Penny Hardaway started five freshmen in the opening game of his second year at Memphis, at which point he became the first high-major coach in history to begin a season with an all-freshmen lineup.
That was four years ago.
Needless to say, a lot has changed since then — with both the sport of college basketball and Hardaway specifically. One-time transfer waivers have generally made being old more possible and young more challenging. It's a different time. And yet, for reasons that are confusing, some coaches still haven't properly adjusted to this reality.
But lots of them have -- Hardaway among them. And that was on full display late Friday when his Tigers won 70-55 at Missouri while relying almost entirely on players 22-or-older.
Former McDonald's All-American Jahvon Quinerly led Memphis with 18 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. He's 24 years old and the main reason why Memphis outscored Missouri 44-22 in the second half while notching the type of victory that should help this AAC program on Selection Sunday.
"I credit Memphis," said Missouri coach Dennis Gates. "They had an unbelievable gameplan in that second half."
The average age of the five players who scored the most for Memphis at Missouri is 22.8. Quinerly, again, is 24. Jordan Brown and Caleb Mills are 23. Jaykwon Walton and David Jones are 22. None of them began their college careers at Memphis. But their paths to the Bluff City and ages shouldn't be mocked or ridiculed. They should instead be admired as an example of a coach learning on the job and impressively adjusting to the world changing around him.
Has it always been smooth sailing?
No.
Evidence of that is that Hardaway is currently serving an NCAA-levied three-game suspension. It's been bumpy at times. That acknowledged, Hardaway has guided Memphis to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances — plus two consecutive finishes in the top 25 at KenPom.com — and is seemingly now on his way to doing it again. His Tigers are 2-0 with a victory on the road over a projected NCAA Tournament team. That's why they're up to No. 21 in Saturday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Hunter Dickinson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 99-61 win over Manhattan. The Jayhawks' next game is Tuesday against Kentucky. | -- | 5-0 |
| 2 |  | Zach Edey finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 87-57 win over Morehead State. The Boilermakers' next game is Monday against Xavier. | -- | 5-1 |
| 3 |  | Keshad Johnson finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 78-73 win at Duke. The Wildcats' next game is Monday against Southern. | 14 | 2-2 |
| 4 |  | Duke gave up 15 offensive rebounds in Friday's 78-73 loss to Arizona. The Blue Devils' next game is Tuesday against Michigan State. | 1 | 4-1 |
| 5 |  | Vladislav Goldin finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 75-62 win over Loyola Chicago. The Owls' next game is Tuesday against Eastern Michigan. | 1 | 4-4 |
| 6 |  | Kam Jones finished with 23 point and six rebounds in Friday's 95-65 win over Rider. The Golden Eagles' next game is Tuesday at Illinois. | 1 | 6-0 |
| 7 |  | Damian Dunn finished with 18 points and three rebounds in Monday's 84-31 win over Louisiana-Monroe. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Texas A&M Corpus Christie. | 1 | 3-1 |
| 8 |  | Alex Karaban finished with 22 points and seven rebounds in Monday's 95-52 win over Northern Arizona. The Huskies' next game is Saturday against Stonehill. | 1 | 4-1 |
| 9 |  | Trey Alexander finished with 20 points and five assists in Tuesday's 105-54 win over Florida A&M. The Bluejays' next game is Saturday against North Dakota State. | 1 | 4-1 |
| 10 |  | Wooga Poplar finished with 23 points and four rebounds in Friday's 88-72 win over UCF. The Hurricanes' next game is Monday against Florida International. | 1 | 3-3 |
| 11 |  | Khalif Battle finished with 21 points and four rebounds in Friday's 86-68 win over Gardner-Webb. The Razorbacks' next game is Monday against Old Dominion. | 1 | 5-1 |
| 12 |  | Isaiah Collier finished with 19 points and 5 assists in Thursday's 85-59 win over Cal State Bakersfield. The Trojans' next game is Tuesday against UC Irvine. | 1 | 5-1 |
| 13 |  | Dalton Knecht finished with 24 points and five rebounds in Friday's 80-70 win at Wisconsin. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Wofford. | -- | 6-0 |
| 14 |  | Wade Taylor IV finished with 21 points and four assists in Friday's 73-66 win at Ohio State. The Aggies' next game is Tuesday at SMU. | -- | 4-1 |
| 15 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 74-51 win over Southern Indiana. The Spartans' next game is Tuesday against Duke. | -- | 5-1 |
| 16 |  | Antonio Reeves finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Friday's 81-61 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday against Kansas. | -- | 5-0 |
| 17 |  | Langston Love finished with 20 points and three rebounds in Thursday's 96-70 win over John Brown. The Bears' next game is Sunday against Gardner Webb. | 1 | 4-2 |
| 18 |  | Anton Watson finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds in Friday's 86-71 win over Yale. The Zags' next game is Tuesday against Eastern Oregon. | 1 | 5-0 |
| 19 |  | Max Abmas finished with 19 points and five assists in Friday's 86-59 win over Delaware State. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday against Rice. | 1 | 5-1 |
| 20 |  | Aidan Mahaney finished with 25 points and four rebounds in Thursday's 72-58 win over New Mexico. The Gaels' next game is Sunday against Weber State. | 1 | 6-0 |
| 21 |  | Jahvon Quinerly finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 70-55 win at Missouri. The Tigers' next game is Friday against Alabama State. | NR | 5-0 |
| 22 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds in Monday's 86-70 win over Radford. The Tar Heels' next game is Sunday against Lehigh. | -- | 4-1 |
| 23 |  | Terrence Shannon finished with 15 points and five assists in Friday's 64-53 win over Oakland. The Illini's next game is Tuesday against Marquette. | -- | 5-1 |
| 24 |  | Justin Moore finished with 21 points and two rebounds in Friday's 83-57 win over Le Moyne. The Wildcats' next game is Monday at Penn. | -- | 3-4 |
| 25 |  | Joel Soriano finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 90-74 win over Stony Brook. The Red Storm's next game is Monday against Michigan. | -- | 5-2 |
| 26 |  | Grant Nelson finished with 20 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 102-80 win over Indiana State. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday against South Alabama. | -- | 4-1 |
