PORTLAND, Ore. (WREG) — When you think of Memphis in the NCAA Tournament, you go back to that 2008 team that made it all the way to the Finals.
That team’s star sixth man that year was Willie Kemp who made his return back to the team last summer as a graduate assistant.
The Bolivar native played in one of the only two times Memphis made it to the NCAA Finals. And, he’s quickly made a huge impact on the program, helping to bring this team closer together during low points of the season.
Alex Lomax told us the team would go over Kemp’s house and just bond as brothers.
“I just always saw the energy [Kemp] played with and the passion and everything,” said Lomax.
“And he’s been a great mentor to me this year. Our relationship has gotten very strong on and off the court, and he’s done a great job of just helping me be a better leader and talking to my teammates and with communication. It’s very special, the feeling that he had back then. We’re just trying to get that same feeling he had and do some special things like he did back in 2008.”
“He’s just a great, great guy that bleeds blue,” said Tigers coach Penny Hardaway. “So he’s always going to be positive with the guys, and that is one of the reasons why I brought him back. Because he’s a former player. He’s started on one of the better teams that ever played in school history, and he’s been here.”
Penny also talked about the similarities Kemp has in himself – just being a local kid taking the Tigers to the Big Dance.