There may be hope for a Memphis basketball-Tennessee rivalry renewal yet.
What was once a simmering feud between the programs' coaches, Penny Hardaway and Rick Barnes, might be trending toward a peaceful resolution.
During the Q&A portion of a Memphis Rotary Club luncheon at the Pink Palace, Hardaway was asked by a Tennessee fan about the future of the series and his relationship with Barnes nearly eight years removed from a very public spat that made headlines nationwide.
"I have nothing but respect for Coach Barnes," Hardaway said. "We met in Nashville at the Coaches for Cancer (golf event), and we’re on a great page right now. Hopefully, I can call him and talk it through about the Tennessee rivalry again."
The Tigers and Vols have not met on
the hardwood since 2019, when Memphis defeated Tennessee in Knoxville in the second game of an agreed-upon three-game series. The third game was canceled in December 2021 less than 90 minutes before tip-off, when two Tigers tested positive for COVID-19 and subsequent contact tracing ruled the rest of the roster out.
But it was the first matchup of that series, in December 2018, that turned an already heated rivalry into a raging inferno.
Ranked No. 1 in the country at the time, Tennessee won the game 102-92. Toward the end, tempers flared and benches cleared. Players had to be separated. Hardaway and Barnes exchanged words on the court.
In the days afterward, Barnes and at least one player (Jordan Bone) called Memphis out for excessive flopping during the game.
“It was a very difficult game to call when guys are trying to pick up fouls and every time there’s contact jumping back and this and that," Barnes said in 2018.
Which did not sit well with Hardaway, whose responded to Barnes' comments in part this way: "... I think it's kind of low class how he’s trying to downgrade my guys for flopping and all that. Man, come on, give me a break."
Hardaway admits part of the game plan was to try to draw charges against Barnes' highly physical team. He also said he wishes he would have responded differently.
"After the game, Coach Barnes made reference to that and my team, and it pissed me off," he said. "So, I spoke on it. I probably didn’t use the proper words. But I was really just trying to protect my team. It was nothing against him.
"He said that and I responded in a way I should not have. I should’ve just called him. But I was just trying to protect my team. It was nothing ever against Coach Barnes, because he’s a legend."
Memphis is set to face Mississippi State in an exhibition game (7 p.m. CT, Oct. 23). The regular season begins for the Tigers against Iowa State (6 p.m. CT, Nov. 2) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com, follow him @munzly on X.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Penny Hardaway says he and Tennessee coach Rick Barnes are 'on a great page right now'
