Something’s rotten in the state of Memphis Tigers basketball. You have to go back a quarter-century to find a previous Tiger team with a losing record after New Year’s Day. (The Tigers were 7-8 after a loss at FAU on January 11th.) And the 2001 Tigers — on the watch of new coach John Calipari — went 7-0 that January to erase any notion of a losing season. Alas, the 2001 team was relegated to the NIT and, almost certainly, this year’s squad will have to win the American Conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament. The latter has been the minimum expectation for Penny Hardaway’s program since he took the helm eight years ago. How and why are we here?
The current Tigers have virtually no star power. Each of Hardaway’s three previous teams featured the American Conference scoring leader: Kendric Davis, David Jones, and P.J. Haggerty, respectively. Dug McDaniel leads the Tigers with 14.0 points per game, good enough for 20th in the league. McDaniel is the only Memphis player to average as many as 10 points and when your point guard is your top scoring option, your roster has holes.
Forget a star, the Tiger fan base would welcome merely a familiar face. No member of this year’s team wore a Memphis uniform last winter. The coach’s son, Ashton Hardaway, is back for a second season, but only after playing a season at St. Mary’s. Welcome home … I guess. College athletes have always been “our guys” for a brief time, but merely five months? It’s not enough to fill seats — or even an entire section — at FedExForum, not by a long shot.
Games must be played, though, and the Tigers improved to 9-8 with a pair of home wins last week. Following a gritty, two-point victory over Temple Wednesday night, Penny Hardaway suggested a corner may have been turned. “We were committed with our energy and effort,” he said. “It wasn’t an on- or off-switch. They were talking, communicating. They were the most engaged in the huddles that they’ve ever been as a group. We should never look back. This is who we are. This is the fingerprints we’ll put on the game, starting tonight.”
McDaniel scored only five points in that win over the Owls, but the 5’11” guard led his team with nine rebounds. It’s the kind of effort stat the 2025-26 Tigers need to see in more box scores as the season builds toward March. McDaniel scored 18 points and Curtis Givens added 14 in Sunday’s win over UTSA. All the better, Sincere Parker scored 22 off the bench, suggesting backcourt stability may be a team strength Hardaway can lean on during league play. Entering Wednesday’s game at Tulsa, Memphis and FAU are the only teams in the American with only one league loss.
• As if the Tigers’ play at FedExForum hasn’t been shaky enough, fans can’t even gaze toward the rafters for a glance at heroes of days gone by. No Larry Finch banner. No Keith Lee banner. No Penny Hardaway banner. Instead, a pair of gigantic black drapes hang, ostensibly to block the empty seats of the upper deck (where tickets are no longer sold for Tiger games). This has all kinds of bad mojo. The drapes look like something that would hang at a memorial service. Tiger basketball may be struggling, but it’s not dead. And come on: What’s the meaning of retired numbers if they’re not displayed on game nights? I’ve been attending games since 1991-92, and I cannot remember seeing “blank” rafters. This needs to be corrected. And soon.