The Tigers will leave the Dominican Republic with two consecutive exhibition victories.
Memphis defeated Selección Basketball LND in dominant fashion today with a final score of 85-63.
The Tigers have played short-handed throughout their entire trip, but they missed even more pieces than before today. Memphis’ absentees for Sunday’s matchup included Caleb Mills, Jaykwon Walton, Jayhlon Young, David Jones, Mikey and DeAndre Williams (no relation).
Mills played and scored a team-high 18 points in Memphis’ loss to the Dominican Republic National Team on Wednesday, but didn’t play again for the rest of the trip. Head coach Penny Hardaway said that Mills is dealing with minor injuries after Friday’s win over Trenes Del Este. “We just kind of held him out for precautionary reasons,” Hardaway told The Commercial Appeal’s Jason Munz.
Young, despite making the trip, didn’t play in any of the Tigers’ three games. Sources tell Tiger Blueprint that Young’s results for a heart test weren’t ready in time for him to play in the Dominican Republic. The NCAA recently urged extra caution with heart-related issues towards programs after USC’s Bronny James collapsed in practice last week because of a cardiac arrest.
Walton and assistant coach Rick Stansbury were both absent on Sunday because of food poisoning. Walton, who scored 27 points against Trenes Del Este, traveled with the team to the gym, but didn’t play.
Jones, who played for the Dominican Republic National Team on Wednesday, is waiting on his St. John’s credits and student visa to be submitted and approved before he can join Memphis. He hopes to be on campus later this month.
Mikey and DeAndre Williams’ statuses are both unclear as of now. Mikey Williams may never join the team due to his current legal situation. DeAndre Williams, on the other hand, is awaiting the NCAA’s decision on his waiver for an additional year of eligibility.
What Can the Tigers Take Away from This Performance?
Louisiana transfer big Jordan Brown had his struggles in Memphis’ first two exhibitions, but bounced back emphatically today. The 6-foot-11 center recorded a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 81.8% from the field. LND didn’t have any answers for the Tigers’ star big man.
Freshman wing JJ Taylor also played well. He scored 22 points while shooting 64.3% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range. Both Taylor’s athleticism and tenacity were unmatched by anyone on the court, and played a major role in his breakout performance.
Ashton Hardaway, another freshman, continued from where he left off on Friday. The 6-foot-7 wing scored 9 points off of 3 three-pointers in the first quarter, and finished the game with 13 points and 9 rebounds.
Though LND isn’t anywhere near as talented as the Dominican National Team or Trenes Del Este, it’s still encouraging to see the Tigers dominate like this despite missing most of their key players.
Memphis didn’t always look pretty during its three games in the Dominican Republic. But there’s no denying that Memphis is better now than it was before the trip. Besides, the Tigers still don’t have their full roster on campus yet.
What fans saw from Memphis this past week is just a small sample-size of what’s to come in November.
