Photos by Mark Weber and Helen Comer, courtesy of Lane College
The Lane College men’s basketball team will play the University of Memphis in an October exhibition, the school announced Thursday.
The Dragons will meet the Tigers on either Saturday, October 30th, or Sunday, October 31st, depending on the 2021-2022 NBA schedule. The game will be played at FedExForum in Memphis.
“We are looking forward to a great opportunity for Lane College to compete against a major Division I talent in a hopefully electric atmosphere,” said Head Coach Andre Turner. “It is also exciting for two of Memphis Tigers’ own to coach against each other in this matchup.”
Lane had its season canceled last year because of COVID-19. The SIAC elected not to sponsor winter sports. The Dragons were 11-17 in 2019-20.
Memphis, which competes in Conference USA, finished 20-8 last season. After losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament to eventual champion Houston, the Tigers accepted an invitation to the NIT and went on to win the championship, defeating Mississippi State, 77-64.
Both squads will be led by former Tigers’ legends. Andre Turner enters his first season as head coach for Lane College while Penny Hardaway will be in his fourth season with his alma mater.
While playing for Memphis, Turner and Hardaway saw great success on the court. Turner finished his Memphis career with 1,442 points in four seasons, a total that ranks him 14th all-time in school history. He set the Memphis record for assists in a single game with 15 against South Carolina in 1986, assists in a season with 262 during the 1985-86 campaign, and assists in a career with 763.
Turner was named to the All-Metro Conference Freshman Team, twice selected to the All-Metro Conference Team, the NCAA All-Midwest Regional Team, Al McGuire’s All-Freshman Team, Basketball Weekly’s All-South Team, the USBWA All-District 3 Team and the 1986 Associated Press and UPI All-American Teams.
A two-time All-American and two-time Great Midwest Conference Player of the Year, Hardaway averaged 22.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.4 assists and 2.4 steals in 1992-93.
According to the University of Memphis record books, this will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.