Jordan Brown rejoins Memphis basketball team after missing 11 games | Sources
Memphis basketball and center Jordan Brown have reunited.
Brown rejoined Penny Hardaway's team Friday and will travel with the Tigers for Sunday's game at Tulane (noon, ESPN2), multiple sources told The Commercial Appeal.
Brown has missed the last 11 games, leaving for undisclosed reasons after the Dec. 2 loss at Ole Miss. For weeks, Hardaway would only say Brown's absence was the result of an unspecified illness. Following his Dec. 2 departure, he did not practice with the team and was not present for any team activities.
Until this week, that is. The 6-foot-11 former Louisiana star (last season's Lou Henson Award winner) arrived in Memphis Thursday and participated in Friday's practice, sources said.
Brown's return comes a week after he came to Memphis in an attempt to rejoin the team, attending a players-only meeting at the Laurie-Walton Family Basketball Center, where he was to apologize and try to quell any unresolved issues, sources said. But the majority of the team initially balked at Brown's return, and he went back to his home state of California.
Following the Tigers' win at Wichita State last week, Hardaway indicated the outcome of that meeting was likely not the last word on the subject.
“I don’t think it’s over,” he said. “I think the guys just have to get with Jordan. We’re giving them some mental time and see where it goes. I think that’s just premature from hearing from them.”
When asked about Brown's standing with the team after Thursday's loss to South Florida, Hardaway said Brown "is still out right now."
Brown is coming back to a team that won 10 straight before Thursday's loss and looks a little different than it did when he left. Senior guard Caleb Mills is out for the rest of the season with a fractured left patella (kneecap), while the Tigers have added 6-foot-10 forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin, a midseason transfer from Kansas State.
Brown's return figures to bolster the frontcourt's depth, help Memphis close out games more efficiently and could give the Tigers a boost in the rebounding department. Memphis is averaging 37.2 boards per game, a number that is tied for 131st in the nation.
SIGN UP: Memphis Tigers Basketball Insider text group with Jason Munz
The Tigers had high expectations for Brown entering the 2023-24 season. He averaged 19.3 points and 8.6 rebounds a game last season at Louisiana. He was first-team All-Sun Belt and led the Ragin' Cajuns to an NCAA Tournament appearance.
But Brown struggled to find his footing with the Tigers, putting up 6.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in seven games and just 13.4 minutes per game. In his last game with Memphis, Brown played a season-low seven minutes in a loss at Ole Miss, scoring just two points and grabbing only one rebound.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Jordan Brown rejoins Memphis basketball team ahead of Tulane game
