Memphis basketball received an official visit from four-star point guard Kaden Magwood.
The 6-foot-5 Class of 2025 recruit told The Commercial Appeal he is scheduled to be on campus starting September 3.
“I went to (Penny Hardaway Basketball Camp) last summer,” said Magwood, who spent the last two seasons at Oak Hill (Va.) but will apply to the Combine Academy (North Carolina) as a senior. “I feel like I really impressed Coach Penny. I saw the weight room and did some gymnastics while I was there. Looks like a good place there.
“I’m excited to get on campus.”
The No. 57 overall recruit in his class (according to the 247Sports Composite) also has visits scheduled with Louisville (hometown school)NC State, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, USC, Mississippi State and Wake Forest — and could create others like Kansas and Auburn, he said.
But Magwood’s planned visit to Memphis is notable. The Tigers, like many other programs, have leaned heavily on the transfer portal and have been more selective in recruiting high school players in recent years. This will likely continue.
There is a true freshman on Penny Hardaway’s 2024-25 roster. Last season there were two, unless you count Mikey Williams and JJ Taylor, who combined to play three games before heading to UCF.
The previous season: zero.
Of course, Hardaway recruited high school students. Earlier this offseason, Memphis was in contention for five-star big man Jayden Quaintance, who signed with Arizona State. Memphis signed Jared Harris last November. Last fall, Curtis Givens III and Billy Richmond III visited the Tigers before signing with LSU and Arkansas.
Magwood says he recognizes what it means that Memphis is making it a priority.
“I’m very aware of that,” he said. “It seems like they really like me. I’ll just see the recruiting complete and go from there.”
Magwood isn’t just familiar with Hardaway and the Laurie-Walton Family Basketball Center. He also has history with assistant coach Rick Stansbury. The former Western Kentucky coach offered Magwood when he was a freshman at Western High School in Louisville. Magwood, whose first offer came from Coastal Carolina the same year, attended a camp at WKU and caught Stansbury’s attention.
Then, Magwood said, he and Stansbury reconnected last week. That’s when he received an offer from Memphis and an official official visit.
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“I’m excited to see what the vibe is like on campus and see how they review the film,” he said. “How they operate in practice and stuff.”
Magwood has seen its shares rise rapidly over the past year. As a junior at Oak Hill, he averaged 17.4 points on 45.3% shooting (43.6% from 3) with 3.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. In seven 3SSB Palmetto Road Championship games last month, Magwood averaged 21.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists.
“People say I’m the best scorer in the country in my class,” he said. “I feel like my game will be good for the NBA. (Memphis told me) they like my scoring ability and think I can be a pro one day.
Contact sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on the Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis Basketball: Kaden Magwood’s visit is important for Penny Hardaway
