Old School Memphis State Basketball
It was just like it used to be. The game was on Saturday but the anticipation increased as game day approached. It’d been almost a week since the Tigers played a game. Coach Hardaway made a midweek appearance on ESPN where he answered a question that we’ve all asked, “Is Lil’ Penny returning to the spotlight also? The answer is YES!! Hardaway revealed the Lil’ Penny is currently in the gym working out and getting in shape for his return. We all remember the Lil’ Penny commercials that aired during Penny Hardaway’s NBA career. The other thing we all remember is those vintage Memphis State uniforms from Penny’s NCAA career.
In his first press conference as Head Coach of the University of Memphis Tigers Basketball program he let it be known that he’d be collaborating with Nike to integrate his trademarked 1cent logo in the teams uniform designs. So far this season we’ve seen the logo on on different apparel this season. Coach also surprised his team with an exclusive pair of his signature Foamposites. On any random game night Coach Penny can be seen wearing showing off a pair of rarely or never before seen design of his signature sneakers.
Saturday was designated Memphis State day down at the forum. All week fans had been being encouraged to wear their retro Memphis State gear to witness what would end being a old school Memphis beat down of the SMU Mustangs by the Tigers. To be successful in beating down an opponent, one thing you need to do is get the first lick and the next thing would be to not allow your opponent to get their lick back. Hardaway has been coaching his team to ‘hit first’ all season.
Fans already knew that the Tigers would be playing in ‘throwbyke’ uniforms. The players did not see the uniforms until after pre game shoot around and warm ups. The excitement over the uniforms in the locker room spilled over onto the court. Exuding confidence, overcome with excitement and drippin’ that much flava in their icey white Memphis State Uniforms was too much for the Mustangs to compete with. The Tigers landed the first lick, opening the game on a 13-0 run. Nearly eight minutes had ticked off the game clock before SMU could manage to get their first bucket of the game. That momentum carried the Tigers through the first half and into the locker room with 17 point lead (40-23).
Kareem Brewton Jr dominated the first half finishing with 15 points going 5-7 from beyond the arc giving the crowd that old school Memphis feel that Tigers fans felt back in the day when Memphis had a team of shooters. I guess the throwback jerseys got the Tigers in the groove. Although he only scored five points in the 2nd half, he still finished as the game’s highest scorer with 20 points in 25 minutes.
Four other Tigers also scored in double digits. Kyvon Davenport added 12 points and snagged six rebounds. Raynere Thornton was the only player in the game to register a double double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Mike Parks and Tyler Harris scored 11 and 14 points, respectively.
Improving to 12-6|4-1, the Tigers are officially on their second winning streak of the season. The team looks to extend the streak to four games on Thursday when they play at Temple. Your next opportunity to watch the Tigers play in the forum will be next Sunday, 1/27/19, when they host UCF. CLICK HERE to get your tickets.
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