MTSU transfer wing Teafale Lenard announced Tuesday night that he will not play for Memphis basketball this season.
Lenard will instead forfeit his remaining collegiate eligibility and begin his professional career.
The news isn’t exactly shocking after rumors of him not making it to campus began to circulate last week.
College basketball recruiting insider Trilly Donovan reported shortly after the news broke that Memphis already has Lenard’s replacement lined up.
The 6-foot-7 wing committed to Memphis back in April, and was expected to play a prominent role for the Tigers this season. However, the program’s situation has changed drastically since that time.
Memphis first added St. John’s transfer guard David Jones on June 5. It then acquired Louisiana big Jordan Brown on June 27. And finally, Alabama transfer point guard Jahvon Quinerly joined the team on July 13.
On top of that, sources tell Tiger Blueprint that there is growing optimism within the program that All-AAC forward DeAndre Williams will be declared eligible for one last season with the Tigers. Williams’ attorney, Don Jackson, reportedly submitted all required documents for Williams’ waiver to Memphis’ compliance department last week.
Lenard also had academic issues that caused the initial delay of his arrival to campus. His decision, however, came down to the reality that he would’ve had a lesser role on the team than previously anticipated.
Memphis recruited Lenard under the pretense of him being a starter. But Penny Hardaway and staff can no longer promise him that role because of the aforementioned summer additions.
Additionally, Lenard and Memphis had agreed to a lucrative NIL deal prior to his commitment in April. Simply put, Memphis doesn’t want to give Lenard “starter-level” money if it’s not going to give him “starter-level” minutes.
What Lenard’s Departure Means for Memphis
Overall, this is an unfortunate development for the Tigers, but not a backbreaking one. Lenard projected as the team’s defensive anchor and would’ve been one of its top players off the bench. The good news is that he wouldn’t have been a major contributor on offense, and Memphis now has one less “mouth” to feed on its roster.
In better news, Quinerly arrived to campus on Monday night. The staff expects Brown to arrive within the next week. Jones likely won’t be too far behind him. And Williams’ possible return looks to be as likely as ever.
As long as those four join Caleb Mills in the starting lineup on opening night, the Tigers’ ceiling will still be just as high as anyone’s in the country.
