Former NBA star Anferni Penny Hardaway was unexpectedly hired as head coach of the Memphis Tigers basketball team in 2018 and entered the best NCAA program with no coaching experience outside of high school.
Four years later, Hardaway won a number of top hires, but failed to set a winning record based on their lineage. Memphis won the NIT tournament in 2021, but was not in the Hardaway-led NCAA tournament and set a 9-8 record to start the season.
After losing to SMU 70-62 again on Thursday night, Hardaway was asked if he could do the job. His response was to start a one-minute tirad against the media.
“I think I can say one thing to these media outlets, because these media outlets are sometimes angry when they talk about me – we don’t have a complete list,” Hardaway said. “You know, we don’t have a complete list. Stop asking me stupid questions about whether I can do something. If my list was like them, I could do whatever I wanted.
“I coach very hard. My sons are playing very well. I am not ashamed of anything. We have four freshmen. You all have to act like that. Act like we have 17 and 18 year olds trying to learn to play against 22, 23 and 24 year olds. Stop disrespecting me, brother. Don’t do that. I work very hard. “
Everything would have been better and better if Hardaway hAcesparks’t deliberately compiled its list with the best mercenaries. Hardaway landed in the hopes that Amon Bates and Jalen Duren, who are considered one of the best mercenaries in the 2022 class, could win immediately and lose to the NBA quickly. (17-year-old Bates will not be called up until 2023.)
Bates struggled and hit 39 percent off the floor this season. Dyuren played well, but like Bates, he had to play big minutes for his age. Memphis is currently missing their top scorer, DeAndre Williams, but he has featured in 12 games this season.
Memphis is recognized not only as an NCAA tournament team, but also as a potential championship contender who finished 12th on the AP Top 25 list before the start of the season. Now, they’re on a game with a .500 total and 3-4 conferences, even NIT seems like an stretch.
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