MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The start of each college basketball season is special, but it may be even more so for the University of Memphis this weekend when it faces No. 25 Alabama.
First, the Tigers have the extreme honor of playing in the 2017 Veterans Classic at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., on Veterans Day weekend. Several Tigers staff and players have had relatives that served in the military, including head coach Tubby Smith's father. Guffrie Smith, a Purple Heart recipient, served in the U.S. Army and was a World War II veteran.