PORTLAND, Ore. (WREG) — It finally kicked in for the Tigers that they are playing in the NCAA Tournament when they sat down for their press conference Wednesday morning in Portland.
“It kind of set down with me as soon as I sat down. Amazing feeling, and I’m really ready to make some noise with my teammates,” said Tigers forward DeAndre Williams.
When you think about Memphis in the Big Dance, you immediately go back to that ’08 team when the Tigers made it all the way to the NCAA Finals and how the city just erupted.
Penny Hardaway and Alex Lomax, both Memphis natives, reflected on what it was like being younger and following the Tigers through the NCAA Tournament.
“I remember when I was in elementary school the teacher just wheeling in the TV and turning the tube on and us watching the NCAA Tournament,” said Hardaway. “To be able to give that to the kids back home and to the city back home is a dream come true, to be honest, because I know how big it is when the Tigers are playing in the NCAA Tournament and how the city is all tuned in. They’re all tuned in.”
“The more the Tigers win the happier the city is,” said Lomax, the Tigers senior guard. “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. A couple years later, here I am. Really never expected to be in this seat when I was eight years old watching the Tigers play, but God kind of blessed me.”
The Tigers face Boise State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday in Portland. Tip off is set for 12:45 CST.
