DAYTON, Ohio — When the Memphis Tigers open NIT Tournament play Saturday against Dayton as one of four number one seeds, they will be taking on a talented Memphian that would like nothing more than to knock out his hometown school.
Flyers star guard Jalen Crutcher leads Dayton in scoring at over 18 points a game and as a former Ridgeway standout, grew up rooting for the tigers.
Crutcher also has a history with Tigers coach Penny Hardaway.
Not only do the two share the same birthday but Hardaway trained Crutcher back in elementary school. The two were also on opposite benches in Crutcher’s last game at Ridgeway when the Roadrunners lost to Penny’s East team in the 2017 state semifinals.
Overlooked coming out of high school, Crutcher now goes head to head with Hardaway and the U of M.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really watching the selection show,” said Dayton guard Jalen Crutcher. “I forget what I was doing. Probably playing a game or something with my teammates. I could see my phone blowing up. It was like, you know you’re playing Memphis, right? I was like, for real. I just got a lot of phone calls that night. I’m excited.”
“Little bitty, scrawny little kid. Tiny kid handling the basketball, had good skill,” said Tigers coach Penny Hardaway. “Kind of flashy. He was spectacular in middle school and you could just see the potential in him. As he grew and got bigger and stronger going into Ridgeway High School, you could just tell. He started shooting that ball like crazy. Controlling the team and becoming a great floor leader.”
A lot like Crutcher does today at Dayton.
The Tigers and Flyers tip off at 11 am on Saturday.
