Penny Hardaway was a passable basketball coach during his six seasons with the Memphis Tigers, but his program is only nationally significant because it generates embarrassing headlines.
Basketball’s mediocre product no longer justifies off-court turmoil. Recent events include the firing of four members of Hardaway’s staff just before the start of preseason practice and the university’s confirmation of the existence of an anonymous letter alleging serious violations that was delivered to the NCAA.
The next coach of this program may not be able to excite fans, sign top-notch players or achieve 20 wins like beloved Memphis and NBA legend Hardaway did. But it’s time to find out. It’s not a Holy Grail quest to find a coach who can match Hardaway’s record (two NCAA Tournament appearances and one win in those six seasons) while also not providing NCAA enforcement.
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Memphis submits letter to NCAA alleging possible violations
This program has a championship tradition with legendary players and teams in the not-too-distant past. Scandals are part of that tradition, too, but that was back when people still cared about NCAA scandals. At times, it feels like Hardaway is trying to set the stage for a sequel to “Blue Chips,” the delightfully cheesy 1994 film in which Nick Nolte plays a compromised basketball coach, Hardaway plays a bought recruit and Ed “Al Bundy” O’Neill plays an investigative reporter.
Since Hardaway replaced Tubby Smith, Memphis has faced a steady stream of investigations, eligibility questions and suspensions. Smith’s two-season win average of 20.0 was not far behind Hardaway’s (22.2), and his integrity has never been an issue in his 31-year career as a head coach.
The most serious allegations are academic irregularities. In this era of player development and investment, programs that try to shortcut education explain that they view these “student-athletes” as merely a means to an end.
Despite all the player movement and the approved financial cut by NIL, emphasizing and promoting academic goals should be as important as ever for college athletic programs. Those who do not conduct their business as such should be called out on this.
Some will call that naive. No one can deny that NIL and pro sports money will be a lifetime income for more than a fraction of college athletes.
In the anonymous letter, which was viewed by The athleteThe Memphis Commercial Appeal reported in February that Malcolm Dandridge was held out of five games for academic reasons. The newspaper reported in March that men’s basketball academic adviser Leslie Brooks was fired a day before the school announced that Dandridge would miss games.
It is always possible that such a situation, if it does occur, could happen independently of the people who oversee a program. But that does not absolve them of any responsibility.
And this is just the latest of many problems for Hardaway’s program, dating back to an 18-month investigation into the recruitment of James Wiseman. Aside from the academic allegations, there hasn’t been anything truly condemnatory. But the pattern is pretty clear at this point for a program that has employed at least 41 people since Hardaway was hired in 2018, according to The Daily Memphian — 17 of them as coaches or in operations.
The allegations in the letter include two improper payments. One of them, for $60,000 to a prospect, allegedly occurred in 2022. Is it possible that Hardaway didn’t realize that one could take a few simple steps at this point and legally pay a prospect through a third party? The general sloppiness here, regardless of the credibility of this particular allegation, is reminiscent of another great Tennessee athletic trainer.
Jeremy Pruitt presumably learned how to discreetly and professionally conduct business behind the scenes at various elite college football programs, then came to Tennessee and practically handed out hundreds with stickers of his face on them. Pruitt, who would have been defended by UT at all costs had he won big, was instead fired for cause in 2021. As Memphis begins a new era with Ed Scott as athletic director, Pruitt’s downfall comes to mind.
Hardaway, whose contract runs until 2027/28, was a passable coach. He will always be a legend for Memphis. Perhaps his seventh team, with a practically completely new squad and coaching staff, can pull off the magic for a third NCAA bid.
But Memphis would be better off if this was someone else’s first team, even if that was an interim player. The Tennessee administration has turned a mess into an opportunity, and it’s worked out pretty well for them.
(Photo: Aric Becker/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
