Which Memphis basketball players can come back and whose Tigers careers are over

When the Memphis basketball team's season ended Thursday, much of the attention quickly shifted toward 2024-25.

Penny Hardaway's roster will look substantially different by the time his seventh season as Tigers coach tips off in November. He will lose at least seven to expired eligibility. And, while there are eight players − headlined by all-AAC First Team guard David Jones − eligible to return, it is unlikely all of them will.

Here is a breakdown of which Tigers can come back and which ones can't.

Memphis basketball players who can't return

Point guard Jahvon Quinerly, a third team all-conference selection and the Tigers' third-leading scorer this season, has played his final game in a Memphis uniform.

Forward Nae'Qwan Tomlin, whose 14.0 points per game were second on the team, will not be back. Despite playing just one-and-a-half seasons at the Division I level (Kansas State and Memphis), Tomlin played one season at Monroe (N.Y.) Community College and two seasons at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College.

Guard Caleb Mills, who suffered a season-ending knee injury on Jan. 4, is out of eligibility. Four games into Mills' second season at Houston, he decided to leave the program. He spent the next two seasons at Florida State before transferring to Memphis.

Center Malcolm Dandridge and guard Jayden Hardaway played their fifth and final seasons (all at Memphis) in 2023-24.

Center Jordan Brown began his career at Nevada, then transferred to Arizona. Next, he spent two seasons at Louisiana then landed at Memphis.

Guard Jaykwon Walton does not have any eligibility remaining, according to an athletic department spokesperson.

MEMPHIS BASKETBALL: How one last implosion capped a confounding season

Memphis basketball players who can return

Jones is the most high-profile Tiger who could come back for another season. Most expect him to forgo his final year of eligibility and begin his professional career. But that is not a done deal, according to Jones.

"Yeah, everything is possible," he said Thursday. "I like Penny as a head coach, so we're going to see. That's all I can say."

Forward Nicholas Jourdain (6.5 points, 4.0 rebounds per game) told The Commercial Appeal last month he plans to be back in a Memphis uniform next season.

Backup point guards Jayhlon Young, Joe Cooper (walk-on) and Noah Stansbury (walk-on) each have one season of eligibility left.

Forward Jonathan Pierre, who played in 19 games in his first season with the Tigers and averaged 4.1 points a game, can return.

Ashton Hardaway and Carl Cherenfant, each of whom received somewhat sporadic playing time as freshmen, have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Which Memphis basketball Tigers can return to play for Penny Hardaway