Penny Hardaway, pictured in 2008, had his No. 25 jersey retired by Memphis University, then Memphis State, in 1994. (Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway could hardly be a more popular figure in Memphis, considering he grew up there, starred for the Memphis (then Memphis State) Tigers and after a memorable, if injury-marred, NBA career, returned to the city to become a successful high school and AAU coach. That said, his stature would grow all the more if he were able to bring his university’s scuffling hoops team back to glory.
Of course, there’s the small matter — at the moment — of the Tigers already having a coach of no small repute in Tubby Smith. But Smith’s two-year tenure in Memphis has been a lackluster affair, and as his 19-12 squad prepares for the American Athletic Conference tournament this week, he could be coaching for his job.
Which brings us to an intriguing pair of reports Tuesday. One, in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, featured the university’s president being noncommittal about Smith’s return next season, while the other, at CBS Sports, claimed that Hardaway was “actively preparing to be a college coach” and was already working on assembling a staff.
Oh, and CBS Sports’s Gary Parrish also reported, citing sources, that Hardaway was interested in adding legendary coach Larry Brown to his staff. He quoted the 77-year-old Brown as saying last week on a Memphis sports-radio station, “There’s gonna be a lot of college jobs open, unfortunately, and I can’t think of many guys more qualified than Penny.”
It likely doesn’t hurt that between his gigs as coach of Memphis East High and the AAU’s Team Penny, Hardaway has close ties to a trio of highly coveted prospects in the Class of 2019 — forwards James Wiseman and Chandler Lawson and perimeter player D.J. Jeffries. The 6-foot-11 Wiseman is ranked No. 1 in the country by ESPN, while Jeffries is 17th and Lawson 26th.
Asked recently about the rumors of an ascent to the Memphis job, the 46-year-old Hardaway said (via the Commercial Appeal), “I hear the noise, but I have to ignore it because my focus is here right now.”
That could hardly have been more comforting for Smith to hear than his school’s president saying of the coach’s status, “We’re not going to respond. We’re going to evaluate the program at the end of the year.”
In stints at Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota and Texas Tech, Smith has won an NCAA title, an AP College Coach of the Year award and taken teams to the Sweet 16 nine times. However, since taking over for Josh Pastner in 2016, the 66-year-old has not been able to replicate his predecessor’s success, and his program is plagued by disappointing attendance and revenue.
A buyout of Smith, who has three years left on his contract, would reportedly cost Memphis $9.75 million if the school wanted to do so this year. That would represent a very expensive firing, but it might well be worth it to bring aboard Hardaway, who almost certainly would generate major excitement among fans, boosters and recruits.
As for Brown, he incurred NCAA penalties at his last stop, SMU, while coaching there from 2012 to 2016, but he enjoyed his typical success at the school and gained in-depth knowledge of the same conference that features Memphis. A 2002 inductee into the Basketball Hall of Fame, Brown was known for never staying anywhere for very long — he coached two other NCAA programs, UCLA and Kansas, and a whopping 10 NBA/ABA teams — but also for being able turn around struggling teams, and he won titles at both the college (1988 Jayhawks) and professional levels (2004 Pistons).
Hardaway was a first-team all-American who became the third overall pick in the 1993 draft by the Warriors before being quickly traded to the Magic, joining Shaquille O’Neal as the centerpieces of the NBA’s most exciting young team, one that went to the NBA Finals in 1995. Hardaway was a four-time all-star and twice made the all-NBA first team while in Orlando, but he began suffering major injuries and wasn’t the same force in subsequent stints with the Suns, Knicks and Heat.
He left the NBA after the 2007-08 season, and despite earning over $120 million during his career, Hardaway returned to Memphis to work with youth basketball players in troubled neighborhoods.
“Memphis fans just want something to believe in,” a source told Parrish. “Penny gives them something to believe in.”
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