New Memphis basketball Tigers reveal biggest takeaways from summer workouts

Penny Hardaway teased it with a bold declaration just days earlier.

The Memphis basketball coach told a small group of reporters on Wednesday that the latest crop of players he has assembled is more tightly knit than any other he has had since he became coach in 2018.

On Saturday, some of those same players reinforced Hardaway’s point. Even though Tyreek Smith and Moussa Cisse are the only Tigers who have ever been part of the same team, Colby Rogers said one of the first things fans will notice is how much closer this group is — especially compared to last season’s bunch, which finished 22-10 (11-7 AAC).

And he should know, having played against Memphis three times in 2023-24.

“Talent-wise, you could argue it’s the same,” said Rogers, a transfer guard from Wichita State. “But watching Memphis basketball last year, you could tell there were rifts on the team. They just weren’t all on the same accord. That’ll be the biggest difference this year.”

Rogers was one of five Tigers who came out to TPC Southwind Saturday afternoon to sign autographs for fans attending the third round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Each player in the group — PJ Haggerty, Tyrese Hunter, Tyreek Smith, Dain Dainja and Rogers (potentially the leaders in the clubhouse to be the starting five on opening night against Missouri) — were in Memphis for eight weeks of summer workouts from June to August.

“With this group, it doesn’t matter who gets the most points or who’s at the forefront,” Rogers said. “We’re not a selfish team. We’re not trying to take bad shots. We’re gonna try to kick it to the open guy, try to make plays for each other. I think that’ll result in a lot more wins and consistency throughout the year.”

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Nicholas Jourdain, Baraka Okojie, Jared Harris and Cisse were also on campus for the duration, while PJ Carter came aboard about halfway through. That time…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/memphis-basketball-tigers-reveal-biggest-223928683.html

Author : The Commercial Appeal

Publish date : 2024-08-17 22:39:28

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