What former coach Lionel Hollins said about Memphis Grizzles playing without Ja Morant

The field at AutoZone Park already gets plenty of work, hosting both the Memphis Redbirds and Memphis 901 FC. But it played host to a different occasion on Tuesday night — the 2023 Memphis Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

The 2023 class included Allie Prescott III, Elma Roane, Hubie Brown, Jack Eaton, Richard Mulrooney, Sheila Echols-Gross and Tamika Whitmore as well as high school coach honorees Marion Brewer, Phil Clark, Sharon Watson and Sylvester Ford.

Former Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins accepted the honor on Brown's behalf, as Brown wasn't able to make the ceremony. Hollins, who served as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets last season and spent decades as a coach, also worked on Brown's staff with the Grizzlies from 2002-04. He said Tuesday he expects the Grizzlies to cope well while they play without the suspended star point guard Ja Morant for the first 25 games of the season.

"One of the strengths for the Grizzlies over these last few years has been their depth, that next man up," Hollins said. "And they missed players at different times and they still kept rolling, they still had a good record. So I think that they'll handle the challenges."

But the evening was mostly about honoring the achievements of Memphis' most important sporting figures.

Here's a brief list of those who spoke at the event.

Richard Mulrooney

Mulrooney is the current coach of the Tigers men's soccer team, having served in that role since 2014. He's a Memphis native who had a long playing career in MLS and with the United States Men's National Team. He was also an All-American as a collegiate player at Creighton.

"Coming down here and seeing the list of the greats, from Penny (Hardaway) to all the players that he played with, to the announcers, Cindy Parlow, to be seen in that honor from my city, I'm humbled by it. You don't play for situations to try to get in this, but to see that my city sees me in this light, I'm thankful and I'm proud to say I'm from Memphis."

Hubie Brown

Brown served as Grizzlies coach from 2002-04 and was the first coach to take the Grizzlies to the playoffs. He had previously been the coach of the New York Knicks and Atlanta Hawks. He now serves as an NBA analyst for ESPN.

"It's a great honor to accept the award on his behalf since he can't be here," Hollins said. "Hubie was the first winning coach in Grizzlies history, and that's a big thing. He got the foundation laid and we had about three years of winning. ... I respect and admire what he did and how he did it."

Sheila Echols-Gross

Echols-Gross is a Memphis native who won an Olympic gold medal in the 4x100-meter relay in 1988. She ran collegiately at LSU and was a prolific long jumper and sprinter. She also won medals at the 1987 Pan American Games, 1989 World Cup and 1993 World Championships.

"I'm so honored," Echols-Gross said. "I didn't expect it. I just didn't. So I'm really grateful for the opportunity to come and be honored. It's heartwarming for me to come back to my city. I always wanted to be in Memphis anyways, and then to come back to something like this, it's a special feeling."

Tamika Whitmore

Whitmore is a Tigers basketball legend, having led the country in scoring in 1999. A forward, she played for Memphis from 1995-99 and then played in the WNBA from 1999-2009. She was also a two-time Conference USA player of the year for the Tigers.

"It means everything," Whitmore said. "I love being able to walk in the streets of Memphis and every so often somebody does know who I am or they'll come up to me and be like, 'Hey, are you Tamika Whitmore?' I'm like, 'I am!' And they're still awestruck by it. But I'm really just a country kid from Tupelo, Mississippi."

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Allie Prescott

Prescott was a baseball player at Memphis State who later served as general manager of the Memphis Redbirds, and more recently as Memphis' interim athletic director. He said it was important that the ceremony took place at AutoZone Park, the home of the Redbirds and Memphis 901 FC.

"It's an incredible honor. Hardly can put it in to words. I spent so much of my life out here, from the time we started building the ballpark till we cut the ribbon April 1, 2000," Prescott said. "I'm just so proud that this ballpark continues to look very much like the day we cut the ribbon."

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What Lionel Hollins said about Memphis Grizzles playing without Ja Morant