Penny Hardaway, after slowing things down during the NCAA-mandated recruiting dead period, returned to work last week.
Memphis’ seventh-year basketball coach has brought a number of potential transfers for official visits, so far scoring a commitment from Wichita State sharpshooter Colby Rogers. The 6-4 Covington, Ga., native joins another rebuilt Tigers roster that is gradually taking shape. Hardaway also welcomed transfers PJ Haggerty (6-3 guard) and Dain Dainja (6-10 center). He also has 4-star freshman guard Jared Harris scheduled to arrive this summer.
In addition to Rogers, Memphis welcomed North Texas wing Aaron Scott (6-7), and is expected to bring in Sam Houston State guard Davon Barnes (a former Collierville standout), FIU point guard Arturo Dean and guard of North Texas John Buggs III for visits this week.
So what does this upheaval over the past few weeks indicate about Hardaway’s plans for the 2024-25 season?
Penny Hardaway wants more shooters
Since Hardaway became coach in 2018, the Tigers have never finished in the top 50 in the country in 3-point shooting.
Memphis’ best season from beyond the arc was 2020-21, when it made 36.3% of its 3-point attempts and ranked 58th in Division I. The team’s long-range percentage has declined each season since, culminating in a 35% success rate last season.
Bringing in Rogers is a great sign that Hardaway is emphasizing 3-point shooting. Before shooting 40.9% from deep at Wichita State (25th in the country) and making 99 triples (17th in the country), Rogers had the seventh-best 3-point shooting percentage (42.9%) in Division I at Siena in 2021-22.
Scott, while primarily known as a top-notch defender, also brings top-notch shooting to the table. He shot 37% from the line last season (44 of 119). As a sophomore, although he was considerably less active from beyond the arc (just 47 attempts), Scott shot 40.4%.
Barnes, in his only season at Sam Houston State, shot 39.1% from 3-point range (59 of 151). Buggs, in his only season at North Texas, made 45.1% of his 3-point attempts (60 of 133).
Memphis Basketball stepping up on defense
Hardaway made it clear multiple times how disappointed he was with the Tigers’ defense last season.
In response to a question after Memphis’ season ended in the AAC tournament in March, Hardaway mentioned defense 10 times.
“My teams have always been built on defense. I didn’t have a defensive team this year,” he said. “The guys played hard, but we didn’t have the defense — the guys we had. So that’s what it comes down to. Memphis basketball is about defense, rebounding and blocking. The whole nine. We use our defense is our offense.” I walked away from that this year to get talent. And they were talented guys. But you get a bad injury to Caleb Mills, I mean, that’s devastating trying to regroup from that and every game becomes about offense instead of. defense.
“That’s not Memphis basketball. I take that for myself. It just has to be — I’m a defensive coach. That’s what I believe: Your defense starts your offense. That’s what we had for five years until this year. That’s my best offensive team I’ve ever had. But the defensive side of the ball wasn’t quite what I wanted. I like switching defenses, pressing the ball more, I won’t have the chance to do that this year.”
Scott brings a similar approach to the game, focusing heavily on defense. He blocked 45 shots and finished with 38 steals at North Texas last season.
Colby Rogers: Memphis basketball moves to Colby Rogers, one of the best 3-point shooters in the country
Likewise, Dean is a prototypical disruptor on defense, finishing with 106 steals as a sophomore at FIU — the most in the country last season.
Tigers prioritizing adjustment
Hardaway himself said: He put accumulating “talent” above assembling a roster of players who would fit well. This created overlaps in some areas and led to deficiencies in other areas. It also caused confusion among players, which led to some internal conflicts.
By locking down Haggerty, Dainja and Rogers, Memphis has a scorer, a rim protector and a shooter. Rogers’ ability to space the floor with his 3-point ability, in theory, is perhaps Haggerty’s greatest strength (dribble penetration). These two things together should also help create more opportunities for Dainja to score.
If the Tigers add Scott or Dean, their strengths as defensive threats will bring back that counter-attacking dimension the team didn’t have enough of last season. It would also help ease some of the pressure on top scorer David Jones – should he decide to return.
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: What Memphis Basketball Visitors Reveal About Penny Hardaway’s Plans
