Cincy on the Prowl
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Landers Nolley II announces transfer from Memphis

By Charles Post

BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 28: Head coach Wes Miller of the UNC-Greensboro Spartans is seen during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on November 28, 2014 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 28: Head coach Wes Miller of the UNC-Greensboro Spartans is seen during the game against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on November 28, 2014 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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Following the recent transfer portal additions of Kalu Ezikpe and Rob Phinisee, Cincinnati had one scholarship available until adding former Memphis forward Landers Nolley II on Wednesday. Nolley announced his decision to join the Bearcats after scoring a team-high 13.1 points with the Tigers in 2021.

“Ready to do what they said I couldn’t,” Nolley posted on Twitter.

The Georgia native was a 4-star recruit that had a scholarship offer from Cincinnati and dozens of others coming out of high school but chose to commit to Virginia Tech. He averaged 15.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as a freshman with the Hokies and was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team in 2020.

Nolley transferred to Memphis prior to his sophomore season and played for head coach Penny Hardaway for two years. The 6’7 forward led the team in points, minutes and and 3-point percentage before earning Most Outstanding Player as the Tigers took home the NIT championship in 2021.

He played 27.4 minutes per game and started 25 games that year but didn’t have as much success in 2022. Memphis struggled early in the season and Nolley was relegated to a reserve role behind Emoni Bates, Jalen Duren and DeAndre Williams. He averaged 9.8 points on 33.6% shooting from 3-point range in 18 starts as a junior.

After taking visits to Cincinnati, NC State and Texas A&M in April, Nolley chose to stay in the American Conference with two years of eligibility remaining. Even in the portal era, it’s relatively rare to remain in-conference following a transfer but Nolley will get an opportunity to face his former team at least twice next year.

Wes Miller seems to be heading into his second season with a lot of momentum, picking up multiple highly-sought after transfers and bringing back Jeremiah Davenport, David DeJulius, John Newman III and others. The Bearcats were hoping to acquire more perimeter production and Nolley should be able to bring just that.