We spoke with Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway and Alabama transfer Jahvon Quinerly about the Arkansas Razorbacks before the season started. This is the second of two stories. At 4 p.m. Thanksgiving Day, Arkansas and Memphis will renew their rivalry in the Battle 4 Atlantis. FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – It should come as no surprise that former highly decorated Alabama guard Jahvon Quinerly was recruited as a transfer by Razorback coach Eric Musselman. However, he believes that most Arkansas fans are unaware that recruitment did not take place when they think.
Most fans believe Musselman made a run for SEC Sixth Man of the Year and former All-SEC Tournament star after finishing his three years at Alabama this past spring before joining Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers. Quinerly, however, is not referring to that time frame.
“A lot of people don’t know this, especially Arkansas fans,” he said. “When I was transferring from Villanova, Bama and Arkansas were probably the first two schools to reach out to me.” If it had worked out, Quinerly would have joined JD Notae, Justin Smith, Moses Moody, and the freshman versions of Jaylin Williams and Davonte Davis on the team. It would have undoubtedly altered the team’s dynamic. There were numerous reasons for the guard to prefer Arkansas over Alabama at the time, but it ultimately came down to personal preference.
“I will say, he gets guys to the league, for sure,” Quinerly said. “I personally like the way he runs his program, but I was never a fan of him taking his shirt off and jumping on the table after a win.” I won’t say I don’t like him as a coach. He’s accomplished a lot with his program. He’s sent a lot of players to the NBA. That, at the end of the day, is a success story. He’s doing well for himself, but I’ve never been a fan of his other work.”
What followed his transfer decision was three years of regular season dominance over Arkansas. Quinerly takes pride in going 4-1 against Arkansas in what he considered a rivalry second only to the Tide’s skirmishes with Auburn. “It’s a little mini-rivalry I would say,” Quinerly said. “I was fortunate enough that I only lost to them once or twice in three years. That’s a rivalry that basketball-wise has really grown. Outside of Auburn and Bama. Arkansas and Bama is probably next.” However, despite all the regular season success, there’s one thing about the Razorbacks that has stuck with him even now that he’s in Memphis. While Alabama took home regular season and SEC Tournament titles, his peers at Arkansas got to go on magical NCAA Tournament runs.
“Arkansas has had a lot of postseason success, but hasn’t been able to see that same success in conference and Bama is kinda the opposite,” Quinerly said. “Bama has seen that success recently in conference, but can’t get over the hump postseason. That’s interesting to me.” Upon hearing Arkansas fans don’t get too worked up over regular season titles and have historically shown a preference for winning a couple of games in the SEC Tournament and then getting home to rest up for an NCAA run unless a championship is needed to make the Field of 64, Quinerly took a moment to reflect on whether that wouldn’t have been a better approach while he was in Tuscaloosa. “That’s something I was thinking about even last year,” Quinerly said. “I had won the SEC before and went and lost to a 13-seed UCLA who wasn’t even supposed to be in there. It would better if we lose the tournament championship and we would be more locked in.”
After wrapping his time at Alabama, despite the wishes of portions of the Razorback fan base, Quinerly didn’t put much consideration into coming to Arkansas. It was time to do something different. He considered Seton Hall as a favor to his family to keep them from having to travel so much. Kansas State wanted him to fill the role Marcus Noelle played last season for the Wildcats. However, no matter where he considered, one thing he knew for sure was he wanted to step away from the SEC. “I was just looking for some change,” Quinerly said. “I spent four years in the SEC. My last year, I wanted to put myself in a situation where I am uncomfortable because that’s where I thrive. I did it from Nova to Bama. Now, I’m gonna do it from Bama to Memphis.”
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