Penny Hardaway’s Memphis is wrapping up the year on a high note after registering a solid 87-70 win over Ole Miss. The Tigers have bounced back after experiencing an upset loss to their State rivals just a week ago to register their 10th win of the season. Despite this, the Memphis coach can’t seem to enjoy the glory.

After his win over Ole Miss, Hardaway gave an exclusive interview to The Field Of 68: After Dark, “I came in as a newbie, and I really thought it was going to be much easier, than what it was because I knew the game,” Hardaway stated.

Penny joined Memphis on March 19, 2018, and assumed that the Division I program was going to be easy. However, he soon realized that wasn’t the case. Hardaway didn’t make the NCAA Tournament in his first three seasons, and in his six years at Memphis, he had just two appearances. He never made it past the first round of March Madness and never won a regular-season championship in the American Athletic Conference (AAC).

“I knew I was going to work and my biggest problem was kind of the culture, my culture was never really good up until this year, and I failed at a lot of things and it frustrated me because I thought it was going to be better and the criticism was warranted.”

The 2023-24 Tigers seemed to have it all. They climbed to No. 10 in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 after an impressive 15-2 start and appeared to be in the long haul. However, Memphis was going through some internal crisis between their players, so much so that the players wouldn’t want to share the same court let alone play together.

These tensions took a toll, leading to a disappointing 7-8 record in Memphis’ final 15 games. The struggles ultimately cost the Tigers a spot in the NCAA Tournament, marking their first absence since the 2020-21 season.

“All I did was trying to s-ck it up and go like, ‘You know what can you do?’ I went out, got a staff that I was really comfortable with and that allowed me to be me and with them allowing me to be me and rallying around me, it’s allowed me to not be as stressful and as stressed out while learning on the job.”

Hardaway knew he had to make big changes to get Memphis back on track. It meant making some tough calls, like parting ways with four staff members Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips, Jamie Rosser, and special advisor Demetrius Dyson just two months before the season started. So who joined, the Tigers instead?

Hardaway adds experience to his coaching staff

Penny brought in two experienced assistant coaches by his side. Mike Davis and Nolan Smith joined the Tigers as assistant coaches for the 2024-25 season. Davis brought over six years of experience as the head coach at Detroit Mercy. With an overall coaching career spanning more than 35 years, he built a solid track record, while remaining victorious in 15 of those seasons.

“I am excited to have coach Davis as part of our program,” Hardaway said. “He is a veteran coach and brings a winning mentality to the team with an impressive resume to back it up, both on and off the court. 

Nolan Smith brought a lot of experience to the Tigers, having spent his last two years as an assistant coach at Louisville. Before that, he spent six seasons under legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, where he served in various roles, including special assistant, director of basketball operations, and assistant coach.

“Nolan is a grit and grind guy and is one of the brightest young coaches in college basketball,” Hardaway said. “He works hard and has a passion for the game that is unmatched.”

Despite some AAC success, Penny Hardaway’s journey at Memphis has been filled with regrets and self-reflection. With new coaching additions, Hardaway aims to rebuild and transform Memphis into a championship contender, learning from his past mistakes and looking to lead the Tigers back to glory.