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Tyreek Smith is leaving Penny Hardaway's Memphis basketball team

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Tyreek Smith is leaving Penny Hardaway's Memphis basketball team

This article has been updated to add new information.

Memphis basketball forward Tyreek Smith has officially left the team and entered the transfer portal, an athletic department spokesperson confirmed to The Commercial Appeal on Monday.

The Tigers will open their regular season against Missouri today (7 p.m., ESPN+) at FedExForum.

“We would like to thank Tyreek for his hard work and commitment to the University of Memphis and wish him the best of luck,” the athletic department said in a prepared statement.

By choosing to leave Memphis without playing in a regular season game, Smith will have the opportunity to transfer elsewhere and be eligible to play once the fall semester ends in December.

Last month, Smith — who transferred to Memphis from SMU this offseason — caused quite a stir when he asked for “a few personal days” to step away from team activities. Hellion “Boog” Knight, Smith's mentor, wrote a series of posts as the news spread, suggesting that Smith's motivation was based on a zero compensation discrepancy.

But after missing two practices, Smith was back at practice on Oct. 22. His return was marked by a post on the official Memphis Basketball X account that included photos of Smith surrounded by several smiling teammates during practice.

No such reunion is expected this time.

Smith alerted coach Penny Hardaway to his decision to leave the program on Saturday morning, citing uncertainty surrounding his NIL package, a source with direct knowledge of Smith's communications with Hardaway told The Commercial Appeal. Due to the nature of the information, the source requested anonymity.

Smith played in one of Memphis' two exhibition games, scoring eight points and grabbing two rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench in an 84-76 loss to North Carolina on Oct. 15. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native missed the Tigers' 96-88 loss to Alabama on Oct. 28 because of an ankle injury he suffered in practice, Hardaway said.

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In his only season at SMU, Smith averaged 8.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Prior to his time with the Mustangs, Smith spent two seasons at Oklahoma State and one season at Texas Tech.

Losing the 6-foot-6 Smith creates a significant void in the Tigers' frontcourt. While Nicholas Jourdain started as a forward, Smith was expected to play an important role in the rotation.

Now Memphis has Dain Dainja and Moussa Cisse as primary options at the five, while Jourdain is currently the only true striker in question. Junior college transfer Damarien Yates (6-5) could get some playing minutes with Smith's departure. Hardaway also signed junior college transfer Bouna Kebe (a 6-7 forward) last month. Kebe didn't play in any of the friendlies, which Hardaway said last week had to do with “academic ability and eligibility.”

Reach or follow sportswriter Jason Munz at [email protected] @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

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