Photo Credit: Craven Whitlow / Memphis Athletics
In the 24 hours after the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline, the final dominoes have begun to fall into place in the college basketball offseason.
Arkansas got decisions back from the two players it was waiting on, as Karter Knox is returning for his sophomore season while Adou Thiero decided to stay in the draft. Nationwide, the dust appears to have mostly settled with the transfer portal heavyweights – just two of the top 150 transfers in 247Sports’ ranking remain uncommitted.
Through much of the spring, one of those final big fish was Memphis transfer point guard PJ Haggerty, who instantly became the top guard in the portal when he entered back in April. The redshirt sophomore averaged 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists and was named the AAC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American.
Haggerty’s initial asking price was reported to have been around $4 million, as well as a guarantee of a big role on the ball, which scared off a number of top teams who either didn’t have that money left to spend or couldn’t promise the role he wanted – Arkansas likely fell into the latter category.
The PJ Haggerty Saga, Explained
The Memphis basketball star was previously thought to be headed to North Carolina State to play for Will Wade, though the Wolfpack backed off after spending a large sum to land Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams, another top-10 transfer. That left Haggerty a little short on options, and he eventually landed at Kansas State, a move that garnered some criticism from the likes of Jeff Goodman from Field of 68.
“I am not saying to always go with an agent…but PJ Haggerty’s dad probably should have hired a good one in this case,” Goodman tweeted on Monday. “Overplayed his hand and wound up with in the neighborhood of $2.5 million for a team that didn’t make the tourney last season and isn’t considered a tourney team for this season.”
CBS’ Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander offered more insight on Haggerty’s apparent miscalculation on a recent Eye on College Basketball podcast.
“Earlier in the offseason, he was reportedly offered by Memphis, to stay in Penny Hardaway’s program, roughly $3 million,” said Parrish, a University of Memphis grad based in the metro area. “So if you believe all the reporting…PJ Haggerty rejected a roughly $3 million deal from Memphis to take a roughly $2.5 million deal from Kansas State.”
Parrish added that by the time schools like NC State and Ole Miss pulled out of the running for Haggerty, it was too late for him to return to Memphis as it had “pulled the offer” or “massively decreased it.” That left the star point guard with very few options, and he eventually landed at K-State.
Haggerty seemingly settling for Kansas State is a damning indictment on how far Memphis’ status has fallen in college hoops. Head coach Jerome Tang made some noise with the Wildcats with an Elite Eight run in 2023, but has failed to follow up on that. Even with high-dollar transfers like Coleman Hawkins, K-State has failed to make the Big Dance the last two seasons. Historically, they’re a far cry from Memphis in terms of prestige.
From the early 1970s to the late 2000s, Memphis was a premier regional basketball power. In that time frame the Tigers won 12 conference titles and made 11 Sweet 16s, six Elite Eights, three Final Fours and finished as the national runner-up on two occasions. Memphis’ basketball head coach ranked as one of the program’s two brightest stars, along Derrick Rose, in that stretch.
But they haven’t made the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2009 and, similar to Arkansas before the Muss Bus came to town, are a bit of a sleeping giant in the mid-south. Up to this point, Hardaway has been unable to awaken that beast.
“Memphis basketball is not what it once was in terms of its place in the sport and even its place in the city,” Parrish said. “They don’t draw like they used to. They had a top 25 team all last season led by an All-American guard coached by the most beloved graduate in the history of the school and people didn’t come to the games. People are bored with this league.”
The AAC was one of the best mid-major leagues in the country just a few years ago, but has seen a major dropoff – especially after heavyweight Houston went to the Big 12. Memphis was the lone AAC team to make the NCAA Tournament this year, and that lack of conference prestige likely left Haggerty feeling like he could do better.
Haggerty’s situation is very similar to that of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava. The Hawaiian gunslinger was making around $2.4 million with the Volunteers, but demanded a $4 million package and entered the transfer portal when he didn’t get it. He ended up signing with UCLA, reportedly for less money than he was originally making in Knoxville.
Star player enters the transfer portal on the advice of their father and ends up making less money than their original school was offering to play for a worse team. Ouch.
The Iamaleava debacle, of course, ended in his younger brother Madden hitting an Irish goodbye from Arkansas and joining Nico at UCLA – a move that prompted legal action from the Razorback athletic department.
How the PJ Haggerty Debacle Affects Memphis vs Arkansas Rivalry
There’s been a lot of talk in recent years about reigniting the matchup between Arkansas and Memphis. The two teams have met 22 times, splitting 11 wins apiece. The most recent contest came in the 2023 Battle 4 Atlantis, when the No. 20 Tigers defeated the Hogs in Eric Musselman’s final season in charge. Before that, you’d have to go back 20 years for the last matchup.
The two programs squared off annually in the regular season from 1991-2003 and also met in the NCAA Tournament in 1992 and 1995. Ironically, it was none other than Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari – then in charge of Memphis – who killed the hotly-contested rivalry.
“We have to play national games,” Calipari told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in 2002. “You can’t play regional games if you’re a national program. We don’t need Arkansas to sell out our building.”
Oh, how the tables turn. With Coach Cal now in charge of the Razorbacks, the 66-year-old has expressed a desire to face off against his former school – albeit in an exhibition capacity.
“We talked about an exhibition game, and I think that would be something with St. Jude’s [Children’s Hospital] involved,” Calipari said on May 13. “If they could bring back my players and do something that celebrated that group, I’d have great interest in that.”
John Calipari was back in Memphis tonight, taking part in the Razorbacks Road Trip. So no better time to ask Cal about renewing the Hogs/Tigers rivalry on the hardwood — one that Penny has hinted to once or twice. Cal also with high praise for Hardaway pic.twitter.com/BJeYVFEI7f
— Mike Ceide (@MCeide_WREG3) May 14, 2025
Calipari was likely referring to his 2007-08 Memphis team, which went 38-2 and finished as the national runner-up.
Hardaway, who is entering his eighth season in charge of his alma mater, has expressed a similar desire to face Arkansas. The former NBA superstar has won just one NCAA Tournament game during his tenure, but Calipari was complimentary of the job he’s doing with the Tigers.
“Having all free agents at the end of every year, and the leagues that are above you are coming down to grab your guys,” Coach Cal said. “That doesn’t mean your program is below them, but [poachers] are in a bigger league that has more resources. It just makes it hard, and that’s why I say he’s done a great job.”
The slumping of the American Athletic Conference is part of the reason why it’s unlikely Arkansas vs Memphis will ever make it beyond an exhibition game. Over 20 years later, Calipari’s logic remains true – the Hogs don’t need to play regional games as a national program, and they don’t need Memphis to sell out their building. The Tigers, on the other hand, certainly do need a program of Arkansas’ caliber to help put more butts in seats.
It’s a good thing Coach Cal has a special place in his heart for charity. This exhibition would benefit not only St. Jude’s, but also a struggling Memphis program in dire need of some rejuvenation.
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Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander discuss PJ Haggerty around the 26:30 mark:
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