You can learn a lot about a basketball team with four games in eight days. The Tigers finished January by winning three of those four games, and they displayed a few factors that will impact the remainder of the season.
Whither D.J. Jeffries? The sophomore forward from Olive Branch was a preseason second-team all-conference selection. It now seems he can’t crack the Tigers’ starting lineup. In the blowout wins over Wichita State and East Carolina, Jeffries scored a total of 13 points (and took 14 shots). He played well in the win over SMU at FedExForum (12 points off the bench; 5 of 7 from the field), but disappeared in the rematch at Dallas (a single point in 15 minutes on the floor), a game Memphis lost by two points. For now, Jeffries is this team’s enigma. He seems to have had some thunder stolen by transfers Landers Nolley and DeAndre Williams. For the Tigers to be their best in February, Jeffries must join the party.
Memphis Athletics / Joe Murphy
Penny Hardaway
Willpower is there, at least in bursts. Eight minutes into the first game against SMU, the Tigers were beaten. Down eight points, they looked to be facing a rarity: a more athletic group of basketball players. But a 17-2 run seized the lead at halftime and Memphis traded punches with the Mustangs over the final 20 minutes and earned the win. They utilized a run of precisely the same margin (17-2) to get back into the game at SMU two days later. They had a late lead. They had a chance to force overtime with free throws. It didn’t work out. But the fight was there. This is an important variable, especially with crowds still nonexistent for home games. The only way this team makes the NCAA tournament is by winning a few games in February that they shouldn’t. That will require teeth as much as talent.
The Tigers can shoot from distance. Memphis hit at least 10 three-pointers in the wins over Wichita State, East Carolina, and SMU. They hadn’t hit so many in any of their previous 11 games. Seven Tigers found the net from long range in the win over the Pirates. Not an especially strong opponent, but that kind of collective shooting is hard to beat. The beauty in this, of course, is that it’s hard for seven players to slump at the same time. Tiger coach Penny Hardaway needs to adjust his rotation to accommodate shooters who are on target, and this will surely change from one game to the next. The Tigers even hit nine treys in the loss to SMU. Add a 10th and that two-point loss is a fourth straight win. Follow this stat line the rest of the season.
This team’s “identity” is defense. It’s an overused descriptor for a group of athletes tasked with winning games and chasing championships: What’s their identity? Just as individual players have several layers to what they bring on game night, so does a team. Those layers are peeled back depending on the opponent, location, injuries, time of year. In other words, a team’s “identity” changes as a season unfolds. But these Memphis Tigers will go as far as their defense takes them. SMU guard Kendric Davis is a leading candidate for American Athletic Conference Player of the Year. In two games against the Tigers last week, Davis missed 21 of his 27 shots and committed nine turnovers. The Tigers rank 26th in the country in points allowed (62.9 through the second SMU game). They rank 13th in field-goal percentage defense (39 percent). They beat teams by stopping teams, an asset Hardaway has sought since taking the job.
Boogie is better than he’s been. It was hard seeing Boogie Ellis miss that second free throw in the final seconds of the loss at SMU. Because Ellis is the one Tiger most in need of finding his role for this team. Remember his 24 points in the season-opening win over St. Mary’s? He hasn’t put up as many as 15 in a game since. This is a scorer, one originally committed to, ahem, Duke. Ellis needs a confidence-booster, to be sure. Hardaway must find the right place and time to bring Boogie back.
