Breaking Unbelievable News Now, two Memphis Tigers players have officially announced their transfers due to…
Tennessee’s Memphis Since Memphis won’t be participating in March Madness until 2021, Tigers players are visiting the website.
The most recent Tiger to do so is backup point guard Jayhlon Young, a source close to the program confirmed to ABC24.
One of Memphis’ best defenders and ball handlers was the redshirt junior. He made 27 appearances, scoring 2.2 points and pulling down one rebound each time.
They began the season 5-0, having defeated three teams ranked in the top 80 by KenPom: Missouri on the road on November 10 and Michigan and Arkansas on neutral courts in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Memphis received more votes than any other unranked team in the AP Top 25 poll for three weeks in a row, despite never being ranked during that time. However, it lost its next two games, falling to Villanova 79-63 in the Battle 4 Atlantis final and to Ole Miss 80-77 in a heartbreaking match on December 2.
After that, head coach Penny Hardaway realized some adjustments were necessary. But the first one wasn’t really anything he demanded. After starting five of the Tigers’ first seven games, Hardaway was asked if he could start coming off the bench by Florida State transfer guard Caleb Mills, who is Memphis’ third-leading scorer this season with 9.8 points per game. However, the sixth-year coach first declined.
Mills stated on Thursday, “I asked him before [the Ole Miss game].” “I started my last game at that point. Nick Jourdain and Ashton Hardaway have been in the starting lineup ever since. We have a 2-0 record thus far. All I want is to succeed. The guys who initially started the game, in my opinion, didn’t give each other enough compliments. However, Ashton is a better rebounder and shooter now that Nick is in there, which is great for the team.
In Memphis’ victories over VCU and Texas A&M, Mills and Jaykwon Walton, a transfer from Wichita State, both played off the bench. This has worked well for Mills. In his past two games, the 6-foot-5 guard has played 29 and 23 minutes per game, averaging 15 points and 3.5 rebounds.
In this recent run, Mills has also shot 4-of-5 from three-point range, but this is nothing new for the season. In 2023–24, he is shooting a career-high 40% from the field after only making 29.4% of his tries in the previous season at Florida State.
“I believe it simply comes down to confidence,” he remarked. “Work is the source of confidence. I haven’t stopped working since the beginning of the summer.
Memphis as a whole is playing with assurance. Before Sunday’s game, Texas A&M was rated No. 21 in the AP Top 25, and the team shot 48% from the field and 41% from 3-point range. The Tigers forced 12 turnovers from the Aggies and prevailed 37–35 in the rebounding contest. In addition, Hardaway’s squad recorded 2 blocks, 8 steals, and 15 assists while leading for 35:15 of the 40-minute game. Even All-American contender guard Wade Taylor IV was restricted to just 9 points on 3-of-14 shooting and 5 turnovers by the Tigers.
Following his ankle injury at VCU, David Jones went on a rampage in the opening half of Sunday’s victory at College Station. He shot 3-of-5 from three-point range and 6-of-10 from the field to score 21 points and grab 5 rebounds. In the opening 20 minutes of the game, he also had two blocks and a steal, which helped the Tigers take a 38-29 lead into halftime. Jones finished the game with 29 points, 7 rebounds, and a 47% shooting percentage after making two more 3-pointers in the second half.
However, even before Memphis’ victory against VCU, the St. John’s transfer (20.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game) was enjoying a phenomenal season. The last two games have seen a slight increase in his assistance, which is what makes a difference. Jahvon Quinerly, an Alabama transfer point guard, has been a major contributor to this effort. Against VCU and Texas A&M, he averaged 22 points, 5.5 assists, and 4 rebounds.
In the second half of the latter game, the 6-foot-1 guard was the greatest player for both sides on the floor. In the last 20 minutes of the game, he scored 15 points on 4-of-7 field goals and 1 of 2 three-pointers. In total, he finished with 24 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds.
“It has a significant impact,” Hardaway stated on Thursday. “If [Quinerly], Caleb, and Jaykwon were performing at a good level, we would be unbeaten. If we hadn’t lost to ‘Nova,,. If we hadn’t lost to Ole Miss,. They had offensive difficulties for almost four games.They scored, which is the primary reason we won the last two. All you need is for you guys to be yourselves. They must appear.
Not everything was simple. Not everything was lovely. However, with four games remaining in non-conference play, the Tigers are currently 7-2, a result that nearly everyone would have predicted in the preseason. And from here, things might get even better. Memphis has moved up to No. 25 in the CBS Sports Top 25 and 1, No. 40 in the NCAA NET Rankings, and No. 33 in KenPom. In the AP Top 25 poll released this week, the Tigers also garnered 56 votes.
Furthermore, according to insiders, Memphis does not anticipate Jordan Brown, the 2023 Lou Henson Award winner, returning this season. He had an unidentified sickness that kept him out of the last two games. However, in 6-foot-10 midseason transfer Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who joins from Kansas State after the Wildcats’ administration dismissed him last week, the Tigers might have found a better substitute. Despite not suiting up this season, Tomlin, who averaged 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in KSU’s journey to the Elite Eight last season, will be eligible to play as soon as he enrolls at Memphis.
Memphis’ final four non-conference games are against No. 13 Clemson on Saturday, No. 22 Virginia on Tuesday, Vanderbilt on December 23, and Austin Peay on December 30. All four games will take place at FedExForum, a venue the Tigers haven’t visited since November 17. But the homecoming game versus Clemson this weekend (2 p.m., ESPN+) might be well worth the wait. There is a good probability that all of the seats in the plaza and club levels will be filled for Saturday’s game in Memphis because tickets for both are sold out.
“While staying at the hotels and traveling, we grew closer to each other,” Hardaway remarked. “I want to never again play away from FedExForum for so long. However, the bonding made it much easier for us to be around one another.It will be difficult for me to return home after being gone for so long.
