Not much went right for Aaron Bradshaw in his first five games in a Memphis basketball uniform.
But the 7-foot-1 forward made positive strides in the Tigers’ win over Southern Illinois on Nov. 26. He scored 14 points and had four rebounds and three steals (a career-high) in 17 minutes off the bench.
“Good game, great game, but right back to work,” Bradshaw said. “Staying in the gym, staying consistent, because we’re trying to have a great season.”
Next up for Memphis (2-4) is New Orleans (2-5) on Dec. 3 (7 p.m. CT, ESPN+) at FedExForum.
Having already beaten TCU and dropped Tulane by 22 points, the Privateers (whose coaching staff includes Percy Miller — also known as the rapper “Master P”) are a dangerous team that has yet to play a game at home or on a neutral floor. Most recently, New Orleans lost at Mississippi State (in overtime, despite leading by 13 points with less than six minutes left in regulation) and at Texas Tech.
“They’re on a mission like Arkansas State was last year, where they’re just going around trying to pick on the big guys and beat the big boys,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said. “They’re not afraid. They’re UNLV times five, to be honest.”
Here are three things we’re thinking about ahead of tip-off versus the Privateers.
You say manic subbing, Penny Hardaway says zero tolerance
The Tigers’ eighth-year coach likes to go deep into his bench — always has. But he took it to another level in the win over Southern Illinois.
Hardaway made 28 substitutions in the first half (54 in the game) and had already used 12 players before the game was even six minutes old. He eventually played all 14 Tigers who were available. Curtis Givens III missed the game with a thigh injury.
While Memphis’ rotation is usually deeper than most, Hardaway said he was not substituting for no reason.
“We subbed a lot for guys not doing what they were supposed to do,” he said. “Just trying to get an understanding of where we want to be. We have an opportunity. We have the talent. We just haven’t grasped the things we need to grasp yet. A lot of that was taking guys out that weren’t boxing out, that were letting guys drive middle. They weren’t rebounding. They weren’t sprinting. Just to try to set the bar.”
Did it work? Not in Hardaway’s mind.
“There’s still not enough separation,” he said. “There’s only a couple guys that are heads above the rest as far as doing the things we’re asking them to do. A lot of guys are struggling with things that are so simple. We’re all in this together. Hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of why it’s happening.”
Hasan Abdul Hakim impresses Penny Hardaway
One Tigers player who left a positive impression on Hardaway after the Southern Illinois game was forward Hasan Abdul Hakim.
In his regular-season Memphis debut, the 6-8 senior had four points, three rebounds and two assists. Nothing eye-popping about that, but Hardaway provided the context. He said Abdul Hakim dealt with a lingering quad injury throughout much of the offseason and into the early part of the regular season. He played a bit in the Tigers’ two preseason exhibitions, but it was clear he was not totally healthy.
Hardaway said Abdul Hakim went into the game against the Salukis with no more than 20 full practices since June.
“He hasn’t even played and went out there and it looked effortless on a lot of plays,” Hardaway said. “He’s just scratching the surface. He’s probably a month away and went out there and played 20 minutes against a decent team.”
In 12 games at Texas-Rio Grande Valley last season, Abdul Hakim averaged 13.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals.
New Orleans basketball scouting report
The Privateers have a solid core led by a couple of high-scoring guards: Coleton Benson (16.9 points per game) and Jay Buckley (15.3). Buckley also leads the team in assists and is second in rebounding. Benson is the team’s primary deep threat, hitting 41.8% of his 67 3-point attempts.
Junior Churchill Abass, at 6-10, 260 pounds, gives New Orleans some size down low and averages more than one block per game, but 6-8 freshman MJ Thomas is the top rebounder with 7.4 per game.
“They’re really good. They have a unique group,” Hardaway said. “They went out and recruited shooters and they have athletes. And they’re not afraid of anybody. You can call everybody on this team a dog.”
Memphis basketball score prediction vs. New Orleans
Memphis 79, New Orleans 65: Back-to-back wins for the Tigers for the first time this season.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com, follow him @munzly on X.
