The transfer portal opens on Tuesday, and the Tigers will be forced to replace a bulk of their roster for another season. Penny Hardaway hired three assistant coaches and a general manager this week, and he’s starting to get a better idea of what the roster will look like once the portal opens.
Julius Thedford and William Whorton are the only two players who are currently set to return, while the futures of two players are uncertain. Four players, including Curtis Givens III, will enter the portal once it opens on Tuesday.
While the portal isn’t open for DI players yet, it has opened for players at lower levels, and Memphis’ interest in some of those guys should give fans a good idea of what Hardaway and his staff will value in the transfer portal. According to The Portal Report on X, the Tigers have shown interest in DII forward Alex Atkinson, DII guard Brock Mishak and NAIA big man Kaden Johnson.
Here are three areas Memphis will prioritize in the transfer portal.
Shooting
It wasn’t a secret last year that shooting was an issue.
The Tigers ranked No. 298 in effective field goal percentage, No. 304 in three-point percentage and No. 275 in two-point percentage. In 2025, they ranked No. 286 in three-point shooting distribution, due to similar shooting concerns.
Neither of the returning players is an impressive three-point shooter, and it should be high on the list of needs for Hardaway and his staff. Nobody shot better than 36.5 percent from deep last season, and it would help the roster if the staff could bring in veterans who have proven to be consistent shooters throughout their careers.
Big Men/Rebounding
Aaron Bradshaw and Simon Majok are still publicly undecided about their future, but the frontcourt and center position will still be a priority even if the two return. The frontcourt as a whole struggled for most of the season, and it appears that Hardaway and his staff will target more traditional bigs that have shown success rebounding.
Memphis has already shown interest in a few transfers outside of DI, and the biggest things that jump out are their size and rebounding abilities. NAIA big man Kaden Johnson is a 7-foot center who averaged 17.2 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, while DII forward Alex Atkinson, who is 6-foot-10, averaged 14.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game during the 2025-26 season.
Memphis is also likely to show interest in Charlotte’s 7-foot-2 big man Anton Bonke after hiring former Charlotte assistant Trevor DeLoach earlier this week. While Whorton has committed to return to Hardaway’s team, it’s clear that the frontcourt will look a lot different, and it’ll be interesting to see who they target once the portal officially opens.
Length
Hardaway has valued length throughout his career, and it doesn’t seem like that will change going into this offseason. 10 of the players on last year’s roster were 6-foot-4 or taller, and he should take the same approach into next season’s roster.
All four teams in the final four are inside the top 30 in average height, according to KenPom, and more than half of the teams in the top 30 made the NCAA Tournament.
Hardaway has stressed the importance of his players being able to play multiple positions and being able to guard multiple positions, and targeting players with a lot of length would make it easier for the roster to adapt to what he wants to do.