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Full Version: SI AAC Offseason Report: Power Rankings and Burning Questions for 2019–20
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AAC Offseason Report: Power Rankings and Burning Questions for 2019–20

Quote:1. Memphis: Penny Hardaway brings in a loaded recruiting class, and the Tigers could be a national contender.

Will Memphis’s star-studded roster jell?

Penny Hardaway brought in the country’s best recruiting class, headlined by the nation’s No. 1 overall recruit, center James Wiseman. With two incoming five-stars and five incoming four-stars, Memphis is the most talented team in the AAC by a long shot. The Tigers are definitely a preseason top-20 team, and possibly a top-10 or top-five team in terms of talent alone, so the biggest looming question for Hardaway & Co. will be chemistry. There are a lot of highly-touted mouths to feed, and some of the four-stars will undoubtedly have to become role players. John Calipari and Mike Krzyzewski have successfully navigated similar rosters before, but the current situation at Memphis feels like even more of a mad scientist experiment, with seven incoming freshmen and a second-year college head coach whose acumen as an in-game strategist hasn’t been tested in a conference title race or NCAA tournament setting.

Hardaway also earned a commitment from Little Rock transfer Rayjon Tucker this spring, which would’ve added an experienced, high-level scorer to the roster, but Tucker elected to keep his name in the NBA draft. Wiseman and five-star wing Precious Achiuwa should be locks to start, and four-stars Boogie Ellis (a combo guard and former Duke commit ranked No. 37 overall in the 2019 class) and DJ Jeffries (a power forward ranked No. 48 overall in the 2019 class) are good bets to start, too. That means Memphis could very well feature a starting lineup with four top-50 recruits and still have a host of four-stars ready to come off the bench. Tyler Harris and Alex Lomax also had their moments last season as freshmen and should play important roles in the backcourt.

If the chemistry works, Memphis is talented enough to compete for a national championship. It’s no guarantee that the pieces will fit cleanly, however, and an inexperienced roster and coaching staff could make this roster puzzle even more difficult to solve. Still, talent often wins, and Memphis will enter nearly every game it plays as the more talented team. Even if the ultra-hyped Tigers aren’t a surefire title contender as next season unfolds, they will certainly be must-see TV.
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