Just over a year ago, Penny Hardaway said he wanted to compete for a national championship. He wanted to return Memphis basketball to where it once was. Last season Hardaway realized how hard it is to win in college basketball without the proper talent on the court.
Hardaway returned the Tigers to postseason play for the first time in four years. The Tigers advanced to the second round of the NIT. The Tigers lost five starters from that team. Hardaway’s mission was to get Memphis the No. 1 recruiting class this season.
With the number one rated player, James Wiseman, signed sealed and delivered, Hardaway set out to get even more talent. Hardaway landed Lester Quinones Jr., Rayjon Tucker and Boogie Ellis. And on Friday Hardaway landed his second biggest recruit: Precious Achiuwa.
On a Twitter video, Achiuwa said, “I would like to take my talents to the University of Memphis. I chose the University of Memphis because of coach Penny and Coach Mike (Miller) and Coach Sam (Mitchell), it feels like home. I feel they can help me reach the next level.”
Breaking: ESPN 100’s No. 17 recruit Precious Achiuwa tells @PaulBiancardi that he will be joining Memphis. pic.twitter.com/bVxzcGN7Vu
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 17, 2019
Memphis now has the No. 1 rated recruiting class in the country. As of now, Memphis is the only school that has two top ten NBA 2020 Draft projected picks. Wiseman is currently projected to go No. 1 in the 2020 NBA Draft and Achiuwa is projected to go in the Top 10.
Achiuwa is a 6’9” forward who will benefit from playing with Wiseman. A native of the Bronx, NY, Achiuwa played at Montverde Prep in Florida. He’s a big man who can handle the basketball and shoot from the outside.
The rest of the signing class includes Malcolm Dandridge, D. J. Jefferies, and Damion Baugh. With this signing class, the sports networks will begin to finalize the remaining national games and expect Memphis to be featured as a regular part of the landscape. The Tigers have been projected as a No. 4 seed in the way-to0-early brackets for next Spring’s NCAA tournament.
