Memphis basketball has an entirely new roster for 2025-26 in coach Penny Hardaway‘s eighth season with the Tigers.
The new players include former five-star prospect Aaron Bradshaw, who transferred to Memphis after stops at Kentucky and Ohio State. Memphis assistant coach Mike Davis sees a clear pathway for Bradshaw to develop into a highly productive player for the Tigers, and it has to do with what Dain Dainja did at Memphis last season.
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“Dain Dainja was a good basketball player at Baylor and Illinois, but when he got here — (Hardaway), at the beginning of the year, started working with Dain and Moussa (Cisse),” Davis said during an appearance Aug. 20 on “The Gary Parish Show.” “And Dain bought into it. Dain was one of the best players in the country at the end of the season.
“If Aaron can realize that he’s having an opportunity to be with one of the best players to ever pick up a basketball, his development is unmatched to me. Because I saw what (Hardaway) did last year with Dain when he took over the big guys. If Aaron can buy into that and just focus on that, he’s got a chance to be a really good basketball player here at Memphis.”
Bradshaw is part of a transfer class that also includes former Kansas State guard Dug McDaniel and South Carolina guard Zachary Davis. That class was boosted earlier this week when former Stephen F. Austin big man Thierno Sylla signed with the Tigers.
Though Memphis has nobody back from last season’s team that earned a 5 seed in the NCAA tournament, Davis said he’s not worried about the talent level.
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“We have talent,” he said. “We’re deeper this year than last year.”
Davis said the Tigers have been focused on instilling “non-negotiables” during summer practices. Memphis still has plenty of time before the season tips off in early November, but the non-conference schedule will be daunting. The Tigers will face Purdue, Baylor, Ole Miss and more before conference play starts.
“Non-negotiatables are things that’ll help you win basketball games,” he said. “It’s scoring points, playing defense, it’s the sticking your hand up, the block outs, the crashing, the getting in the gaps, being the low man, all the things that coach wants us to do, they know that now, and they have to be accountable for it.”
Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Aaron Bradshaw compared to Dain Dainja
