For college basketball fans, the preseason AP Poll’s yearly release effectively signals the upcoming season’s rapidly approaching arrival. These rankings are the basis for judging teams until the end of the first week of the season when the first of the in-season weekly polls is released.
Memphis will begin the 2023-24 season unranked. Based on the amount of votes each team received in the poll, analysts consider Memphis (seven votes) to be just the 37th-best team in the country.
Where Memphis Stands
Memphis is unranked in the preseason poll for the second straight season. After losing to Florida Atlantic in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March, the Tigers head into the 2023-2024 season with a completely new roster.
FAU, on the other hand, comes in at #10 in the AP Poll. The Owls are the preseason favorite to win the AAC, with Memphis coming in as a close second. No other schools in the conference received votes in the poll.
Wisconsin, Colorado, UCLA, St. John’s, and Maryland were the five schools on the outside looking in. They round out the top 30 of the poll.
Why Memphis is Underrated
Memphis is coming off a season in which they won the AAC tournament over Houston. The Cougars were the #1 overall team in the nation at the time. The Tigers were ranked as a #8 seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. They bowed out in the Round of 64 after FAU’s Nicholas Boyd converted on a floater with 2.5 seconds remaining.
While the 2022-23 Tigers certainly had the talent to make a run in March, their inexperience and overall lack of discipline served as their downfall against the Owls. With the work Penny Hardaway did this off-season in the transfer portal, however, those aspects of the roster look to be much improved.
The Transfer Class
Hardaway and company brought in one of the nation’s premier transfer portal classes this off-season. This eight-man class included Alabama transfer Jahvon Quinerly, Louisiana transfer Jordan Brown, St. John’s transfer David Jones, Florida State transfer Caleb Mills, Wichita State transfer Jaykwon Walton, Temple transfer Nick Jourdain, UCF transfer Jayhlon Young, and DII transfer Jonathan Pierre.
With this influx of talent, a vast amount of collegiate experience also arrived on Memphis’ campus. This off-season, the Tigers’ staff did a tremendous job developing a rotation filled with veteran, skilled players who possessed leadership and a desire to win.
Replacing Kendric Davis
In the off-season following the 2021-22 campaign, Memphis brought in a group of five transfers. This group included SMU transfer PG Kendric Davis, the #1 overall player in the transfer portal. Davis starred for the Tigers, averaging 21.9 PPG and 5.4 APG on the way to an AAC Championship victory.
Davis would run out of eligibility after Memphis’ season ended in the first Round of the NCAA Tournament. He would go undrafted in the 2023 NBA Draft and eventually sign with the Golden State Warriors for the team’s training camp.
Replacing Kendric Davis became the most significant off-season task for Penny Hardaway. Memphis’ head coach needed to replace his entire guard rotation heading into the 2023-24 season, as members of the Tiger backcourt left the program through graduation or the transfer portal.
In the portal, Hardaway targeted a variety of talented players with the ability to handle the ball. He knew that when the going gets tough, self-creation reigns supreme. Additions like Quinerly, Mills, Jones, Walton, and Young – all of whom can handle the ball in varying capacities – proved that point.
The Importance of Jahvon Quinerly
Alabama transfer Jahvon Quinerly, however, was the biggest coup of them all for Memphis. The fifth-year senior guard was among the more talented guards in the transfer portal. And while he isn’t as big of a name as Kendric Davis, he has the talent necessary to cover the point guard position for the Tigers.
Over the years, Quinerly has shown what it takes to be a starting point guard at the highest level. Quinerly is a shifty guard who gets into the paint and to the rim with ease. He consistently makes plays, whether for himself or his teammates. He also can play off the ball, as he has slowly improved his perimeter jump shot. The SEC’s Co-Sixth Man of the Year in 2023 should play a major role for Memphis this season.
A Bold Prediction
Due to these factors, I believe Memphis is underrated in the preseason AP Poll. The Tigers possess much more experience than many of the teams ranked above them. And if the NCAA grants DeAndre Williams his eligibility, the talent on this team’s roster will be up there with the nation’s best.
With how the new AAC looks this year, the Tigers have a good chance of winning the conference for a second straight year. In a relatively weak AAC, the Tigers have an excellent opportunity to rack up wins in the second half of the season.
As stated before, FAU will be their main competition. The Owls return most of their roster from last season, where they made a shocking run to the Final Four. Guards Alijah Martin and Johnell Davis lead the way for a Florida Atlantic team built around their backcourt. If Memphis can take advantage of their size in their two matchups with FAU, expect them to cruise to an AAC regular-season championship trophy.
Memphis, however, has a challenging non-conference schedule. Their performance in these contests will tell whether or not this team has what it takes to reach their championship aspirations. With opponents like Texas A&M (#15) and Virginia (#31) on the schedule, the Tigers must bring it in the season’s early months.
With this said, I predict that Memphis will finish number one in the AAC standings at the end of the season. The Tigers will subsequently capitalize on this regular season success and win the AAC Conference Tournament. Coach Penny Hardaway will win AAC Coach of the Year. The Tigers will also be ranked in the AP Poll for a majority of the season. With veteran experience and talent leading the way, the 2023-24 season will be a great one for Memphis basketball.
