Penny Hardaway likes his chances of keeping David Jones with Memphis basketball for another season.

Jones, the AAC's leading scorer and an All-American candidate, has one more season of eligibility left. Hardaway would love for the Dominican Republic native to spend it on a return to Memphis.

"I would say 60-40, 70-30 us. I'll say that," Hardaway said Thursday when asked about the chances of convincing Jones to stay another year. "But I'll never hold anyone back. If his destiny is to be a lottery pick or a first-rounder or high second round then, man, I'm gonna applaud that. Because that's what we want for our guys. But if he wants to come back, I'm definitely gonna be pushing for him to come back if he doesn't get what he wants."

Jones and the Tigers (22-8, 11-6 AAC) are preparing to face FAU (23-7, 13-4) on Saturday (11 a.m., CBS).

Jones spent his first season at DePaul, then transferred to St. John's. But he has made a huge splash at Memphis under Hardaway. His 21.9 points per game rank sixth in the nation. Jones has 10 double-doubles for the Tigers and is the only active player averaging 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals or more.

The subject of Jones having one more season of eligibility remaining came up recently during a postgame radio interview with Dave Woloshin.

"We'll see," Jones said after he scored 32 points in a win over UAB last week.

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Jones' stellar campaign has made him an attractive pro prospect. He is considered by some as a potential NBA draft pick.

Forward Nicholas Jourdain announced last week his plans to return to the Tigers for the 2024-25 season. He was asked Thursday for his thoughts on the possibility of Jones' return.

"We’d love to have David back, but he has to do what’s best for him," Jourdain said. "Finish the year strong, though."

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: Memphis basketball: Penny Hardaway says David Jones might return