Hardaway discusses new recruits, staff
At first glance, Memphis men's basketball coach Penny Hardaway appears to have had no trouble on the recruiting trail. In less than a month, he snagged the two best recruits from the city of Memphis this year, a top-100 prospect from out of town and a junior-college big man who once played in the Big 12.
And yet, as Hardaway explained Thursday during his first press conference since being introduced last month, there were hiccups along the way. The Tigers, for instance, initially pursued Atlanta-area five-star recruits Ashton Hagans and E.J. Montgomery, only to watch them commit to Kentucky.
That it still didn’t stop Hardaway from compiling a top-30 2018 recruiting class might be the best sign yet that he's destined for success in this new job.
“We kept pounding the pavement. We kept looking at guys, kept making calls,” Hardaway said, “and we ended up getting a really good class for the amount of time that we had.”
What does Hardaway like about the recruits?
Among the wide range of topics Hardaway addressed Thursday were his initial recruiting haul during college basketball’s late signing period.
The signings of guards Alex Lomax, Tyler Harris and Jayden Hardaway (Hardaway’s son), as well as Floridabased guard Antwann Jones and South
Plains (Texas) Junior College forward/ center Isaiah Maurice each occurred within five days. They should all provide reinforcements for a roster that Hardaway doesn’t expect to experience any more defections moving forward.
As far as what attracted Hardaway to them, he offered his first public thoughts on each recruit.
Hardaway seemed enamored at the possibilities of using Lomax and Harris, who are both listed under 6 feet tall, in the same backcourt together. He talked of how they would “become a problem for everyone else" given how important guard play is in today's game.
On Lomax: “You bring the pedigree of a guy, he doesn’t care about who gets the credit. He just wants to win, and that’s what the city is going to love about him. He’s going to play his heart out every night. He’s not going to wow you with scoring. He will when he has to, but the majority of his game is going to be making sure teammates are happy, making sure the game is being run.”
On Harris: “I call him a weapon because there’s nobody like him on this team. There’s nobody like him in our conference. He’s a guy who’s small in stature but has a heart as big as the city, and he’s going to bring so much to the table. We got some big plans for him.”
He also mentioned that Jones’ late recruitment occurred, in part, because of the familiarity they had competing in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League in recent years.
Once he heard Jones would be opening up his recruitment after signing a national letter of intent to Texas A&M, Hardaway said he flew to Orlando and met with Jones, Jones’ father, and Jones’ high school/AAU coach.
Jones then visited Memphis this past weekend and committed on Sunday night along with Maurice.
“Just call him a pit bull,” Hardaway said of Jones, noting he would play multiple positions for the Tigers. “He’ll take the challenge against anybody. He’s full of confidence. Really good defender. Great playmaker.”
Hardaway called Maurice’s signing “huge for us,” given the dearth of quality big men available and the season the former Kansas State player enjoyed this past year at South Plains, which won the junior-college national championship.
Hardaway noted he hadn't "received any flak" over recruiting a committed player like Maurice, who had previously pledged to New Mexico.
Hardaway said his son, Jayden, "has the opportunity" to develop into one of the country's top outside shooters.
Memphis still has one scholarship open for next season and Hardaway said he is looking for another shooter. The Tigers hosted Chattanooga graduate transfer Nat Dixon, who shot a teambest 39.5 percent from 3-point range this past season, on an official visit earlier this month.
Who will be Hardaway's final assistant?
Hardaway said he's "still narrowing it down," as far as the last opening on his assistant coaching staff. One candidate he did mention, however, is former Toronto Raptors and Minnesota Timberwolves coach Sam Mitchell.
Hardaway lauded Mitchell’s NBA pedigree and seemed undeterred by the fact that Mitchell had never before been a college head coach. He has already added former NBA player Mike Miller and former college teammate Tony Madlock as assistant coaches.
“I know the thing is no college experience, but basketball is basketball,” Hardaway said.
Other serious candidates Hardaway has spoken to in recent weeks include former Nevada/Stanford/LSU/TCU head coach Trent Johnson and former Milwaukee head coach Rob Jeter, according to two people familiar with Hardaway’s search.
Johnson spent this past season as an assistant coach at Louisville under interim coach David Padgett. Jeter recently accepted a job as an assistant coach at Minnesota.
Larry Brown doesn’t appear to be a viable option anymore. When asked about Brown on Thursday, Hardaway said, “as of right now, we just have to move on.”