Memphis basketball hype train officially off the tracks

This was supposed to be the year for Memphis basketball with the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, but things haven’t worked out for Penny Hardaway’s team.

It’s over. The Memphis basketball hype train is off the tracks.

Even if you haven’t been paying attention to college basketball this season, you still know about Memphis basketball. The Tigers were in the headlines for all the wrong reasons, after James Wiseman was ruled ineligible, suspended and later withdrew from school to prep for the NBA Draft. The 7-footer was the top recruit and supposed to be a program changer, but without him, the Memphis hype train has come off the tracks.

Memphis was still a very talented team even without Wiseman. They had the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation.

Precious Achiuwa was the other five-star recruit that Penny Hardaway was able to convince to come to Memphis to change the program. This is insane for a first-year coach. They are getting the best players in the nation to commit to a program they’ve never seen before. Six of Hardaway’s seven commitments were in the top 100 nationally.

All the hype couldn’t help them win when the Tigers were forced to compete without their freshman phenom. Memphis slid to a 14-5 record that knocked them out of the Top 25.

Out of nowhere, they are now facing a must-win game against UCF. This, after two straight losses to Tulsa and SMU. Those type of losses to those type of opponents is not what Memphis basketball fans envisioned after buying into Hardaway’s freshman phenom vision.

The Tulsa game was especially embarrassing. How does the team with the No. 1 recruiting class in the country lose by 40 points? That certainly can’t happen to a team with the type of hype circulating around the program.

Hardaway sold a product and hasn’t delivered. He’s a great hype man, but his team has failed.

Memphis is losers of four of the past six games as 2020 has been a terrible year for them so far, and they still have a back-to-back slate with Houston and Wichita State to end the regular season. Should Memphis’ troubles linger, the Tigers could be in danger of missing the NCAA Tournament.

There is no steam left in the Memphis hype train.

Wiseman leaving the program was a major hit, but it didn’t leave the team barren of playmakers and difference-makers. They still had the Nos. 15, 38, 52 and 58 ranked recruits in the country.

This is an indictment on the coaching ability and acumen of Hardaway and his staff. They may recruit well but their development of the recruits and the ability to make them play together and complement one another needs more work.

They have not responded in the correct way to adversity. They allowed SMU to go on a 15-0 run to end the game, showing the weaknesses of Memphis are much more than they can handle.

Hardaway needs to figure out how to get the train back on the tracks. He still has a chance to win the AAC, and secure a spot in the NCAA tournament. However, that’s far from guaranteed like it once was. Now, they need to work harder than ever to achieve that.

Looking ahead, Memphis is behind five other teams in the conference. They need a miracle to go into the conference tournament with a one seed, and they need some luck to make it into the NCAA Tournament. If not, Hardaway needs to look in the mirror to figure out how the season went off the rails so quickly and how he can fix it.

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