PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Alex Lomax remembers watching as a kid as Memphis made a run to the national title game in 2008, just as Penny Hardaway remembers watching great Tigers teams from when he was a kid on a TV that had been rolled into his classroom.
Their combined memories are an indication of Memphis basketball's connection to the community and what it means for the Tigers to be back in the NCAA Tournament.
“The more the Tigers win, the happier the city is. That’s just a feeling that I can remember back when my family, my uncles and my aunties just being very excited every time the Tigers was playing, and every time they got a win in March Madness, the city would just go crazy,” said Lomax, the Tigers' starting guard.