Virginia Tech graduate transfer Kerry Blackshear Jr. entered the NCAA transfer portal on April 16, and the schools coming after him the hardest have been Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee. Memphis has not been linked to Blackshear until Thursday.

The top graduate transfer in the country is now considering the Tigers, according to Hogville.net's Kevin McPherson.

The former Hokies star has already visited Arkansas and Florida, and he is planning to take visits to Tennessee (June 14) and Kentucky. Gonzaga and Texas A&M are also trying to get a visit from Blackshear, so the visits will get very interesting with the Tigers now reportedly in the mix.

In his final season at Virginia Tech, Blackshear averaged 14.9 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. For his three years with the Hokies, Blackshear averaged 11.2 points per game, six rebounds per game and shot 53.4 percent from the floor.

At 6-foot-10, Blackshear would immediately give the Tigers more size in the front court. Memphis' front court already consists of James Wiseman (7-foot-1), Precious Achiuwa (6-foot-9), Lance Thomas (6-foot-8) and Isaiah Maurice (6-foot-10), so they would be even bigger if Blackshear decided to commit to Penny Hardaway and the Tigers staff.

There has been a ton of speculation on what Hardaway would do with the last scholarship following the loss of Rayjon Tucker to the NBA, and this may be the answer. Blackshear is now the only graduate transfer the Tigers have been linked to since Tucker announced he would be leaving his name in the draft.

With the young, inexperienced team Hardaway will have next season, brining in a graduate transfer has made sense from the beginning. It could be huge for the Tigers next season if they are able to land a player with leadership and experience, and Blackshear certainly fits the mold.

It will be interesting now to see if Hardaway and the staff can convince Blackshear to take a visit, and the Tigers could certainly be a team to watch for if they convince him to come to campus.