Penny Hardaway and Memphis landed their third impact recruit in a four-day span on Monday night, as top-40 recruit Rejean "Boogie" Ellis committed to the Tigers.
Ellis, who originally committed to Duke back in November, was released from his letter of intent to the Blue Devils on May 2. One week later, Ellis took a visit to Memphis, which had emerged as the front runner shortly after his decommitment from Duke.
110% committed NEXT CHAPTER #GTG 🐆 pic.twitter.com/WiPNwfyBNi
— Boogie Ellis (@BoogieEllis) May 13, 2019
Ellis, who played at Mission Bay High School in California, was one of the five best uncommitted seniors in the 2019 class. A high-level scorer, Ellis averaged 23.0 points and 5.0 rebounds for the Oakland Soldiers at July's Nike Peach Jam, shooting 57.5 percent from 3-point range over the seven games.
Memphis received a commitment from ESPN 100 guard Lester Quinones on Friday, and Little Rock graduate transfer Rayjon Tucker pledged to the Tigers on Saturday. Tucker was ranked No. 2 in ESPN's graduate transfer rankings.
With Ellis, Quinones and Tucker now in the fold, Memphis has one of the best recruiting classes in the country. Those three join a group led by No. 1 overall prospect James Wiseman, whom Hardaway coached on the grassroots and high school circuits. Five-star forward D.J. Jeffries (No. 25), four-star center Malcolm Dandridge (No. 100) and local four-star guard Damian Baugh round out the group.
Hardaway and the Tigers are still in the mix for elite guard RJ Hampton (No. 5) and five-star forwards Precious Achiuwa (No. 17) and Trendon Watford (No. 19).