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Q&A with Memphis’ Penny Hardaway

Penny Hardaway had a busy week. Memphis’ head coach parted ways with multiple staff members and was reportedly accused of major NCAA infractions. I caught up with Hardaway on Saturday to discuss the Tigers’ staff, the state of Memphis’ program, and what lies ahead during the 2024-25 season.

Jon Rothstein: Why did you opt to make the staff changes that you did this past week?

Penny Hardaway: I don’t really want to get into that.

Rothstein: Are you surprised at the amount of staff turnover that you’ve had during your tenure as Memphis’ head coach?

Hardaway: At the end of the day, this is who I am. I’m not traditional so stop trying to put me with the guys that are. I’m not a traditional dude — that’s first and foremost. People have come to me for various reasons. I’ve accepted them for various reasons. The turnover had a lot of graduate assistants, had a lot of managers. The coaches who have left have went on to get bigger and better jobs and better positions. No one has really just been fired. There’s been multiple things that have happened mutually and I still talk to everyone who was in the program because it’s a tree. For everyone else, it’s a coaching tree and for me, it’s turnover. So if you want to understand what the turnover is, it’s a group of young men and men who went on to do better. I might not have had a coaching position for them so they went on to get a coaching position. Or they had a coaching position and they may have felt that another coaching position may have projected them better with a bigger role. I don’t understand why this is unheard of for you guys who have been in the business for a long time. This is only my sixth year. I’m trying to figure it out. I started out having an NBA staff and now I’m trying to work everything else out.

Rothstein: What’s the biggest thing that you’ve learned about being Memphis’ head coach that you didn’t know prior to taking the job?

Hardaway: I think I knew everything because there’s always going to be a microscope and a target. I’m my harshest critic. I know how things work from being in the NBA. I understand that when you come to this job what comes along with it — whether it’s good or bad. I understood that from being a professional athlete first. I didn’t pay my dues. I came in and took over to help the team out at a time when attendance was very low and I’m still a newbie to the game, working things out, and getting better every year because I’m understanding who I am. I came in wanting an NBA staff because guys wanted to get to the NBA and now I’m more settled as a coach because I understand how it goes. So for me, the biggest thing I knew was the scrutiny of everything. What I didn’t know was the college game, but I learned on the fly.

Rothstein: Is there anything that you would do differently during tenure if you could have a mulligan?

Hardaway: I don’t think so because to me it’s the bumps and bruises. My bumps and bruises in this business can get louder than anyone else’s bumps and bruises. I think winning 20 games a season, having a Postseason NIT championship, beating some of the best teams in the country, having a conference championship. The first year, I inherited Tubby’s (Smith) team and made it to the second round of the NIT. The second year was COVID. The third year we were NIT champions. The fourth year we made the second round of the NCAA Tournament and lost to Gonzaga. The fifth year, we lost on a last second shot to Florida Atlantic and we had the ball with 10 seconds left. I think it’s just the bumps and bruises of the game. But to say I’m not accomplished in everything that I’ve done — that’s just a lie. It’s who I am — I’m being judged harsher than an average coach that just came in. It is what it is. I’m not above criticism, but I know that I’m being judged harsher. I have thick skin, but if we’re talking about facts and you’ve been in the business longer than I have, about someone being in their first six years — from someone who you respect who’s the best in the business to the worst in the business — if those guys were given up on after their fifth or sixth season, they wouldn’t have become who they became. That’s what is so funny to me. Is it harsher because I came from the NBA? I came in with the quote “We want all the smoke”, which everybody except for a few people understood that meant that we’d play anyone anywhere. And we have played anyone anywhere. It’s gotten misconstrued. To me, it’s just weird being in this space. I came back to do something. I don’t need the money. I came back to the school to teach young men and to try and help my city out and my school out and it’s like I’ve been under some microscope that’s unbelievable. It’s just really weird going through this space because good guys finish last and good guys really finish last at this level.

Rothstein: Your team was 12-2 last season prior to losing Caleb Mills to a season-ending knee injury and you were never really the same after that. For you, what was the hardest part about going through last season?

Hardaway: Playing with a big lineup and not having the same structure that we had in the beginning of the season. We went from having small ball — four guards and a big to having three bids and two guards.

Rothstein: When you were planning for the upcoming season, did you plan on having David Jones — who stayed in the NBA Draft — back for another year?

Hardaway: I did, but I don’t hold anybody back. It’s the same thing with my staff. The staff turnover isn’t because everything has to be negative. It’s just like with David Jones — he had an opportunity. He saw the moment. We talked about it and then at the very last moment, he decided to stay in the draft. I wished him well. I don’t talk anybody against going on and being better — period.

Rothstein: Given where everything stands right now, if you could give a message to the Memphis fan — are you confident that you still have momentum as a program?

Hardaway: Why wouldn’t I? What have I done to not have momentum? I was ascending until we had injuries and went from No. 10 in the nation to being out of the Top 25. It happens. It happens to a lot of coaches, but if it happens to me then it’s the worst thing in the world. Why do I have to say something to the Memphis fan? I’m my harshest critic. I’m not mad at anybody. I know what needs to be done. I want to win — that’s why I’m still in the job. I don’t have to have a job. I’m still here because I really want to do something good. I don’t need the money. I don’t need anything. I could go and retire right now and be great. I know what I can do. I’m able to do what I need to do for me because I am the head of everything. If it gets scrutinized, that’s fine, but I just need to win and I want to win. I don’t have to tell the Memphis fans anything. They know my heart. They know why I’m in it. I’d love for you guys to put my first six years against other people’s first six years and tell me how it turns out.

Rothstein: What are your impressions of the team that you’re about to coach?

Hardaway: They have my identity. Toughness, togetherness, discipline — everything. Great leadership. Everything.

Rothstein: For you personally, what are your own internal expectations for Memphis during the 2024-25 season?

Hardaway: To just stay together and stay healthy. If we stay together and stay healthy, we’ll be ok. Those are my expectations. All I need them to do is just stay healthy and stay together and we’ll be good.

Leftovers