Memphis Finally Gets Back At John Calipari Leaving By Getting Top-5 Prospect James Wiseman To Commit Over Kentucky

And just like that Penny Hardaway has completely changed the outlook for Memphis basketball. When Penny was hired the goal was this. Keep guys from Memphis home at Memphis. That’s always been the thing with this program. Perhaps more than anywhere else local kids want to stay at home and play for the program. It’s always what’s made Memphis, well, Memphis.

They have that now as the James Wiseman, a top-5 player in the Class of 2019 according to pretty much every outlet has committed to Memphis over Kentucky. He’s a true 7-footer that is an excellent rebounder and fairly polished in the post. He has a nice touch on his jump hook and does like to play with his back to the basket. He’s also great at getting up and down the court, playing in an uptempo offense and knows Penny well.

More importantly, this is a win for the American conference as a whole. That conference needs UConn and Memphis relevant. Hurley is already getting his guys in at UConn and we saw them get the win over Syracuse. Now, Memphis is starting to get Penny’s guys in. And this is just showing why Memphis went out and hired Penny. He’s going to use his Memphis connection and keep guys like Wiseman around.

Obligatory mixtape: