Memphis Tigers Basketball

Jayden Hardaway—the son of new Memphis head men's basketball coach Penny Hardaway—announced Tuesday he will play for his father at Memphis.

Hardaway made it official with the following Instagram post:

The younger Hardaway played for his father at Memphis East High School (Tennessee) before spending the 2017-18 season at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

Hardaway is his father's first commit, and he explained the rationale behind his decision to Mark Giannotto of the Commercial Appeal: "I'm able to obviously trust my dad. I know he cares for me. I know he's going to push me to be my greatest. There just wasn't a better situation for me than to go there."

He also told Giannotto that UNC Greensboro, Delaware and several Ivy League schools offered him scholarships.

Hardaway, who is not rated by 247Sports, averaged 4.8 points in the Nike EYBL last year, according to ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello.

The 6'4" guard's father was hired in March to replace Tubby Smith.

Penny enjoyed a standout collegiate career at Memphis before spending 14 seasons in the NBA and becoming a four-time All-Star.

The University of Memphis' athletic department is getting creative after the hiring of Penny Hardaway as its men's basketball head coach. 

According to Mark Giannotto of USA Today, season ticket prices will be one penny more after the school brought Penny aboard. Fans will have to pay $100.01 and will have the opportunity to buy season tickets on a first-come, first-served basis.

Giannotto noted university president M. David Rudd said the program lost $4.7 million in revenue during the last year due in part to a decrease in season ticket sales, but Hardaway's arrival is expected to bolster those totals.

If Hardaway can replicate the success he had as a player for Memphis when he led the Tigers to the Elite Eight in 1992, the extra penny will be well worth it.

If you had a dollar for every NBA star who went on to become a great college basketball coach, you might be able to afford lunch...but only at a cheap diner.

That's the national skepticism Penny Hardaway faces as he steps into the head coaching position at his alma mater, the University of Memphis. The city, however, couldn't be more optimistic or ecstatic.

Hardaway is a prodigal son and then some. He grew up in Memphis, one of the rare cities in the South where basketball trumps football in terms of popularity.

He knows the turmoil his hometown has faced, with brutal crime and triple-digit homicides every year. Despite his stardom, he was once on the receiving end of a bullet during an armed robbery.

Hardaway was a two-time All-American, but he's also well-aware of the difficulties his city's kids sometimes have while making the transition to college. He was academically ineligible as a freshman at Memphis, but he dug his way out of that hole and went on to make the dean's list.

Memphis' decision to hire him isn't a case of a once-proud program on the decline snapping up the biggest available name. After all, Hardaway has paid his coaching dues, starting at the middle school level. Last weekend, he won a third consecutive Tennessee state championship at East High School. 

The top player on Hardaway's East High team this year, 6'11" center James Wiseman, also happens to be the No. 1 recruit in the 2019 class, per 247 Sports. Another East player, 6'8" forward Chandler Lawson, ranks 40th in the class.

Think those two might provide Hardaway with some instant building blocks as he launches his rebuild at Memphis?

Hardaway's other coaching project since 2012 has been with an AAU team, Team Penny, which competes on the Nike EYBL circuit, one of the nation's best leagues. Recent players have included McDonald's All-Americans such as Kentucky's P.J. Washington, Alabama's John Petty and Florida's Isaiah Stokes.

If any prep players wonder whether Hardaway can get them ready for prime time, they don't have to do much research to discover the answer is a resounding yes.

Being the face of Nike's "Lil Penny" ad campaign in the '90s gave him a taste of big-time marketing. Winning Olympic gold in 1996 gave him permanent hoops prestige.

He earned $120 million during his career, but he never lost sight of where he came from. In 2008, he donated $1 million to the University of Memphis for a sports hall of fame.

As for the national pessimism about Hardaway because of the lengthy record of NBA stars failing when they enter the collegiate coaching ranks: Yes, that's legit.

Florida International grabbed headlines by hiring Isiah Thomas in 2009, but the Hall of Famer stumbled to a 26-65 mark across three seasons. Houston tried to revive its present by hiring a name from its gloried Phi Slama Jama past, but Clyde Drexler produced only a 19-39 run. Danny Manning took Wake Forest to the 2017 NCAA tourney, but the Demon Deacons backslid to 11-20 this season. 

The list goes on and on.

The Portland Pilots are 21-44 in Terry Porter's two years, including a seven-game losing streak to end this season's 10-22 campaign. Damon Stoudamire is 25-40 in two seasons at Pacific. Mark Price was 30-42 at Charlotte when he was fired in December.

However, that dismal trend might be on the verge of changing thanks to two members of the 1992 Dream Team.

Patrick Ewing got off to a .500 start at Georgetown this season, and his Hoyas finished on a 2-9 slide. But it was only his first year at his alma mater, so he deserves the benefit of the doubt for now.

Chris Mullin is 38-60 three years into his return to St. John's, but this season's passable 16-17 mark included hope-inspiring victories against Duke and Villanova.

More important than what's happening elsewhere in college basketball is that Hardaway knows what's happening in Memphis.

He never really left town, always maintaining an offseason presence there. And he's well-aware of the highs and lows that have accompanied Memphis basketball. The 26 NCAA tournament teams and the Elite Eight appearance he engineered in 1992. The two vacated Final Four appearances in 1985 and 2008, mistakes by others he is undoubtedly determined not to repeat.

It’s 10:45am on a Tuesday.

This is what Penny Hardaway means to the city of Memphis. pic.twitter.com/BWi7UzhAMM

— Jessica Benson (@jessbensontv) March 20, 2018

And he's seen the decline in his city's love for Memphis basketball, as attendance dipped to about 6,000 per game this season, according to Mark Giannotto of the Commercial Appeal, despite a 21-13 record under Tubby Smith.

"It was emotional and passionate because I feel the city's pain; I feel the school's pain; and I feel like I can do something about it and I want to do something about it," Hardaway said after being named the school's new coach.

Having been in the game for so long, he also knows the history buffs who study coaching failure won't believe in him anytime soon. That's okay with him.

"That's their opinion," Hardaway said Tuesday. "It's not just going to happen because I'm Anfernee Hardaway and I'm going to go be a college coach and kids are going to fall into my lap. I have to grind. I have to go work. But I'm willing to put that all in, put the work in and prove the critics wrong."

Given the successes he's already worked for, it's easy to believe more are on the way.  

Former NBA star Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway has reportedly agreed to become the next head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team, according to Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com.

The move comes in the wake of the school firing Tubby Smith after just two seasons on the job.

A press conference to officially announce Hardaway as the next head coach is expected on Tuesday, per that report. 

As for Hardaway's potential staff, Dan Wolken of USA Today tweeted Sunday: "Sounds like things are pretty far along on staff. Two former Memphis/[John] Calipari assistants in Steve Roccaforte and Tony Barbee are staff candidates, per source."

And John Martin of 92.9 ESPN Radio Memphis reported that Hardaway would meet with former NBA player Mike Miller this week about a potential role on the coaching staff. Miller spent six seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies from 2002 to 2008.

Hardaway, 46, played his college ball at Memphis before an NBA career that included stints with the Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Miami Heat. He was a four-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA first-team selection, all with the Magic. His pairing with Shaquille O'Neal early in his career represented one of the NBA's most dynamic young duos at the time.

Hardaway is no stranger to coaching either. Hardaway led Memphis' East High School to a Tennessee state championship this season, the third straight for the school. (Hardaway was technically an assistant coach on the previous two winners, though he did "the bulk of the in-game coaching" in those seasons, per John Varlas of the Commercial Appeal.)

He's also spent time as an AAU coach. 

For Memphis, Hardaway has the opportunity to re-energize a program that lost some of its luster and buzz during Smith's tenure.

"You need to get people coming back to the games," Hardaway said on Saturday after East's state championship when asked about the Tigers, per Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal. "That's all I can say. I know they were coming when I was there."

When someone noted, "Maybe they'll come again," Hardaway offered a slight smile, per Calkins.

"Maybe they'll come again," he said.

Tubby Smith said Wednesday that he is no longer the head men's basketball coach at Memphis, according to Mark Giannotto of the Commercial Appeal.

The Tigers formally announced the move Wednesday, per Peter Edmiston of Sports 56 WHBQ:

https://twitter.com/peteredmiston/status/973973754064842754

Last week, Geoff Calkins of the Commercial Appeal wrote that it was rumored Memphis would fire Smith and hire Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway as the next head coach. Memphis and Hardaway are in contract negotiations and are expected to work out a deal, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

Smith spent only two seasons at Memphis.

Smith went 40-26 in his two seasons with the Tigers, including a 21-13 mark in 2017-18. Memphis reached the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament before falling to Cincinnati.

Memphis has now failed to reach the NCAA tournament in four straight seasons after making it 10 out of 12 years from 2002-03 through 2013-14.

The 66-year-old Smith has an extensive head-coaching history with stints at Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota and Texas Tech before joining Memphis.

He has a career record of 597-302 with most of his success coming at Kentucky.

During his career, Smith has reached the NCAA tournament 18 times, including nine Sweet 16 appearances, four trips to the Elite Eight, one Final Four and an NCAA national title in 1997-98 at Kentucky.

Per Giannotto, it will cost Memphis $9.75 million to fire Smith.

While it hasn't been confirmed who will replace Smith, Hardaway starred collegiately at Memphis, and he is currently the head coach East High in Memphis, Tennessee.

University of Memphis men's basketball coach Tubby Smith has received nothing but positive feedback from school administrators if his lawyer is to be believed.

"What Tubby has gotten consistently from that administration is 'Coach, we know you're doing this the right way, we know this is a process, we know this is gonna take some time, we're happy with what you're doing,'" Ricky Lefft said, per Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com. "Tubby told them from the beginning it was a four- to five-year process. When he says it's a process, that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone."

The comments come after Gary Parrish of CBS Sports reported Memphis was "seriously considering replacing Tubby Smith with Penny Hardaway."

Medcalf noted "scrutiny" on Smith has "intensified" this season after K.J. Lawson and Dedric Lawson left the program following a 19-13 showing in 2016-17 and after attendance dropped. He also pointed out Memphis would owe Smith $10 million if it fires him following two seasons if it doesn't have cause.

Before becoming the head coach of the Tigers, Smith coached at Tulsa, Georgia, Minnesota, Texas Tech and, most notably, Kentucky. He made the NCAA tournament all 10 seasons with the Wildcats and won a national title, seven regular-season SEC titles and five SEC tournament championships during the span.

However, he has not been able to replicate that success in the early going with Memphis, and university president M. David Rudd said, "We're going to evaluate the program at the end of the year," per Mark Giannotto of the Commercial Appeal.

As for Hardaway, Parrish cited a source who said the former NBA and Memphis player sees Hall of Famer Larry Brown as a potential candidate to join his staff.

Parrish also pointed out Hardaway has connections to three highly regarded recruits in the 2019 class—James Wiseman, D.J. Jeffries and Chandler Lawson—because he runs the Team Penny Nike EYBL program and is the coach for East High in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Tigers' 2017-18 season is still alive after they beat South Florida in the American Athletic Conference tournament Thursday and moved to 20-12 overall despite losing leading scorer Jeremiah Martin to a broken foot.

If Memphis replaces Tubby Smith as its head men's basketball coach, the program may be dipping into its past.

Gary Parrish of CBS Sports reported Memphis is considering hiring Penny Hardaway to replace Smith, who has coached the program each of the last two seasons.

Hardaway, who played at Memphis from 1991 to 1993, has no college coaching experience. He currently coaches at Memphis East High School. The four-time NBA All-Star also runs the Team Penny Nike EYBL program, which features some of the top prospects in the nation.

James Wiseman, widely considered the top prospect in the 2019 class, plays under Hardaway at Memphis East.

Parrish's report also indicates Hardaway could target Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Brown to serve as an assistant under him at Memphis.

"Penny is one of my favorite guys of all time," Brown said on ESPN 92.9 FM (h/t Parrish). "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."

Brown, 77, last coached at SMU from 2012-2016. He left the program amid NCAA rule violations.

Smith has coached Memphis to a 38-25 record over the last two seasons. The program missed the NCAA tournament last season and is widely expected to do so again. Memphis has not made the tournament since the 2013-14 season.

Kansas forward Dedric Lawson has denied an allegation he skipped out on an $88 bar tab in his hometown of Memphis. 

According to a police report obtained by Fox 13, a waitress said Lawson left without paying his tab at Bar Louie at 1:30 a.m. ET Thursday. The woman said she recognized Lawson because she went to high school with him.

Lawson has denied the allegations. He appeared on 92.9 FM ESPN Radio in Memphis on Thursday (h/t Gary Parrish of CBS Sports), saying he ordered two drinks totaling $10.50 and gave the waitress $12. According to his account of the incident, the waitress expected him to pay for other drinks people ordered at their table. 

"I only ordered two drinks, and I paid for those drinks," Lawson said.

Kansas head coach Bill Self said he's "totally comfortable" with the situation, adding Lawson explained it to him, per Gary Bedore of Kansas City.com

Lawson averaged 19.2 points and 9.9 rebounds last season at Memphis before announcing he was transferring to Kansas in April. He will have two years of eligibility remaining once he sits out the 2017-18 season.

Self previously suspended Lawson for the Jayhawks' trip to Italy because of an altercation at practice. 

Kansas Jayhawks transfer K.J. Lawson apologized Thursday after he was seen on video making pointed remarks about Memphis Tigers head coach Tubby Smith. 

Lawson—who played for Memphis before transferring to Kansas—posted the following on Twitter after a Snapchat video showed him addressing the camera and saying, "F--k Tubby": 

This momentary discretion can jeopardize the most important thing in my life.. I apologize for my inexcusable behavior. pic.twitter.com/Ys5cy4BNxv

— Keelon Lawson (@KJLawson2) April 14, 2017

Citing a source close to the situation, ESPN.com's Myron Medcalf reported Lawson does not expect to lose his scholarship offer from the Jayhawks after the video was made public. 

K.J. and his brother Dedric Lawson recently committed to Kansas after they announced they intended to transfer. That decision, it turns out, was motivated by factors beyond Memphis' 19-13 record that included a 9-9 mark in American Athletic Conference play. 

According to Yahoo Sports' Jeff Eisenberg, "Dedric and K.J. signed with Memphis two years ago in part because ex-Tigers coach Josh Pastner agreed to hire their father as an assistant coach. When Smith replaced Pastner last spring, he marginalized Keelon Lawson by demoting him to director of player development."

K.J. and Dedric will now head to a Jayhawks team that will need them to step up with Frank Mason III, Josh Jackson, Carlton Bragg Jr. and Landen Lucas all on the way out. 

As a sophomore, K.J. averaged 12.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 39.9 percent from the field. Dedric, meanwhile, registered a team-high 19.2 points, 9.9 boards and 2.1 blocks a night during his second season with the Tigers. 

By season's end, Dedric was one of two players in the nation—along with Eastern Washington's Jacob Wiley—who topped 19 points, nine rebounds and two swats a night during the 2016-17 campaign. 

For more news, rumors and related stories about K.J. Lawson, the Kansas Jayhawks and college basketball, check out the college basketball and Kansas streams on Bleacher Report's app.

The Memphis Tigers announced on Thursday that they hired Tubby Smith as their head coach for men's basketball. "Smith's contract with the Tigers is worth $15.45 million over five years, including $2.8 million in 2016-17, $2.9 million in 2017-18 and $3.25 million in the final three years," Memphis revealed.

President M. David Rudd released a statement on the hiring: ""A historic hire for the University of Memphis. He is the most accomplished coach the UofM has ever hired. For the University of Memphis and our basketball program, Tubby Smith is simply the right guy at the right time."

Smith replaces Josh Pastner, who left to take over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Pastner's departure was met with enthusiasm from a number of Tigers fans. The school has failed to reach the heights it did under John Calipari, with Memphis exiting the NCAA tournament in the round of 32 four years in a row between 2011 and 2014.

The Tigers missed out on the Big Dance altogether the last two seasons, and their on-court struggles were creating bigger issues. The average attendance during the 2014-15 season (13,915) fell 13.7 percent from the year before, and the Commercial Appeal's Phil Stukenborg reported in February that the team was on pace to average even fewer fans (11,721) in 2015-16.

In order to halt the program's stagnation, Memphis couldn't afford to take a similar gamble to the one when it hired Pastner, who had only served as an assistant at the college level. In that respect, USA Today's Dan Wolken believes Smith is the perfect man for the job:

Mind boggling. He's exact opposite of Josh, which is what they wanted. Best resume of any coach Memphis has hired https://t.co/lEqL3MVHKB

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) April 13, 2016

According to Bleacher Report's Jason King, the Tigers also had a ceiling regarding realistic candidates, with Smith among the available options. King also reported on who could replace Smith at Texas Tech:

Memphis wasn't going to pay Gregg Marshall or Buzz Williams, who may or may not have been interested. Search zeroed in on Tubby & Capel.

— Jason King (@JasonKingBR) April 13, 2016

Chris Beard is the leading candidate to replace Tubby Smith at Texas Tech, source told BR. Beard has $1 million buyout in his UNLV contract.

— Jason King (@JasonKingBR) April 14, 2016

After leaving Kentucky in 2007, Smith enjoyed successful spells at Minnesota and Texas Tech.

He took the Golden Gophers to the NCAA tournament on three occasions in six years—after they had made three trips the previous 11 seasons. Before his arrival in Lubbock, Texas, the Red Raiders were still reeling from the Pat Knight era, with the Billy Gillispie experiment a complete failure as well. In three years, Smith had Tech back in the NCAA tournament.

On one hand, hiring the 64-year-old is somewhat underwhelming in that he isn't one of the most in-demand head coaches in the country. However, Smith is a proven winner, and that kind of track record is exactly what Memphis needs to counteract Pastner's last two years in charge.

The Commercial Appeal's Geoff Calkins also argued that one of Smith's potential failings—recruiting—may not be much of an issue:

The question with Smith will be recruiting. He will need to have some hardcore recruiters on his staff. But there will be some loaded classes of recruits coming out of Memphis high schools the next few years. All he has to do is hold onto them. Unless Smith totally screws this up, he is about to coach the best players he has had since he was the Kentucky coach. Oh, and if Smith can persuade Penny Hardaway to join his staff -- no clear word on that yet -- the recruiting should take care of itself.

Memphis doesn't have a wealth of talent coming in for next year, with 3-star small forward Jimario Rivers as the Tigers' only 2016 commitment so far. 247Sports ranks him as the No. 17 junior college transfer in the country.

The team received a big boost, though, when freshman forward and leading scorer Dedric Lawson put off the NBA for at least another year. Memphis had seven freshmen on the roster last year, all of whom should be better with a year of experience under their belts.

With Smith on the sideline, a return to the NCAA tourney isn't out of the question.

For Texas Tech, life after Smith could prove difficult. The Red Raiders don't carry a ton of prestige on the hardwood. According to Sports-Reference.com, four of the nine seasons in which they climbed into the Associated Press' Top 25 came under Bob Knight's watch. In the five seasons after Knight left, the school posted a .401 winning percentage.

Smith and Knight showed that Texas Tech can be a successful program, but athletic director Kirby Hocutt might have trouble convincing a young, up-and-coming coach to take on the challenge.