The University of Memphis introduced Penny Hardaway as its new head coach in March 2018. The mood was high. After all, it was a homecoming for a Tigers icon. Hardaway wasn’t going to dampen that excitement. He called the opportunity “truly a blessing” and said he was “ready” to lead the team back to its “glory days.”
Nearly four years later, those glory days still felt distant, though. The Tigers were going through a difficult stretch, and the readiness he had been talking about was being questioned by the media. That’s when Penny responded with an expletive-laced tirade.
Frustration boiled over for Hardaway
By January 2022, Memphis sat at 9–8. That wasn’t good enough. Not for a team that opened the season ranked No. 12 in the AP poll. Things only got worse from there. The Tigers suffered a 70–62 home loss to SMU. It was their third straight defeat.
For reporters, that was enough reason to press Hardaway. Did he still believe he could win at his alma mater? His response was interesting, to say the least…