College Basketball 2024-25 Preview Top 40: #38 Memphis Tigers

With the 2024-25 College Basketball season on the horizon, it’s time to break down our preseason top 40. Over the next several weeks, we’ll analyze rosters and critical storylines for each program. Our journey continues with No. 38 Memphis.

Connelly’s Top 40: #39 Maryland | #40 McNeese State

Memphis Preview: Look Back

Memphis 2023-24 Season:
Record: 22-10 (11-7 in AAC)
Postseason: Declined NIT

It was a tale of two halves of the season for the Tigers last year. After starting the season 15-2, they soared to the top ten in the AP Top 25. Four consecutive disastrous losses to South Florida, Tulane, UAB, and Rice completely derailed the season, sending them to the NIT, where they eventually declined their invitation to the tournament. We’re not sure what caused the season’s demise for Memphis, but it may be for the best that the roster is primarily new faces entering the upcoming campaign.

Connelly’s CBB Rankings: 2024-25 Players | Transfers | Part II | Transfer Portal Teams | Back to School

Memphis Preview: Departures

Memphis Biggest Losses:

David Jones (NBA) – 21.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 1.8 APG
Jahvon Quinerly (Graduation) – 13.5 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 4.9 APG
Nae’Qwan Tomlin (Graduation) – 14.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 0.7 APG

It’s a mass exodus for the Tigers this offseason as their top five scorers from 2023-24 are no longer with the program. It leaves Penny Hardaway with plenty of work and very little roster continuity heading into next season. Jones emerged as one of the top scorers in the nation last season, and his offensive production will have to be made up for by multiple players. The same can be said for Quinerly’s playmaking, one of the American’s best floor generals all season long.

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Memphis Preview: Arrivals

Memphis Top Additions:

PJ Haggerty (Tulsa) – 21.1 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.8 APG
Tyrese Hunter (Texas) – 11.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 4.1 APG
Dain Dainja (Illinois) – 6.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.2 APG

This is one of the top transfer portal hauls of the offseason, headlined by Tulsa product PJ Haggerty. The backcourt stud went from seeing just six games with TCU in 2022-23 to bursting onto the scene with the Golden Hurricane, averaging north of 20 points per game a season ago. Hunter enters as a former McDonald’s All-American who showed flashes for Iowa State and, most recently, Texas, a piece that may benefit from more freedom at Memphis. Dainja will provide some beef in the frontcourt as a big man who mostly lost his spot last season at Illinois.

Memphis Preview: Who’s Back

Memphis Top Returnees:

Nick Jourdain – 6.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.2 APG

This is where the most significant concern comes into play for this roster. Remarkably, just one player who saw consistent minutes returns for Memphis this season in Jourdain, who only averaged 6.5 points per game last year. It will be a disadvantage for the earlier stages of the season, but it has allowed Hardaway to pick and choose players from the transfer portal and recruiting trail that he believes fits his system correctly. That said, it will be one of his career’s most significant coaching tests to get all the pieces in the right place for the start of conference play.

Memphis Preview: 2024-25 Season

Memphis 2024-25 Season:
Memphis National Championship Odds +8000

It won’t happen overnight, but this roster is oozing talent and will boast an incredibly high ceiling. The trick will be for Hardaway to find the proper lineup construction and rotation that will be the most effective for this group of players. If he can get Haggerty scoring at a similar level of volume and efficiency as he did at Tulsa, he is a legitimate All-American candidate. In what could be a make-or-break year for Hardaway, pushing the right buttons may determine his future with the program.

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