Recruiting Memphis talent was key to Arkansas’ success during the Nolan Richardson era, when the Hogs reached three Final Fours and won the 1994 national championship.

And it looks like Arkansas Coach John Pelphrey is making Memphis a priority, as well.

It doesn’t hurt having Memphis Grizzlies guard Mike Miller as an asset, either.

Pelphrey recruited Miller to Florida and the Grizzlies guard sponsors an AAU team, M 33 M in Memphis. The team features point guard Terrance Joyner, 6-2, 175 pounds, who has committed to Arkansas, and two other players the Razorbacks have their eyes on — shooting guard Terrico White, 6-5, 195, and small forward, Laurence Bowers, 6-7, 193.

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Joyner, a Los Angeles native, is attending Genesis One Academy, in Mendenhall, Miss. He orally committed to Arkansas on June 20 and now he’s trying to get others to commit to the Hogs.

“I tell them [White and Bowers ] that Arkansas is a great school,” said Joyner, who had scholarship offers from Oregon State, Washington State and New Mexico. “A great atmosphere and a great opportunity to start at a great program, which already has a good tradition, and get it back going with Coach John Pelphrey.”

Joyner said he had a productive summer and his AAU Coach, Titus Randle, did not dispute him.

“He was a big part of the team, being the floor general,” Randle said. “He really sets up his teammates and gets everyone involved. He’s a high major guard, who can shoot. He made a good decision on choosing Arkansas.”

Bowers has a 3. 2 grade-point average and averaged 14 points, 9 rebounds and 6 blocks per game at St. George’s high school last season. He is the nephew of former Razorbacks guard Arlin Bowers, who lettered from 1989-1991.

“He’s like one of my best friends,” Bowers said of his uncle. “He loves Arkansas. He said it’s a great atmosphere, because Arkansas is the main attraction in the state. I was already interested in Arkansas, but after talking with him and his experience up there, that kind of boosted my interest in Arkansas. He plays a big role in all my decisions.”

Bowers has scholarship offers from Missouri, Texas-El Paso and Marquette, with Arkansas showing strong interest. Bowers said Pelphrey wants to see how he comes back after spraining a knee in April and missing most of summer play.

“In talking with Coach Pelphrey, he said he needed to see me a little more,” Bowers said. “He wants to see how I bounce back from the injury. Before the injury, they said I impressed them a lot.”

M 33 M’s Ernie Kuyper said Bowers is a good shot blocker and hard worker but is still a work in progress.

“He brings a lot of energy to your team,” Kuyper said. “In April, he played very, very good. Of course, in July he couldn’t play at all. He needs to work a lot stronger to go down low, and he needs to work on his ball handling to play outside. But his shot is pretty good.”

Bowers has visited the Arkansas campus twice this year, most recently in June. He said he’s trying to work out an official visit with Arkansas assistant coach Tom Ostrom. He said he hopes to make his college decision by November.

White, from Memphis Craigmont High School, averaged more than 22 points and has a 42-inch vertical leap and was pleasantly surprised during an unofficial visit to Arkansas a few weeks ago. “The gym is huge, and their weight room is awesome,” White said. “I was thinking Arkansas was a small school, but it was real nice.”

Kuyper said he loves White’s game.

“He’s very athletic and big,” Kuyper said. “He just needs to get a little bit more aggressive. He can shoot and he’s a mismatch. Being 6-5, he can beat you down low and beat you outside.”

Valparaiso, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Georgia State have offered White a scholarship, and Tennessee and Memphis are showing strong interest.