Memphis kicked off the basketball season on Tuesday with it’s annual Memphis Madness event, but it had a unique twist this year. It was held at the Memphis Zoo just a few steps away from the penguin exhibit.
The Tigers have thought outside the box with it’s Memphis Madness event over the last few years, but this was up there with one of the more unique ideas. A few years ago, Memphis hosted the event as a “student only” event at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse, and last year, the Tigers held the event on Beale Street.
This year’s Memphis Madness was in partnership with the Memphis Zoo and its “Zoo Boo” event that is held throughout the October ahead of Halloween. While both the men’s and women’s teams were being introduced and participating in competitions, the zoo was filled with lights, displays and halloween activities.
It was an impressive turnout to the event, and close to the start of the event at 6 p.m., the Zoo was informing guests that they would need to park somewhere else because their parking lot was full. The zoo announced that 3,594 were on hand for the event.
After both teams were introduced, four players, two from the men’s team and two from the women’s team, competed in a three-point shooting contest. Northwestern transfer Jayden Reid and SEMO transfer Luke Almodovar represented the men’s team, and Almodovar advanced to the championship round over Reid.
The shooting guard was matched up against Tierney Kelsey in the championship round, and he knocked down 15 three-pointers in a minute to win the shooting competition.
Luke Almodovar knocking down shots during the three-point shooting contest at Zoo Hoops. pic.twitter.com/OBc0nWb38G
— Bryant Dacus (@bryant_dacus) October 13, 2026
After that several players and several fans were split into four teams to see which team could make a layup, free throw, three pointer, and half-court shot the fastest.
Both the Memphis dance and cheer teams performed and several coaches competed in a game of knockout before the event ended with a meet-and-greet and autograph session with the players.
Both head coaches, Hana Haden and Penny Hardaway, were interviewed during the event and talked about the upcoming season and the event.
Haden said that her team will be extremely active on the defensive end of the court, but they will also be a fun team to watch offensively as well. Several of her three-point shooters were highlighted during the event, and it looks like they’ll have an opportunity to have a lot of success from downtown.
Hardaway said he loved the idea of the event, and he was glad the teams could get out into the community ahead of the season.
“I have to give the credit to the administration, Tim Duncan and Terrence Lollie and those guys, came up with the idea, and I just agreed with it because I knew the Zoo would be a great opportunity for us to get out and get with the community,” Hardaway said. “I haven’t been to the Zoo in a long time, so it’s pretty cool to be here again.”
He also talked about all of the Memphis connections on the roster and on the coaching staff, and he said it makes it mean so much more to have that connection to city.
Hardaway’s team will play two exhibition games before starting the season on November 2 against Iowa State, while the women will start their season at the Elma Roane Fieldhouse on November 2 against LeMoyne-Owen.