Memphis basketball's Jaykwon Walton, David Jones power Tigers to win over Jackson State
Memphis basketball, playing without head coach Penny Hardaway, overcame a sluggish start to beat Jackson State 94-77 in the season opener Monday at FedExForum.
Jaykwon Walton carried the Tigers (1-0) early, scoring their first seven points and 15 of their first 23. The Wichita State transfer, whose career began at Georgia, finished with 19.
Hardaway will miss the first three games of the 2023-24 season as he serves a suspension for recruiting violations committed in 2021. Assistant coach Rick Stansbury, who has more than two decades of head coaching experience, will serve as acting head coach until Hardaway returns for the Tigers' Nov. 22 game against Michigan at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas.
Here are five takeaways from Monday's victory.
Jaykwon Walton hot early for Memphis
Walton's first touch of the season came just seconds after tip-off. After a quick pump-fake behind the 3-point line, he sidestepped the Jackson State defender, then barreled toward the basket.
His tomahawk dunk missed (because he was fouled). But Walton's aggressiveness did not.
Although the Tigers had trouble establishing any sort of rhythm on offense in the first half, Walton kept them afloat. He scored 15 points by the 11:41 mark.
Strong supporting cast at Memphis
Four other Tigers scored in double figures.
David Jones put up 15, aided largely by a 4-for-7 night from the 3-point line. Jordan Brown scored 11, and Malcolm Dandridge and Caleb Mills contributed 10 apiece.
Mills led the team in rebounding with seven.
Room for improvement
In what has become a familiar theme in recent years, turnovers and poor free-throw shooting kept the Tigers in hot water in the first half.
The Tigers committed 10 turnovers before halftime and were just 6-for-10 at the free-throw line.
Then, poof! Memphis turned things around. It committed only six turnovers in the final 28:12 of the game and were 9-for-13 in the second half.
New starting lineup
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Hardaway alluded to a starting lineup shake-up after last week's exhibition finale against LeMoyne-Owen. On Monday, he delivered just that.
Rather than sticking with the same starters, Hardaway sat Mills and Brown. In their places, he opted for Nick Jourdain and Dandridge. During a radio interview last week, he said he wanted more energy in the opening combination.
Memphis basketball's next game
The Tigers are back in action Friday at Missouri (8 p.m., SEC Network).
Dennis Gates, in his second season with Missouri, routed Arkansas-Pine Bluff Monday, 101-79.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball's Jaykwon Walton, David Jones lead in win over JSU
