March 21, 20188 yr I think I would have kept the coach that won 21 games and built on his foundation. Not if it were YOUR program! Forget the 21 games the RPI was triple digits and the SOS was even higher. Yes they showed improvement AFTER they lost their leading scorer. No one can explain why they were just over .500 before. Most Memphis fans applaud the AD and President for having the guts to make the call.
March 21, 20188 yr I think most agree, a better situation would be a Penny H. With college coaching experience. He is a smart guy and committed to his alma matter. It seems he will get people on his staff who will help fill in. I am pretty sure Memphis will always love Penny....unless he goes to UK like some other guy did. JK.
March 21, 20188 yr I've never understood the hatred and disdain for Tubby Smith. Did Memphis need to make a move with him? Maybe so, but put me in the camp that thinks Penny Hardaway is going to be a colossal failure. IMO, the only reason he was given the job is because he's got some elite players on his HS & AAU teams that Memphis thinks will automatically go there now. It's going to be really fun to see how quickly the fans turn on him when they go elsewhere IMO. The disdain for Tubby? Because without his favoritism for his son, and his not stooping to the recruiting tactics of others, the college basketball industry, including the NCAA itself, a lot of the coaches, boosters, AAU connections, shoe companies, etc, etc, etc., would be a nice and clean operation. But ole Tubby had to dirty it up.
March 21, 20188 yr On the issue of getting excellent assistants, Penny has added the one and only Larry Brown as his top assistant.
March 21, 20188 yr On the issue of getting excellent assistants, Penny has added the one and only Larry Brown as his top assistant. Is that official? They have a good relationship, but as of 4 hours ago Brown said if Penny called he would do what he could to help him.
March 22, 20188 yr On the issue of getting excellent assistants, Penny has added the one and only Larry Brown as his top assistant. Oh my. I could see this ending really badly for Memphis.
March 22, 20188 yr Is that official? They have a good relationship, but as of 4 hours ago Brown said if Penny called he would do what he could to help him. It was being reported on a sports talk show I was listening to as if it were a done deal. Seth Greenberg commented on it saying that Brown will give Penny all the coaching expertise, and now Penny needs someone who knows how to run the basketball operations side of things.
March 22, 20188 yr ESPN's Goodman reporting that Brown will not be allowed to join Hardaway at Memphis because of past NCAA issues.
March 22, 20188 yr ESPN's Goodman reporting that Brown will not be allowed to join Hardaway at Memphis because of past NCAA issues. As of yesterday Penny was going to talk to the AD about Brown. Maybe that was his decision. Penny is trying to get off to a good start. Quoted also that he couldn’t talk to recruits until he passed his compliance exam which was to be yesterday.
March 22, 20188 yr Someone please sell me on Larry Brown. As someone that doesn't watch what assistants do or know the depth of their responsibilities, I don't know what he brings as a coach. I know he has extensive experience as a HC and could see him in a mentor type role, but outside of winning a "miracle" NCAA title with Kansas in 1988 he has been I believe a mediocre coach. Again there are a lot of really good coaches that just can't get the players to execute, I get that.
March 22, 20188 yr Sounds like Penny is already on track to bring in some real talent to Memphis. If he's actually able to coach at the college level it could get interesting.
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