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We continue our season preview coverage with Memphis coach Penny Hardaway. The Tigers have finished with a winning record for 19 straight years and Coach Hardaway has them poised to make it 20 for 20 in 2020. After starting conference play with a 5-5 record last season the team won 6 of its final 8 regular season games and made the AAC tourney semifinals before a 3-PT loss to Houston. With the combination of an amazing coaching staff and arguably the best incoming freshman class in the country they are widely expected to make it back to the NCAA tourney for the 1st time since 2014. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Coach Hardaway about bringing in some fabulous freshmen and beating the Dream Team.
In 1990 you were named national high school POY at Treadwell High School: what made you choose Memphis for college? I fell in love with the 1985/86 team and felt that it was a place I would want to be with players like Keith Lee/William Bedford. They just became my favorite team.
In June of 1992 you were part of a USA Basketball Developmental Team of college stars (including Grant Hill/Allan Houston/Bobby Hurley/Jamal Mashburn/Chris Webber) who scrimmaged against the Dream Team: what are your memories of beating 1 of the greatest teams in the history of the sport? I remember them taking us lightly and we did not want to embarrass ourselves. The game started going our way and we never looked back.
In January of 1993 you had back-to-back triple-doubles in wins over Georgia State/Vanderbilt: how were you able to balance all of the different aspects of your game? It just came naturally to me: I was always an unselfish player who could get the ball to my teammates while also having a knack for scoring. I challenged myself to be dominant in those areas.
Take me through the 1995 NBA playoffs with Orlando:
In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals you scored 21 PTS in a 6-PT win at Chicago: how on earth were you able to beat a team that won 6 titles that decade? It was a collective effort. Horace Grant shot about 80 FG% and Nick Anderson did a great job against Michael Jordan.
In the Finals you were swept by Houston: how dominant was 2-time Finals MVP Hakeem Olajuwon (who became 1 of the few players in NBA history to score at least 30 PTS in every game of a Finals series)? He was very dominant but he also had Robert Horry/Kenny Smith who were shooting the ball so well that we could not just focus on Hakeem.
You scored 17 PTS for team USA in a win over Yugoslavia in the gold medal game at the 1996 Olympics: what did it mean to you to represent your country/win a gold medal? It meant everything to me because team USA was the ultimate in basketball.
Your 1.6 career SPG remains top-75 in NBA history: what is the secret to playing great defense? I had long arms and used them. I loved to reach and use my length when my opponents got sloppy and I could force them to adjust. I also got smarter as I got older.
You have an amazing staff including assistant coaches Mike Miller (who remains top-25 in NBA history with 1590 career 3PM)/Tony Madlock (your former college teammate) and director of basketball operations Rodney Hamilton (the 1st Georgia State player to ever have his number retired): how crucial are they to your team’s success? Very crucial: we also got Cody Toppert from the Suns this year. The staff is my heartbeat and we complement each other very well.
You graduated your top-2 scorers from lost year in Jeremiah Martin/Kyvon Davenport but added a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans in Precious Achiuwa/James Wiseman: how are the new guys looking so far? They are very talented/athletic but also very young so they will be leaning on us a lot this year. I am very excited at the level that they can take their game to: obviously their best basketball is ahead of them but it is a blessing to have them on the team.
You also have a redshirt freshman on the roster named Jayden Hardaway: what is the best part of coaching your son, and what is the not-so-best part? The best part is the pride I have in him being here: our kids do not always follow in our footsteps. The toughest part is that I cannot give him any extra special treatment so I treat him the same as everyone else.
In your 1st year as head coach at your alma mater you won 22 games and made the NIT before losing to Creighton: what are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? My goal is for us to gain an identity and understand really early who we are going to be. I want to give them confidence in themselves since they are so young. I want to win the conference even though it will be some stiff competition and ultimately make a deep run in the NCAA tourney. We are young but I think that we have enough talent to win it all.