MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It's been an interesting offseason for Penny Hardaway and Memphis Men's Basketball - they unexpectedly lost David Jones to the NBA Draft but they already have the majority of their team locked up and on campus for summer workouts.
One guy who is still yet to arrive is Memphis' newest recruit Daniel Vieira-Tuck, that's because he's in Portugal right now getting ready to play for the Portuguese U20 national team at the 2024 FIBA EuroBasket.
It will mark the second straight year the 6'4" combo guard has played for his mother's home country.
Last year he averaged 14.5 points, 4.3 steals, 2.5 rebounds and one assist and played against top talent like French center Alex Sarr who is a chance of going No. 1 overall in the 2024 NBA Draft.
"It was good competition, it made me better," Vieira-Tuck said.
To stay eligible for the national team, the 19-year-old chose to spend this past season playing in a Portuguese pro basketball league. The season saw both his mentality and physicality develop.
"You get to play like 28-year-olds," Vieira-Tuck said. "The body is different, I'm still 18 at the time so I'm 160 [pounds] something like that, and you've got to guard this grown man that's doing this to feed his family and it's just like a whole different vibe you've got to bring, a lot more seriousness, it's not high school no more you've really got to lock in."
Against bigger and older guys, Vieira-Tuck held his own, averaging 9.1 points and 2.3 rebounds a game for Benfica.
The eighth signee for Memphis this offseason wasn't set on following in his Dad's footsteps and going the college route but said the combination of NIL, the Tiger fanbase and Penny made Memphis an easy choice. Now he's ready to do whatever is asked of him.
"I can bring anything, anything they need to win, I do it all," Vieira-Tuck said.
When the guard arrives on campus in late July, it will be not only his first look at the setup but also his first time meeting the mostly new group of Tigers.
"I'm used to that by now, I've been playing for a couple of different programs this past year," Vieira-Tuck said.
With Vieira-Tuck's inclusion, Penny and the Tigers now have three scholarship spots left to play with.
