University of Memphis basketball is in the early stages of resurgence under new coach Penny Hardaway, an All-America guard during his playing days (1991-93) with the Tigers. We’ve featured Tiger coaches or players on six covers over the years. Hope you enjoy this refresher.
Keith Lee (January 1983)
Lee led the Tigers to the NCAA tournament all four seasons he played in blue and gray, culminating in the 1985 Final Four (where Memphis State fell to Villanova in the national semifinals). A first-team All-America as a senior (1984-85), Lee remains the program’s all-time leading scorer (2,408 points) and rebounder (1,336). His number 24 has been retired.
Dana Kirk (December 1983)
Kirk coached the Tigers for seven years (1979-86), led the team to the NCAA tournament five times (including the 1985 Final Four), and won 158 games, fifth in the history of the program. Kirk’s Tigers won the Metro Conference tournament four times. He departed the program under a cloud of scandal. (You may notice a pattern here.)
Larry Finch (November 1986)
The greatest Tiger of them all. As a player, Finch averaged 22.3 points per game over his three seasons (freshmen weren’t eligible in 1969-70), still tops in U of M history. He led the Tigers all the way to the 1973 NCAA championship game, where they fell to mighty UCLA. As a coach, Finch won 220 games over 11 seasons (1986-97) and led his alma mater to the NCAA tournament six times, including the 1992 Elite Eight. His number 21 has been retired, and the U of M recently announced plans to build a statue and park in his honor.
Lorenzen Wright (February 1996)
Wright led the Tigers in scoring and rebounding in both his college seasons, each ending in the NCAA tournament (the Sweet 16 in 1995). He was chosen by the Los Angeles Clippers with the seventh selection in the 1996 NBA draft and went on to play 778 games in the NBA, the most for any former Tiger. He played five seasons (2001-06) for the Memphis Grizzlies. Wright was shot to death in Memphis in 2010. His wife and an accomplice have been charged with the murder and await trial.
Tic Price (December 1998)
We’d like to reconsider that “Best Newcomer” nod. Price coached the Tigers only two seasons (reaching the NIT in 1998). He resigned under a cloud of scandal when it was discovered he’d been involved in a romantic relationship with a U of M student.
John Calipari (October 2000)
“Coach Cal” led the Tigers on an unprecedented four-season run, reaching the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16 (at least) every year from 2006 to 2009, falling to Kansas (in overtime) in the 2008 championship contest. Memphis won at least 33 games each of those four seasons, and Calipari’s 252 wins are a program record. He left for Kentucky under a cloud of scandal in 2009 when the NCAA ruled that star guard Derrick Rose had cheated on a standardized college admissions test. He’s reached the Final Four with Kentucky four times, winning the 2012 national championship. Calipari was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
