Memphis basketball: Who will be on the Dominican Republic trip — and who won't
Memphis basketball will have nearly everyone present and accounted for on this week's three-game exhibition tour of the Dominican Republic.
While coach Penny Hardaway is still in the process of a major roster rebuild, several recent additions give the Tigers some breathing room on their summer trip. The only player from last season's team currently in line to return is Hardaway's son, Jayden Hardaway.
The sixth-year senior guard is one of 11 players currently on campus. The most recent arrivals are Louisiana transfer center Jordan Brown (who practiced for the first time July 29) and UCF transfer wing Jaykwon Walton, a surprise addition who reported to campus July 27.
The Tigers are set to arrive in La Romana on Tuesday and will play their first game against the Dominican national team Wednesday (6:30 p.m.) in Santo Domingo, the nation's capital. The second and third games will be played Friday (5 p.m.) and Sunday (4 p.m.). There will be no live streaming, radio broadcasts or live stats from the three contests.
NCAA rules permit college basketball teams to take a preseason international trip once every four years. Memphis last made a foreign trek in August 2019, visiting Nassau, Bahamas. In addition to the exhibitions, programs that opt to make overseas trips are afforded 10 extra practices to prepare.
Who is traveling to the Dominican Republic
The 11 players on campus will make the trip, according to Penny Hardaway. Six are transfers: Brown, Walton, Jahvon Quinerly, Caleb Mills (combo guard), Jonathan Pierre (wing), Nicholas Jourdain (forward) and walk-on guard Noah Stansbury (whose father, Rick, is an assistant coach at Memphis). The other three are incoming freshmen: Ashton Hardaway (wing), Carl Cherenfant (wing) and JJ Taylor (forward).
A seventh transfer, former UCF point guard Jayhlon Young, also will be with the team this week.
Who is not traveling to the Dominican Republic
St. John's transfer David Jones (small forward), who committed to Memphis in June, will not accompany the Tigers to the Dominican Republic.
Incoming freshman guard Mikey Williams also will not be with the team. Williams was arrested in April and is facing six felony charges stemming from a shooting outside his California home in March. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges; a preliminary hearing (originally scheduled for late June) is set for Sept. 5. Williams was in Memphis last week, photographed at the Memphis Sports and Events Center during the NCAA College Basketball Academy. He has not yet officially joined the team.
Memphis basketball's scholarship situation
Jayden Hardaway said last week he is presently on scholarship. But he indicated that could change.
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"For now, yeah. But we'll see moving forward," he said.
If Jayden Hardaway moves to walk-on status and Jones and Williams count toward the allotment limit, the Tigers would have one open scholarship remaining.
Memphis recently submitted a request for reconsideration on behalf of forward DeAndre Williams. The Tigers' all-conference forward was ruled ineligible for the 2018-19 season, his first at Evansville, as a penalty for delayed enrollment. The school is appealing the NCAA's ruling. If it's successful, he will occupy the last current remaining open scholarship.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Who's going on Dominican Republic trip, who isn't
