Hardaway adds Boyd to men’s basketball staff
Memphis men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway has likened his return to the university to a “family reunion” in recent weeks, and he officially added another family member to the fold on Friday.
The Memphis athletic department announced that Hardaway has hired former Tiger basketball player Dwight Boyd to be the program’s director of player personnel moving forward.
Boyd, who played on the school’s 1985 Final Four team, had worked for the athletic department the past six years, initially serving as the director of the M Club before becoming an assistant athletic director for community relations in conjunction with the Tiger Scholarship Fund.
Boyd scored more than 1,200 points during his four-year career (1984-88) at Memphis and averaged 15.2 points per game as a senior when the Tigers advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. He currently ranks 23rd on the school’s all-time scoring list.
Boyd moves into the role that was initially created for former Memphis assistant coach Keelon Lawson, the father of former Tiger stars Dedric and K.J. Lawson, when the school hired former coach Tubby Smith in April 2016.
Butch Pierre most recently held the position this past season.
Memphis also officially announced Friday that Tennessee State assistant coach Rodney Hamilton will be the program’s new director of basketball operations. Hamilton’s hiring first surfaced earlier this week.
All three of Hardaway’s staff hires thus far, including new assistant coach Tony Madlock, are Memphis natives.
Former NBA player Mike Miller is also close to finalizing a deal with Memphis to join Hardaway’s assistant coaching staff, according to sources on both sides of the negotiations.