Tigers gearing up for 2020-21 hoops season

Memphis will lean heavily on sophomore talent in Hardaway’s third season as coach

gotigersgo.com MEMPHIS, Tenn. — In its third season under head coach Penny Hardaway, the Memphis program enters the 2020-21 campaign with a deep and experienced roster.

The Tigers are set to open their season Nov. 25 against St. Mary's in the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Super Sophomores

The Tigers return four sophomores — D.J.

Jeffries, Lester Quinones, Boogie Ellis and Damion Baugh — who averaged at least 20 minutes per game on the 2019-20 squad.

Fellow sophomores Malcolm Dandridge and Jayden Hardaway are also back after appearing in 20plus games for Memphis last season.

'It's refreshing to see that group that was freshmen last year understand their jobs and their roles so well now,' Penny Hardaway said.

The buzz surrounding Jeffries is especially high after he averaged 10.8 points and 4.3 rebounds last season. He enters the season as one of 20 players nationally on the preseason watch list for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year.

'Last year was a lot of not knowing what was going to happen,' Jeffries said.

'Now, we know what to expect this year. We have a lot of older guys that have been there and done that.

We're not young anymore.'

Memphis' sophomore class has added guard Landers Nolley II, a transfer from Virginia Tech. A redshirt sophomore, Nolley II averaged 15.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Hokies last season as he was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference All-Freshman Team. He enters this season as a preseason All-AAC secondteam pick. 'Landers is pretty much a spot-up shooter and he might be the best shooter in the country,' Hardaway said. 'He's a high IQ guy that understands his game and isn't going to try to do things he can't do.'

Center of Attention

The expectations are high for freshman center Moussa Cisse, who joins the Tigers after being widely considered one of the top recruits in the country.

The 6-foot-10 Cisse was a five-star recruit and the No. 2 center prospect in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. He averaged 18.4 points, 15.3 rebounds and 9.2 blocks per game at Lausanne Collegiate School (Memphis) last season while leading the Lynx to Tennessee's Division IIA state title.

'As far as Moussa, we understood what he was coming in,' Hardaway said. 'He's a great defender that protects the rim and rebounds the ball. He's learning on the fly with the offensive side of the ball.'

Cisse is leaning on the experience and wisdom of his teammates as he begins his Memphis career with high expectations.

'He's a freshman so I talk to him a lot and let him know that college is not going to be easy,' said junior point guard Alex Lomax. 'I tell him you've got to play your game and just play hard, and he's been doing a great. We have a great connection with each other. He going to do a great job of catching and finishing inside for us.'

The Glue Guy

No player on the roster has appeared in more games for the Tigers than Lomax. The Memphis native played in all 31 games last season and in 35 of Memphis' 36 games as a freshman in 2018-19. He led the Tigers in assists (132, 4.25 per game) and steals (46,1.5 per game) last season.

'I come in every year with a defense-first mindset, and I feel like I do pretty good with that,' Lomax said.

'This year, I want to come in and do everything 10 times better. I want to have better passes for my teammates, be a better leader, be more vocal, be in rotation on the defensive end and just be the glue guy that I am for this team.'

Waiting on Williams

Nolley II isn't the only talented transfer the Tigers landed this offseason.

Former Evansville forward DeAndre Williams averaged 15.2 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Purple Aces last season.

As of Nov. 12, Williams had not yet been granted immediate eligibility at Memphis due to NCAA transfer rules. However, Hardaway is optimistic about Williams' chances to suit up soon for the Tigers.

'I'm very confident because of his story and what we gave to the NCAA,' Hardaway said.

'We feel like we've done a great job explaining his situation. I don't think there's any doubt in mind he will get a waiver to play. I think that decision will be very soon.'