Even by today’s standards with the NIL era and open transfer rules, the 2023-24 Memphis Tigers will undergo quite the overhaul.
The latest Memphis player to enter the transfer portal is Chandler Lawson, a part-time starter on last season’s 26-win team, according to multiple reports Monday.
Lawson, a Memphis native, spent his first two college seasons at Oregon before transferring to the Tigers for his past two years, starting with the 2021-22 campaign. In 35 games (24 starts) last season, the 6-foot-8 forward averaged 5.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 2022-23 — both career highs.
In his four college seasons, Lawson has posted 4.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in 111 games (44 starts). His younger brother, Johnathan, already transferred from Memphis to Creighton in May.
Despite coming off the school’s sixth straight season with 20 or more wins — with five of those coming under head coach Penny Hardaway — the Tigers are currently slated to have just one returning player from last year’s squad, Penny’s son Jayden Hardaway.
According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, two other players on last season’s team — which posted Memphis’ highest win total in 10 years — still have a chance to come back next season. Forward DeAndre Williams (17.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg) is awaiting word from the NCAA if he’ll win his appeal for another year of eligibility. Center Malcolm Dandridge (5.7 ppg, 3.6 rpg) has not yet committed to another school for next season while in the transfer portal.
Otherwise, Memphis plans to add six transfers to the program next season, including swingman David Jones (13.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg at St. John’s last season) and guard Caleb Mills (13.0 ppg at Florida State in 2022-23). Other transfers will include forwards Jonathan Pierre (Nova Southeastern), Teafale Lenard Jr. (Middle Tennessee State) and Nick Jourdain (Temple) along with point guard Jayhlon Young (UCF).
–Field Level Media
