Joe Cooper's 'dream' was just the hope Memphis basketball needed vs. Charlotte | Giannotto

On the Wednesday night of his dreams, Joe Cooper gave away the shoes.

He had played the final nine minutes of Memphis basketball’s convincing 76-52 win over Charlotte. His first basket as a Division-I basketball player had pushed the lead to double digits for good and gave the Tigers a rout they so badly needed.

It was, taken by itself, a fantastic tale of perseverance – a walk-on from Olive Branch High School with four years of junior college on his resume and a stepfather with a familiar name (Rodney Newsom) contributing in a meaningful way to his hometown team like he always thought he could through life’s detours.

So Cooper came running off the FedExForum court, his smile surpassed only by the joy his teammates seemed to get from the spotlight suddenly shining on him. And then he stopped to take off the bright red shoes he was wearing and gave them to a child in the front row.

Joe Jackson and Trey Draper, Tigers basketball players when Cooper was growing up a decade ago, “did it for me when I was a kid,” he said.

Right there, perhaps unbeknownst to him, Cooper helped explain why this performance – three points, three rebounds, an assist and a symbolic gesture – resonated so much when Memphis put a pounding on the American Athletic Conference’s second-place team.

“This is a dream situation for him to be playing in a Memphis Tigers uniform, and every moment he’s going to savor,” Penny Hardaway said, “and you’re going to see why he plays the way he plays because he’s trying to represent the city in a good fashion and he’s pulling some people along with him.”

This was billed as a blackout night at Memphis, and it could have easily become a funeral based on recent events. Instead, it was a revival. Or perhaps just a temporary reprieve.

Three days removed from getting embarrassed by SMU and eviscerated by their coach, Memphis was maddeningly good against Charlotte.

Point guard Jahvon Quinerly was engaged from the start and Nae’Qwan Tomlin played his tail off. Wing Jaykwon Walton set the tone early by getting a double technical foul as soon as he checked into the game, before then getting Charlotte leading scorer Lu'cye Patterson into foul trouble.

The Tigers played ferocious defense, holding Charlotte to 17 points after halftime. They completely dominated the glass. They made an opponent that had won 11 of its past 12 games look mostly hapless and didn't even need star David Jones down the stretch to do it after he exited with an eye injury. They conjured up a mixture of relief and regret, with a dash of confusion.

“It’s just nights like this that make you scratch your head,” Hardaway admitted.

Everybody in the thinned-out crowd at FedExForum arrived and eventually left pondering some version of that.

What happened to the team that looked so good in non-conference play? Where was this effort Sunday at SMU? Can you actually trust this group, as encouraging as Wednesday's result seemed?

Chuck and Marla Nitsch, seated in the plaza level, were conflicted given the turn this season has taken.

“Almost didn’t want to come,” Chuck said, and lots of folks around Memphis had the same thought.

“I wanted to come. That’s why I made a sign,” Marla interjected.

It read: "Tigers Don't Quit Play To The End."

“We’re gonna do something," she said. "That’s a big word, but something’s going to go our way.”

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Hardaway struck a decidedly optimistic tone as well, going from ripping his players after SMU to reminding them what could still be. He opened his news conference by noting if the Tigers play this way, they can win out and win the conference tournament. Or, "if you just continue to win, if you win in this fashion, then maybe you get a little leniency" from NCAA tournament selection committee, Hardaway said.

It's a lot of ifs – probably too many given this group's track record. This could be the start of a March run. This could also just be a one-off, just like the Tulane win that preceded those two brutal losses last week in Texas. But wishful thinking is a lot better than the disgust and disappointment -- and debate about Hardaway's tenure as coach -- that lingered the past few days.

“This is just such a massive change in a few weeks or a month, going on a 10-game win streak and then just imploding right in front of our eyes, and it’s more shocking to me than anybody because I’m living it,” said Hardaway, who then chafed at the criticism pointed at him in recent days. “... The job’s not done, but this game was for ourselves and the people who are really rallying behind us.”

This, then, was also about a 24-year-old walk-on point guard who only became eligible to play last month, and only made his first career appearance in garbage time at SMU.

Cooper indicated he was among a few players on the team who brought the group together before Wednesday's game with a simple credo: “Get with us or get away.”

But that's never really been in doubt for him.

Just putting on a Memphis practice jersey, just being part of this civic tradition, has been a big deal, he said. He's wearing his stepdad's number and playing for his stepdad's team, under a coach he once played against in high school, and in front of the fan base he's apparently willing to walk barefoot for when he leaves the court.

"I don't take anything for granted," Cooper said. "I came here to win whatever way I could."

Perhaps his teammates finally understand what that means.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on X: @mgiannotto

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Joe Cooper's 'dream' gives Penny Hardaway hope