

1 recruiting class, a trio of seniors led by forward DeAndre Williams and guard Alex Lomax and guard Landers Nolley II, in his second season after transferring from Virginia Tech. Hardaway has plenty of experience this time with junior guard Lester Quinones, a member of Hardaway’s first No. Hardaway says even if he had Wiseman for more than the three games he played, that 21-10 season would’ve been different and still challenging.

That was when Hardaway had James Wiseman, now with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, and the Toronto Raptors’ Precious Achiuwa in a class featuring seven freshmen. The last time Memphis started a season ranked, they were 14th in 2019-20 with Hardaway’s first top recruiting class. 11 in the opening poll of the 2011-12 season. It’s their highest preseason ranking since being No. That combination is a major reason the Tigers start the season ranked No. 1 recruiting class, but you have some really good veterans to have that mix of older and younger, and that just makes the blend of that is so much better this time around.”

“What I’ve learned this time is to mix the veterans with the young guys,” Hardaway said. Coach Penny Hardaway believes he has just the right mix for Memphis to chase the Tigers’ first national men’s basketball championship.
