GREENVILLE, N.C. — Memphis basketball forward Nicholas Jourdain intends to return to the Tigers next season.

The 6-foot-9 New Jersey native revealed the news during a postgame radio interview after Thursday's 82-58 victory at East Carolina. Jourdain later confirmed it with The Commercial Appeal.

"Yeah, that's the plan," he said.

His decision is a positive development for coach Penny Hardaway as he faces another offseason of potential mass roster turnover. Jourdain is one of several current Tigers with collegiate eligibility remaining. David Jones, Jayhlon Young, Jonathan Pierre, Carl Cherenfant and Ashton Hardaway are the others. But Jones, the AAC's leading scorer, could opt to begin his professional career at season's end. And in the transfer portal era, there are seldom any guarantees this early.

On Monday, during an appearance on Hardaway's weekly radio show, Jourdain opened up about how he feels about the Tigers and the city of Memphis.

"I love being a Memphis basketball player," he said. "I love playing for this city. I love the people of this city. They’ve been very kind to me. Showed me a lot of love. So, it’s been a lot of fun.”

Jourdain would represent a big shot in the arm for Memphis. In 29 games this season (22 starts), the Temple transfer is averaging 6.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He is also second on the team in blocked shots (29) and shooting 60.6% from the field (including 42.1% from the 3-point line).

He discussed what made the Tigers an attractive landing spot when he was searching for a new home last offseason.

"I liked how they played super fast," he said. "I liked how they played unselfish. I liked how they moved without the ball. Just seeing all that, I saw my own skill set. And after Coach Penny offered me, it felt like we were on the same page with how I could impact the team."

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On Thursday, Jourdain put up 14 points and four rebounds against ECU. It was his highest-scoring game since he dropped 18 on UTSA on Jan. 10. He has eight double-digit scoring games this season and has eight or more points in five of the Tigers' past seven games.

Memphis (21-8, 10-6 AAC) returns to action Sunday (4:30 p.m. CT, ESPN2) against UAB (18-10, 10-5) at FedExForum.

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: Nicholas Jourdain plans to return to Memphis basketball next season