work through adversity. They’re connected, so that makes it even better.”
• Solid jaw. The Tigers have yet to lose consecutive games. Halfway through the season, Memphis has shown it can take a punch. The Tulane loss may reveal more than any other blow the Tigers absorb this winter. Not only do they need to avoid a second loss in a row (Saturday against East Carolina), but they need to build a winning streak if they hope to threaten Houston atop the AAC. The comeback victory over USF last week to open conference play may be the calling card Hardaway utilizes in the weeks ahead as his team hopes to climb in both the standings and the national conversation. “Early in a game, you know you can come back,” says Hardaway. “But late in the game? Can you stay calm enough under the pressure? The best players, they stay firm and calm in chaos. They don’t panic.”
• That guy. Championship teams have “that guy,” the player everyone in the arena knows will have the ball at winning time. Kendric Davis is that player for these Memphis Tigers. Atop the AAC in both scoring (20.4 points per game) and assists (6.1), Davis is well on his way to a second straight league Player of the Year award. With the Tigers down ten with ten minutes to play against USF, Davis took over. He drained a three-pointer, stole the ball in the USF backcourt and converted a layup, then fed a lob to Williams for a thunderous dunk. He was playing in a zone the other nine players couldn’t reach and it was enough for the Tigers to escape an ugly home loss. “He’s a closer,” says Hardaway. “That’s the blessing of having him on your team. You know he has that type of run in him. He puts the work in. He was getting down during the [USF] game, and I told him, ‘You’re a killer. Don’t forget that. It’s what you do.’ He was looking for his moment and it came.”
Senior guard Kendric Davis (photo by Larry Kuzniewski)
In more than a century of University of Memphis basketball, we have never seen a team like coach Penny Hardaway’s current roster. Particularly in the era of “one-and-done” NBA-bound talent, the Tigers’ collection of seniors — essentially Hardaway’s entire rotation — is extraordinary. In Saturday’s win over Ole Miss, nine of the ten players who took the floor for the home team at FedExForum were classified as seniors. (The outlier was redshirt-freshman Johnathan Lawson.) Contrast this with the end of the 2021-22 season, when only one Tiger was saluted on Senior Day. That player (Alex Lomax) is onceagain a senior this season.
There are a few qualifiers to this outbreak of senioritis in the Memphis program. The pandemic restrictions of the 2020-21 campaign (one that ended with an NIT championship for Memphis) led to an extra year of eligibility for college players nationwide. Thus you see Lomax playing an unprecedented fifth full season in blue and gray. Three of his senior classmates — Kendric Davis, DeAndre Williams, and Elijah McCadden — are also enjoying that “5th-year senior” classification. And no fewer than six of the nine seniors in the Tiger rotation are transfers, having played for other programs before arriving in Memphis. Malcolm Dandridge and Jayden Hardaway (Penny’s son) will join Lomax this season as the only players to suit up four years under Hardaway. Being a senior these days is different from what you remember about high school (or college).
How is this veteran roster impacting the culture and competitive strength of the Tiger program? It’s hard to imagine the group being rattled, either by small-scale disappointment (Seton Hall’s buzzer-beating bank shot to beat them in Orlando) or larger issues like a significant injury or losing streak. This group has seen a lot. Those nine rotation seniors entered this season with a combined total of 29 college seasons under their belts. The ten Tigers who played in the loss to Gonzaga during last season’s NCAA tournament had a combined 15 full seasons behind them. Memphis may or may not have the best talent in the American Athletic Conference. But it will be hard to find another team in the entire country, let alone the AAC, to match the Tigers’ “battle-tested” metric.
“They’re definitely taking on my personality,” said Hardaway (the coach), after last week’s win over North Alabama. “They really want to win. They have chips on their shoulders because they feel like they haven’t gotten the respect they deserve. Coming together as a team, we gained some guys who know how to play and want to win. That’s what you’re seeing.”
Penny’s personality — certainly that collective chip balanced on Tiger shoulders — will come in handy as the Tigers face three more SEC teams in eight days (December 10-17). Memphis remains unranked, a peripheral threat, at least in the minds of AP voters. A win over Auburn (currently ranked 11th) or Alabama (8th) would move the Tigers closer to the national conversation.
Then, of course, there’s the American Athletic Conference and dreams of a first AAC title for Memphis. In the way will be the Houston Cougars, the top-ranked team in the country. The Tigers and Cougars won’t meet on the floor until February 19th (in Texas), then the regular-season finale at FedExForum (March 5th). Lots of basketball to play between now and then, games that need to be treated as building blocks toward something larger. That will require a steady, mature, game-to-game approach. The kind of intangible seniors are known for.
If you land tickets for that Senior Day showdown in early March, be sure and get to the arena early. The ceremony will take some time.
Seth Henigan: Bowl-bound. (Photo: Larry Kuzniewski)
This being a week for giving thanks, we should count our blessings for the bounty of big-time sports raising the Memphis smile index to record levels. In the ever-fluctuating world of athletes and coaches — injuries (we’ll get to those) and firings around the next corner — it’s rare to find so much optimism, even confidence, throughout a single city. Count the win totals as they climb and consider: the Memphis Showboats are back.
The University of Memphis football program secured a ninth consecutive bowl berth last Saturday with a win over North Alabama. Now 6-5 with a single regular-season game left to play (this Saturday at SMU), coach Ryan Silverfield’s squad endured an ugly four-game losing streak, the kind of skid that typically kills a season. Yet it appears Memphis will play a 13th game after all.
On the hardwood, coach Penny Hardaway has somehow built a Tiger roster that could exceed its preseason hype. A trio of veteran transfers led by Kendric Davis lends a “grown-up” feel to a Memphis team already stocked with a pair of “seasoned” leaders in Alex Lomax and DeAndre Williams. Davis outscored the entire VCU team in the first half of Sunday’s win at FedExForum. He’s a legitimate All-America candidate.
And, of course, we have the Grizzlies. After Sunday’s loss at Brooklyn, the Griz are 10-7, good for sixth in the Western Conference. This despite playing 17 games (all of them) without once suiting up every member of their big-three: Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr. As Jackson plays his way toward full strength, and with Bane’s presumed return in a couple of weeks, it’s hard to find a team in the entire NBA, let alone the Western Conference, capable of slowing the Grizzlies’ rise. Until, that is, we watch Morant helped off the court with another lower-body (this time, his left ankle) injury.
The NBA season is a slog, friends. Even if Morant misses a month, he’ll have more than three to play before the postseason begins. The defending champion Golden State Warriors are under .500 (8-9). The longtime face of the league (LeBron James) takes the floor for a 5-10 L.A. Lakers outfit. Optimism? If the Grizzlies can reach the playoffs at full strength, another second-round exit in 2023 would be a disappointment.
And then we have the Showboats! Those of us who remember the brief (1984-85) stint of the original ’Boats know USFL action at the Liberty Bowl was about as much fun as a fan could have with his clothes on. I attended a sold-out battle with the Birmingham Stallions in June 1984 during a visit to see my grandmother. It remains one of the most exciting sporting events of my life. The new operation is going with new colors and a new logo, but I’ll be the first in line if the Showboats sell retro gear on game days. Will Memphis have an appetite for spring football? During a Grizzlies playoff run and the start of baseball season? It’s hard to tell. But there’s something to be said for a positive vibe in sports. And the Memphis Showboats’ vibe has long outlived their presence in this town. Again with the optimism.
In addition to the Tigers and Mustangs on the gridiron, the holiday weekend will feature three Tiger basketball games (Penny’s squad will play at the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando), and a pair of Grizzly contests (New Orleans at home Friday, then at New York Sunday). Thanksgiving sports is more, in fact, than the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. Relish every moment, and pass the gravy.
• A remarkable streak will come to an end this season for the University of Memphis football program. Every season since 2016 (so six straight, through the 2021 campaign), the Tigers featured either a 1,000-yard rusher or a receiver with 1,000 yards through the air. The streak began with Anthony Miller hauling in 1,434 yards worth of receptions in 2016, and will end with Calvin Austin’s total (1,149 yards) last year. Even more astounding, in three of these seasons (2017-19), the Tigers had both a runner and receiver top 1,000 yards. Prior to this epic statistical era, the program record for such a streak was three (DeAngelo Williams’ three 1,000-yard rushing seasons from 2003 to 2005). Before the streak began, Memphis had only had a single 1,000-yard season by a receiver (Isaac Bruce in 1993).
Entering this Saturday’s game against North Alabama, Asa Martin leads Memphis with 331 rushing yards. Tight end Caden Prieskorn tops Tiger receivers with 480 yards. The Memphis offense has become “committee” oriented, among the explanations for the team’s 5-5 record. Stars win football games. They also draw fans.
• It’s hard to celebrate punters. In 2013, Tom Hornsey won the Ray Guy Award and first-team All-America honors as he shattered punting records for Memphis, but the team finished 3-9 for a sixth consecutive losing season. Fans don’t stand up and cheer when their punter trots onto the field. (They actually do the opposite.) A punter’s “success” is dripping with irony.
But it’s time we acknowledge the season Memphis punter Joe Doyle is having. The senior is second in the entire country with an average of 47.3 yards per punt, a figure that would break (barely) the Tiger record of 47.2, set by Spencer Smith in 2015. Better yet, 12 of Doyle’s 40 punts have pinned the Tigers’ opponent inside their own 20-yard line. And that’s where punters earn their trophies. A booming leg is one thing, and a cloud-seeking football can be fun to watch in flight. But can a punter “flip the field” when a team’s offense stalls? Joe Doyle can.
• The late Danton Barto will be saluted Saturday when his jersey number (59) becomes the seventh to be retired by the Memphis program. Barto’s Tiger record for career tackles (273) hasn’t been approached since he played his last game in 1993. He’ll join John Bramlett and Charles Greenhill as the only defensive players to receive the program’s ultimate honor, and he’s only the third Tiger to have played since 1990 and get his jersey retired (along with Isaac Bruce and DeAngelo Williams).
The Tigers will also salute a departing group of seniors, players who have enjoyed a level of success Barto didn’t. How many fans will be at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium to applaud these past and present Tiger heroes? A visit from an FCS opponent (North Alabama) the week before Thanksgiving is not a recipe for a large crowd, and Memphis has yet to see 30,000 fans in the stadium this season. Perhaps a 1 p.m. kickoff will help, but it will be chilly (forecast: low-40s), and won’t impact the standings in the American Athletic Conference. A sixth win, though, would clinch a ninth straight season of bowl eligibility for Memphis, an unprecedented run in these parts. It would be the kind of day that would fill Danton Barto with pride.
