Penny Hardaway has these expectations for Memphis basketball's exhibition vs. Lane
Penny Hardaway left himself some wiggle room in case he changes his mind.
But the Memphis basketball coach already has a pretty good idea which players are going to make up the starting lineup when the Tigers face Lane College in exhibition action at 2 p.m. Sunday at FedExForum.
Hardaway said Wednesday that he’s planning to trot out a surprise-free, all-transfer lineup that consists of Jahvon Quinerly, Caleb Mills, Jaykwon Walton, David Jones and Jordan Brown.
Odds are, however, that most of the roster will get some amount of playing time. For Hardaway, outside of a victory, the objectives are relatively simple. The sixth-year coach expects the Tigers to play strong defense by contesting outside shots and protecting the paint. Offensively, he wants his team to push the pace.
“Every coach wants to see what you teach in practice,” he said. “Make them take tough shots, score in the first six or seven seconds. Execute. Good teams, they’re disciplined on both sides of the ball. That’s what we want to be.”
The Memphis Tigers' defensive identity
The Tigers have always played strong — elite-level, even — defense under Hardaway.
Last season, they were a respectable 38th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency. They ranked 25th in 3-point defense and 26th in adjusted field goal percentage defense.
Hardaway has reconstructed nearly the entire roster. And in his eyes, it’s better for it defensively.
“The team last year, it’s hard to beat what they did: 26 wins and a conference tournament championship,” he said. “But looking at this team, with the size, the length and guys who can play multiple positions, this year’s team is better defensively.”
The Memphis Tigers' offense
Hardaway is also confident in his new-look team’s offensive ability. Maybe even more confident than he is in its defensive outlook.
“It’s gonna be hard for me to see this team struggle offensively because of all the weapons we have,” he said. “Stranger things have happened, but I don’t see us struggling to score.”
It’s hard to argue with Hardaway given the pieces he has added. Four of the projected starters scored 13 points or more per game last season, led by Brown’s 19.3 average at Louisiana. The one who didn’t (Quinerly) put up 8.7 points a game from the point guard position, connecting on 40.2% of his shots, and averaged 3.6 assists per game.
Jayden Hardaway, Penny’s son and one of just two returning players, said it goes deeper than that.
“We’re so deep,” he said. “I feel like we’re gonna have a lot of games where we have more than two people in double-digit scoring. If we play within our system, everybody’s gonna eat.”
A look at Lane
For the third straight season, Lane College will make its way to FedExForum for an exhibition game.
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Tigers great Andre Turner, who helped lead then-Memphis State to the Final Four in 1985, is back as the Dragons’ coach. His team went 15-13 overall last season (12-8 in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).
Hardaway said he looks forward to this game each season, because Turner was one of his favorite players growing up in Memphis.
“A fellow Memphian. A fellow Tiger that’s doing something special at Lane,” he said. “Whenever he comes back to the building and to the city, it’s always special.”
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: What Penny Hardaway expects from Memphis basketball vs. Lane College
