Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway scored big Thursday, plucking Tulsa star PJ Haggerty from the transfer portal.

The explosive 6-foot-3, 195-pound guard is the first transfer Hardaway has landed this offseason and has three seasons of eligibility left. Haggerty, who announced his decision to join the Tigers following an official visit to Memphis over Easter weekend, is listed by On3.com as the No. 2 overall transfer on the market.

Last month, Haggerty was unanimously selected AAC Freshman of the Year, finishing his only season in a Golden Hurricane uniform with 21.2 points (15th in the country), 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. A native of Crosby, Texas, Haggerty's college career began at TCU, where he redshirted in 2022-23 after playing in six games.

By adding Haggerty in such short order, Hardaway has swiftly addressed one of the Tigers' most glaring needs − an aggressive, versatile guard who can either dictate the pace offensively and be a playmaker or create plays for himself and score at a high clip − like former Tiger Kendric Davis. Haggerty can also set the tone for the team on the defensive end as an active and disruptive entity. Haggerty's 1.9 steals per game were tied for fourth-most in the AAC.

Memphis has other pressing needs, including a starting center and another starting guard to pair with Haggerty in the backcourt. If the Tigers bring back those they are expected to - forward Nicholas Jourdain and wing Ashton Hardaway, as well as walk-on guards Joe Cooper and Noah Stansbury - and they add Haggerty and high school signee Jared Harris, it would leave them with as many as nine open scholarships. If leading scorer David Jones returns, that would leave eight open slots. And, if Cooper gets put on scholarship, Hardaway will still have seven to fill.

While Jones led the AAC in scoring last season (21.8 ppg), Haggerty was second in the league. He shot 49.3% from the field, which ranked third in the conference and was 26th among all Division I guards. Haggerty's overall field goal percentage ranked fifth among all Division I freshmen and tops among all freshman guards. He struggled at the 3-point line, hitting on just 28.9% of his shots beyond the arc.

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Haggerty put up a career-high 32 points in Tulsa's upset win over South Florida on March 9. He scored 25 or more points 10 times in 31 games, including a 30-point game against Rice and 29-point games late in the season against East Carolina and UTSA.

Against Memphis, Haggerty scored 27 points and had eight rebounds and four assists.

The regular signing period opens April 17 and runs through May 15 but players are still eligible to sign after that. There are more than 1,000 names still in the transfer portal with more being added every day. The last day a player can enter the portal and still be eligible for the 2024-25 season is May 1, but players do not have to commit (and sign) by that date.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: PJ Haggerty: Memphis basketball land Tulsa star from transfer portal