Hardaway talks Tigers’ offseason goals, more
Memphis men’s basketball coach Penny Hardaway walked onto the driving range at TPC Southwind on Tuesday morning, right down the street from where he lives, and tried to squeeze as much as possible into about 30 minutes.
He greeted PGA Tour pros, FedEx St. Jude Classic volunteers, military personnel and fans alike, many of whom congratulated him on his new job or simply yelled, “Go Tigers Go!”
An avid golfer, Hardaway couldn’t help but test out some sample drivers and putters. He’s scheduled to be back at TPC Southwind to play in Wednesday’s pro-am with Memphis football coach Mike Norvell.
But before long, Hardaway zoomed away in a golf cart and began the journey back to the Laurie-Walton Family Basketball Center, where his first high school team camp was set to begin. His work on the court had only just started.
The entire 2018-19 Memphis basketball roster, which will feature seven new scholarship players recruited by Hardaway since being hired in March, is on campus as of Tuesday, he confirmed in an interview.
This group will conduct offseason workouts together for the first time, and Hardaway's agenda for those sessions is clear.
A recent change in NCAA rules permits men's basketball coaches to work with players in small groups for up to
four hours per week during the offseason, up from two hours in previous years.
“My biggest goal for this offseason is to establish who we are as a team both offensively and defensively, and the culture that we want to build in the facility and on campus,” Hardaway said.
“I think that’s so important, to get the right culture. You don’t want it to be too stiff. You don’t want it to be too laid back. You want it to be firm enough where you can have fun while trying to achieve a goal.”
Finding that happy medium will be at the core of what goes on behind the scenes during the lead-up to Hardaway’s first season.
Memphis brings back its top four scorers from last year’s team, but it also will need to incorporate a sevenmember recruiting class that includes three top-150 prospects (incoming freshmen Alex Lomax, Tyler Harris and Antwann Jones) and a junior-college big man (forward Isaiah Maurice) expected to contribute immediately.
Hardaway noted Tuesday, “it doesn’t take me long to assess talent.”
He’s already familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of the program’s returning veterans, both from watching games last season and from studying film since becoming coach. But Hardaway understands striking a balance between old and new must be an emphasis.
"There’s going to be a lot of competition because the guys from last year are not going to want the freshmen to come in, or the new guys to come in, and bump them over and take what they’ve built in a year,” Hardaway said. “There should be a healthy competition, but you’re also looking for your seniors to lead.”
Whether recent addition Lance Thomas, who transferred to Memphis from Louisville last week, will play for the Tigers next season remains uncertain heading into offseason workouts.
Hardaway said Tuesday it “would be gravy” if Thomas were granted immediate eligibility by the NCAA, but that the program also is preparing as if the 6-foot-8 forward might sit out the 2018-19 season because of NCAA transfer rules.
Thomas told The Commercial Appeal last week he plans to appeal to the NCAA based on Louisville’s abrupt firing of former coach Rick Pitino in October. Thomas appeared in 12 games and averaged 2.2 points and 1.3 rebounds as a freshman for the Cardinals this past season. He has three years of eligibility remaining at Memphis.
Hardaway declined to detail exactly how the Tigers will fit Thomas under their scholarship limit, other than to say he would discuss the situation with athletic director Tom Bowen and “we’ll figure out how we’re going to do all of this.”
Memphis currently has no scholarships available for the 2018-19 season.
Multiple sources within the Memphis athletic department told The Commercial Appeal last week that the men’s basketball program probably will attempt to secure a medical hardship waiver for forward Karim Sameh Azab, who is currently undergoing treatment for leukemia. That would allow Azab to remain on scholarship but not count against the team’s 13-scholarship limit next season.
Regardless of when Thomas appears in a game for the Tigers, Hardaway finds his skill-set intriguing after watching him play on Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League in high school. Thomas was considered a four-star prospect and ranked No. 120 in the country by 247Sports Composite rankings.
“He’s a stretch four,” Hardaway said. “The way we want to play, he can really shoot the ball from outside, and if you can get guys that can stretch and open the lanes for the guards, then you want to do so. That’s why we wanted him here.”
Schedule update
Memphis officially announced Monday it will play Texas Tech on Dec. 1 in Miami as part of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame’s Hoophall Miami Invitational.