Shouts to Mr. Dauster - we stand in solidarity with you!

So yes, we are slightly cooler on Memphis than the consensus, but we acknowledge that the Tigers’ ceiling is up there with any of the other contenders in terms of talent. We’re simply in more of a “wait and see” mode on Penny and the fit of the roster, because getting all of these talented elements to mix together into a perfectly coherent concoction will take incredible care, both strategically and in managing egos in the locker room, where the wrong blend could combust spectacularly.

The first and most obvious tactic with this roster is something Penny already showed a propensity for last year: unleashing his team in transition. Alex Lomax, Tyler Harris, and Boogie Ellis can all push the pace, and the Tigers should look to push off every turnover and missed shot. They can send athleticism in waves, as even the big men (Wiseman, fellow 5-star freshman Precious Achiuwa, returnee Isaiah Maurice) are mobile and can get up and down the floor, and wings DJ Jeffries and Lester Quinones can operate in space. Synergy had Memphis at 21.5% of its possessions in transition last year, 17th-most in the country, while hoop-math had that number even higher at 30.1% (8th in the country). Expect the cinder block to remain on the gas pedal, because few teams will be able to avoid getting overwhelmed in the open floor against the Tigers.

Memphis will also probably run some full-court press defensively, attacking opponents with their length, quickness, and depth. Penny pressed on 13% of possessions last year, and with this year’s roster, I’d expect that number to ramp up even more. The Tigers turned opponents over at the 34th-highest rate in the country, per KenPom, which will lead to plenty of easy points.

The concern will be when opponents score efficiently and/or get back in a disciplined manner, forcing Memphis to execute in the half-court. They’ll be a little bit like Duke last year in this sense: if you let them play up-tempo, they can absolutely bury you, but they’ll seem much more mortal when stalled. Penny had a bona fide offensive star last year in Jeremiah Martin, but despite his incendiary scoring (two games of 40+ points, 17 others of 20+), Memphis was merely average in the half-court. Lomax is probably the only pure point guard on the roster (and he played for Penny at Memphis East with Wiseman), but he’s also not one of the best five players on the team, which creates a difficult dynamic in trying to facilitate offense and keep consistent ball movement. Harris, Lomax, and Ellis will get plenty of chances to run the pick-and-roll, and Wiseman may be the best roll man/lob threat in the country: