Penny Hardaway Says Memphis Staff's NBA Background Creating Jealousy Among Other College Coaches

[Drew]

P. Hardaway: NBA background eliciting 'jealousy'

Penny Hardaway says the NBA background of his Memphis coaching staff is creating a little jealousy among other coaches, putting a target on his own back in his first season with the Tigers.

"I'm getting used to this as a coach because it's a little jealousy from a lot of these coaches around the country," Hardaway said Monday. "I do understand that because we are NBA players trying to come back, and we didn't have any experience as college coaches. So we didn't quote, unquote, 'Pay our dues.' So the coaches and their so-called boys that are in the media they're going to always throw jabs at us."

The first-year coach says his Tigers still have to prove the detractors wrong by winning.

Hired last March to replace Tubby Smith, Hardaway hired former NBA players Mike Miller and Sam Mitchell, who's also a former NBA coach of the year, as assistants. Hardaway has made it clear he's tapping into his professional background to help his alma mater, including making tweaks to a brand-new basketball facility on campus to bring it up to NBA quality.

 

[Hurleyman216]

Secretly Dan Hurley is thinking the same thing about himself. “These other coaches are jealous of me because I’ve got the Hurley pedigree from a hall of fame father”. He’s not dumb enough to come out and say it publicly even though he drops hints of it now and then.

It’ll be interesting to see how Penny is doing in 5-6 years once his AAU coached players have come and gone. He’s more likely another KO in the making than next great college coach. Time will tell...

 

[Huskyforlife]

That quote comes off incredibly soft to me. You can prove you belong by winning, until every newly hired coach starts winning, they always have doubters.

 

[LStudfellow]

I for one hope that Penny succeeds enough that:

1) he gets Memphis back to being a consistent Top 10/nationally contending type of team
2) he gets even more outwardly arrogant than he obviously already is.

Let's be honest my friends: We are DESPERATE to have a conference opponent that we can have a frothing, lathered hatred for the way we used to hate Jim Boeheim/Syracuse, John Thompson/Georgetown, Louie Carnesecca/St. John's and Rollie Massimino/Villanova. Anyone who was a UConn fan back in the 1980's and 1990's knows exactly what I am talking about.

And although we do not particularly like the little leprechaun (Cronin) and his tiresome whiny, bitter-beer-face schtick at Cinncinati (lack of rivalry recently is our fault more than his, of course), it is not the same. We are in such a barren wasteland of lacking in a true arch rival that we still hate on Calipari/Kentucky and Coach K/Duke more than any coach and team in our own conference... and it isn't even close.

Please God... make Penny THAT coach, and Memphis THAT team.

 

[Robertelamin]

Well yeah, almost all coaches are jealous of the class.

 

[intlzncster]

Secretly Dan Hurley is thinking the same thing about himself. “These other coaches are jealous of me because I’ve got the Hurley pedigree from a hall of fame father”. He’s not dumb enough to come out and say it publicly even though he drops hints of it now and then.

It’ll be interesting to see how Penny is doing in 5-6 years once his AAU coached players have come and gone. He’s more likely another KO in the making than next great college coach. Time will tell...

Well, he succeeded in AAU, so he has that experience. Plus, I think Miller's family is involved in AAU out there and could probably funnel players. He's made a lot of connects at the high school level, and remains a very likable and popular dude.

 

[intlzncster]

I for one hope that Penny succeeds enough that:

1) he gets Memphis back to being a consistent Top 10/nationally contending type of team
2) he gets even more outwardly arrogant than he obviously already is.

Let's be honest my friends: We are DESPERATE to have a conference opponent that we can have a frothing, lathered hatred for the way we used to hate Jim Boeheim/Syracuse, John Thompson/Georgetown, Louie Carnesecca/St. John's and Rollie Massimino/Villanova. Anyone who was a UConn fan back in the 1980's and 1990's knows exactly what I am talking about.

And although we do not particularly like the little leprechaun (Cronin) and his tiresome whiny, bitter-beer-face schtick at Cinncinati (lack of rivalry recently is our fault more than his, of course), it is not the same. We are in such a barren wasteland of lacking in a true arch rival that we still hate on Calipari/Kentucky and Coach K/Duke more than any coach and team in our own conference... and it isn't even close.

Please God... make Penny THAT coach, and Memphis THAT team.

Unfortunately, Penny's a great guy.

 

[LStudfellow]

Unfortunately, Penny's a great guy.

John Thompson and Louie Carnesecca are actually really good guys as well. Masimino was kind of a jerk, and we all know what we think about Boeheim. That does not mean we did not hate them (when we were playing them)... we hated them because they tortured us... and their teams were really, really good (in the case of Thompson, a few of his teams were great, particularly his Ewing-led National Championship team, followed by the ones that lost in the Title games to North Carolina and Villanova).

We hated them because they were where we wanted to be... in the penthouse of the Big East, and of all of college basketball, every year. Year in, and year out. And from the early 80's until 1989-1990, it felt like we might never get there.

I hope that Penny makes us feel that way about him, and about Memphis. I hope that he and Danny become heated adversaries, and we mark those games on our calendar EVERY year.

That is my point.

 

[Edward Sargent]

P. Hardaway: NBA background eliciting 'jealousy'

Penny Hardaway says the NBA background of his Memphis coaching staff is creating a little jealousy among other coaches, putting a target on his own back in his first season with the Tigers.

"I'm getting used to this as a coach because it's a little jealousy from a lot of these coaches around the country," Hardaway said Monday. "I do understand that because we are NBA players trying to come back, and we didn't have any experience as college coaches. So we didn't quote, unquote, 'Pay our dues.' So the coaches and their so-called boys that are in the media they're going to always throw jabs at us."

The first-year coach says his Tigers still have to prove the detractors wrong by winning.

Hired last March to replace Tubby Smith, Hardaway hired former NBA players Mike Miller and Sam Mitchell, who's also a former NBA coach of the year, as assistants. Hardaway has made it clear he's tapping into his professional background to help his alma mater, including making tweaks to a brand-new basketball facility on campus to bring it up to NBA quality.

Penny O Penny we’ve been down that road ourselves

 

[Mister P]

He’s just feeling a LiL under appreciated now.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

The AAC media has been all over his jock this year. TF is he talking about?

 

[BlueDogs]

Some of this is part of the classic “us” against them motivation and mentality. Used masterfully by John Thompson in the heyday. This is a weaker form focused on him and his coaches instead of the team. Definitely the Ollie effect.

 

[August_West]

Let's be honest my friends: We are DESPERATE to have a conference opponent that we can have a frothing, lathered hatred for the way we used to hate Jim Boeheim/Syracuse, John Thompson/Georgetown, Louie Carnesecca/St. John's and Rollie Massimino/Villanova. Anyone who was a UConn fan back in the 1980's and 1990's knows exactly what I am talking about.

I will worry about that after we can actually beat Teams like USF, Tulsa and ECU

 

[mauconnfan]

Very talented team, much moreso than us. Yet we have a good chance to win vs. them and it does talk about the coach not the man. It will take him time but for now they look like a bunch of out of control kids playing. On a given night they can be really good or the other end of the spectrum. He will probably figure it out eventually but it will take time. Just be glad he has Miller and Mitchell and not rumored Larry Brown.

 

[intlzncster]

The AAC media has been all over his jock this year. TF is he talking about?

These days, everybody, I mean everybody , in all walks of life wants to be the victim/underdog in life.

 

[gtcam]

Unfortunately, Penny's a great guy.

Tell him we said hi

 

[dennismenace]

These days, everybody, I mean everybody , in all walks of life wants to be the victim/underdog in life.

Sometimes people like to be the "Rescuer" but never the Perpetrator in the Victim/Perpetrator/Rescuer games.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

These days, everybody, I mean everybody , in all walks of life wants to be the victim/underdog in life.

My (least) favorite fake underdog is Steph Curry. We’re supposed to feel sorry for the son of an NBA all star because Duke and UNC didn’t offer him? GFY

 

[methodology]

Secretly Dan Hurley is thinking the same thing about himself. “These other coaches are jealous of me because I’ve got the Hurley pedigree from a hall of fame father”. He’s not dumb enough to come out and say it publicly even though he drops hints of it now and then.

It’ll be interesting to see how Penny is doing in 5-6 years once his AAU coached players have come and gone. He’s more likely another KO in the making than next great college coach. Time will tell...

You severely underrate his connections, likability and pull in Memphis/ the south. He'll be there for a while whether he reaches the lofty expectations is the question

 

[intlzncster]

Tell him we said hi

While we're not friends, I've met him.

 

[CL82]

While we're not friends, I've met him.

So? He didn't say "tell him we said hi, if you know him." No he just said to tell him that we said hi.

Get 'er done.

 

[HawkHusky]

Penny had a helluva game plan for UCF. Much props in that regard.

 

[Palatine]

I still think the Orlando Magic made a huge mistake drafting Penny when they could have had Chris Webber. If they had put Webber besides Shaq, he could have played point forward while rebounding everything Shaq couldn't.

Shaq had just been in the movie "Blue Chips" with Hardaway and lobbied the Magic management to draft him. That movie may have cost the Magic numerous championships as the Shaq/Penny combination failed to win a single one.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

My (least) favorite fake underdog is Steph Curry. We’re supposed to feel sorry for the son of an NBA all star because Duke and UNC didn’t offer him? GFY

Do people still consider an NBA MVP to be an underdog?

 

[Robertelamin]

Do people still consider an NBA MVP to be an underdog?

Of course. 11 years ago.