MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Penny Hardaway and his staff are hard at work trying to solidify their roster for next year. There are plenty of questions about who will and will not be a Tiger next year.
Hardaway answered some of those questions Monday before his golf round at the AutoZone Liberty Bowl Golf Classic at TPC Southwind.
It may have been par for the course on the links for Hardaway (he joked about hitting 36 under par in the clubhouse), but when it comes to figuring out his roster this offseason, it’s been anything but a birdie.
With so many plates still in the air, it may feel like he’s playing out of the bunker for Tigers fans.
Hardaway’s golf swing looked good Monday, maybe because he feels good about DeAndre Williams potential return.
There’s been confusion about whether Williams could have a year left of eligibility. Hardaway said Memphis’ compliance office told him otherwise, but now legal help offers a glimmer of hope.
"A lawyer came in and said that DeAndre definitely could have one year left and now we're at that point right now," Hardaway said.
Jokes will be made if the 26-year-old, Williams, returns for another year of college basketball, but getting back the Tigers best rebounder (8.2 rpg) and second-leading scorer (17.7 ppg) from the year before is no laughing matter.
"It's DeAndre, so it's family, it's just worth it," Hardaway said. "But it is difficult because you're still recruiting other guys. And if the rule doesn't get passed for him to have another year of eligibility you might lose out on other guys, but it's worth it for him."
Mikey Williams is another question. Will the San Ysidro five-star recruit be absolved of gun charges from an incident at his home in April?
The 18-year-old plead not guilty, and has a hearing on June 29.
Hardaway has offered encouragement to the younger Williams. Telling him to continue to "be a kid," and allow the judicial process to work itself out with his legal team.
The Tigers head coach is not ready to move on and search out other potential options.
"I'm not calling him guilty before he's innocent. And, you know, a lot of people do that. But for me, we're just staying the course until we figure this entire thing out," Hardaway said.
It's natural to want immediate answers, but Hardaway and Memphis are used to biding their time at this point.
"Yeah, it's just Memphis, this is what it is with us and we'll get through it. Hopefully, both of these guys will get through it and be here in uniform"
Question three is the status of big man Malcom Dandridge, who Hardaway has not "cut the cord" on in terms of returning. If both DeAndre, Mikey and Dandridge come through, in addition to St. John's transfer David Jones. Hardaway will have finished the offseason, like he does the back nine.
Jones committed to Memphis on Monday, he announced on social media. The 6-foot-6 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic native spent this past season at with the Red Storm, after spending two previous seasons at Depaul University.
He averaged 13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists and is likely a go-to scorer in Hardaway's upcoming rotation.
"I'm not in a panic mode right now. I think that everything's happening the way it's supposed to happen and that we're gonna be okay by the time this thing is settled," Hardaway said.