Colby Rogers, one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the country last season, will be joining Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway for the 2024-25 season.
Rodgers (6-4, 190 points), who spent the past two seasons at Wichita State (16.4 points per game in 2023-24), announced his commitment to the Tigers after taking an official visit to Memphis on Sunday. Announced. The Covington, Georgia, native finished his prep school career at Roselle Catholic (New Jersey) and chose Memphis over offers from Alabama, Kansas and Michigan. Hardaway is the third transfer to land this offseason, joining point guard P.J. Haggerty and big man Dane Dainja. The Tigers also signed four-star guard Jared Harris (Silvesea, Texas) in November 2023.
Hardaway is working on rebuilding much of the roster. Forward Nicholas Jordain and walk-on guards Joe Cooper and Noah Stansberry are the only players expected to return at this time. Leading scorer David Jones has one more season of eligibility, but it's unclear whether he will give it up in favor of turning pro.
The regular contract period begins April 17 and runs until May 15, but players are eligible to sign beyond that date. There are still over 1,000 names in the transfer portal, with more being added every day. The last day a player can access the portal and become eligible for the 2024-25 season is his May 1st date, but players are not required to commit or sign by that date.
Here are five things to know about Rodgers.
Colby Rogers has rare 3-point eligibility
Rodgers, who sat out the 2022-23 season to meet NCAA transfer rules, broke the Shockers' record with 99 3-pointers last season. That number ranked 17th among all Division I players, and his 40.9 percent 3-point percentage ranked 25th in the nation.
For Hardaway, adding a shooter as talented as Rodgers is important. No Tigers player has made over 100 3-point attempts with a success rate of 40% or higher since Lester Quinones in the 2020-21 season. And only once in Memphis basketball history has a player made more than 90 3-pointers (Rodney Carney, 102 in 2005-06).
Rodgers' best work from deep came late in the season. In his team's last six games, he made 51.8% (28 of 54) from 3-point range.
Looking back on Colby Rogers' college days
Rogers' college career began at Cal Poly in 2019. He played two seasons there and was the second leading scorer in both seasons. In 49 games (25 starts), Rodgers averaged 10.0 points.
He transferred to Siena for the 2021-22 season and was second-team All-MAAC, averaging 14.1 points per game.
What else can Colby Rogers do?
As skilled as Rodgers is, he's not one-dimensional.
Rodgers was a workhorse (more than 31.8 minutes per game over the past three seasons, more than 35.0 minutes per game at Wichita State), shooting 39% from inside the arc and making 82.8% of his free throw attempts. He scored 16.4 points per game (9th in the AAC) for the Shockers, including 8.7 from long range and 7.7 from other points. He scored in double figures in 28 of 34 games and scored 20 or more points 10 times.
Rodgers also averaged 3.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 35 steals in 34 games at Wichita State.
How Colby Rogers beat his top competition
North Texas, Charlotte and SMU represented the top three defensive scoring teams in the AAC last season. Wichita State played each team once, and Rodgers averaged 13 points per game against the Mean Green, 49ers, and Mustangs.
South Florida, FAU and Charlotte finished first, second and third in the AAC standings. In four games against these teams, Rodgers scored 14.8 points per game.
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But Rodgers struggled from beyond the arc against the conference's best 3-point defenses (South Florida, Charlotte, SMU). In three games against these teams, he had only three hits in 15 at bats (20%).
How many seasons of eligibility does Colby Rogers have left?
Having already completed four seasons at the Division I level, the 2024-25 season will be Rodgers' last season of eligibility.
Contact sportswriter Jason Munz or follow him at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com. @munzly on the social media app X, formerly known as Twitter.