Fansided

Penny Hardaway in line to replace Tubby Smith as Memphis coach

By Brad Berreman

MEMPHIS, TN - JANUARY 14: Penny Hardaway participates in MLK Sports Legacy Award and a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum on January 14, 2018 at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN - JANUARY 14: Penny Hardaway participates in MLK Sports Legacy Award and a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum on January 14, 2018 at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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If Memphis quickly ends the Tubby Smith era, Penny Hardaway seems to be preparing to take over.

From the start, Tubby Smith and the Memphis Tigers were an odd fit. Nearly two season in things are not at rock bottom, but a 38-25 record heading into this week’s conference tournament is not necessarily inspiring. In an effort to change that, according to Gary Parrish of CBS Sports, school officials are seriously considering firing Smith and replacing him with Penny Hardaway.

Parrish added Hardaway is “actively preparing to be a college coach”, to the point of starting to identify possible future staff members.

Hardaway played at Memphis (then Memphis State), before a 14-season NBA career which was marked by injuries. More recently he has returned to the city as head coach at East High School and the Team Penny AAU squad on Nike EYBL circuit. Coaching those teams has given him access to James Wiseman, D.J. Jeffries and Chandler Lawson, who are top-30 or top-40 recruits in the Class of 2019 depending on what ranking you’re looking at.

Hardaway’s immediate impact as the Tigers’ new coach would probably be felt the most off the court. According to The Memphis Commercial Appeal, attendance at Memphis home games is at its lowest point in nearly 50 years. As a tenant of the FedEx Forum, home of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, that is in line to cost the school any portion of a possible $800,000 payment the Grizzlies would have to make if certain attendance marks are hit. The wisdom of playing in an NBA arena can be questioned, but there’s clearly no real excitement for the Memphis basketball program right now.

Also according to Parrish, Hardaway is targeting Larry Brown for a position on his staff at Memphis. Just last week, the only coach to win a collegiate national title and an NBA championship spoke glowing of Hardaway to 92.9 FM in Memphis.

"Penny is one of my favorite guys of all time,” Brown said last week. “He was all about winning and team. When I got into college coaching and started going around watching AAU and high schools, I’d see the effect he has on kids in such a positive way. Before Tubby got the job, he was the guy I was hoping would get the Memphis job. I just thought that he came back to his community, which a lot of guys don’t always do. He grew up in Memphis. He’s doing an amazing job in AAU and now in high school.“There’s gonna be a lot of college jobs open, unfortunately, and I can’t think of many guys more qualified than Penny,” Brown added. “At the end of the day, it’s how you teach the game, how you care about the kids, how you make the kids accountable and grow up the right way. I think Penny Hardaway is as good a role model as you can possibly have."

Hardaway has not coached anywhere beyond the high school and AAU level. There’s also the issue of Smith’s buyout, which would be $9.75 million. But an increase in ticket sales sparked by hiring Hardaway, and increased donations attached to season tickets in particular, would reverse the downward business trend under Smith and help cover that cost.

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If Hardaway does replace Smith at his alma mater, he seems to be showing a good measure of self-awareness by wanting an experienced coach like Brown at his side. But time will tell if Memphis gets more than a short-term, mostly off the court, sugar high from a coaching change.