TAMPA, FL — Penny Hardaway made national headlines at American Conference media day on Oct. 12.
That’s when the ninth-year Memphis basketball coach, in an exclusive interview with The Commercial Appeal, revealed he contributed $2.6 million (roughly 90% of his 2026-27 salary) toward his own program’s revenue sharing efforts.
Speaking publicly on the matter for the first time, Hardaway told The Commercial Appeal that his investment — which, combined with the Tigers athletic department’s allocation, brought the total figure to $9 million, according to athletic director Ed Scott — is further proof of how much the school and the program mean to him.
And how dedicated he is to making sure Memphis bounces back from the worst season (a 13-19 overall record)
in more than a half-century.
“You’re not going to get another coach that cares as much (as me),” Hardaway said. “You’re not going to get another coach that’s going to do that kind of scheduling. You’re not going to get another coach that can do the job, because if you look at my résumé, I can do the job. (The) NCAA Tournament, for whatever reason, the second-half debacle against the No. 1 overall seed in Gonzaga, the timeout (that was not granted) with FAU, the injuries to Tyrese (Hunter) and Dante Harris (late in the best season of Hardaway’s tenure).
“I mean, I can’t make any excuses. (But) it’s been a better ride than people are saying it’s been . . . I think my résumé in the first seven years would total anybody else’s, outside of the NCAA Tournament (results).”
Hardaway addressed more topics during the interview. Here are four of the more interesting, insightful and notable takeaways.
Why 2023-24 Memphis basketball team ‘imploded’
Last season isn’t the only knock against Hardaway’s time as Tigers coach.
In 2023-24, Memphis got off to a 15-2 start, rising as high as No. 10 in the national rankings in mid-January. Then it all fell apart. The team went 7-8 down the stretch and missed the NCAA Tournament.
But Hardaway said there is a very good reason why things went off the rails so dramatically after such a strong start.
“Everything imploded because of NIL (name, image and likeness),” he said. “We didn’t have enough NIL money to pay everybody, (so) everybody pretty much quit that year.”
That season featured other issues, too. Locker room issues arose in December 2023 when big man Jordan Brown abruptly left the team, only to be welcomed back by the coaching staff in January. Caleb Mills, a double-digit scorer who was regarded as the team’s best on-ball defender, suffered a severe knee injury on Jan. 4, 2024, and missed the remainder of the year.
And Malcolm Dandridge missed the last five games when the school held him out of competition during an investigation that ultimately found he was involved in an academic misconduct scandal that resulted in NCAA sanctions.
But according to Hardaway, it all boiled down to dollar figures that were initially promised to certain players that the program struggled to deliver.
“Everybody was pretty much like, ‘What happened?’ “ he said. “Well, it was NIL.”
Did Penny Hardaway pursue PJ Haggerty this offseason?
Hardaway has a history of player reunions.
After Tyler Harris spent his first two seasons at Memphis, he left for Iowa State in 2020-21. The next season, he returned to the Tigers before finishing his career at South Florida. Moussa Cisse came full circle, rejoining Hardaway in 2024-25 after starting his career at Memphis. And in 2025-26, Ashton Hardaway (now at Coastal Carolina) came back after a season at Saint Mary’s.
Hardaway made an effort to bring a big-name former Tigers guard back this offseason.
“I definitely went after PJ (Haggerty),” he said, “but he didn’t give it a thought. He wanted to stay at a higher level. They love Memphis. It’s just the league isn’t good enough, they think, to get them where they need to go.”
Haggerty spent his sophomore season (2024-25) at Memphis. He averaged 21.7 points per game en route to consensus second-team All-American honors and American Conference Player of the Year honors.
He spent last season at Kansas State and will suit up for Texas A&M this season.
Fred Smith Jr. injury update from Penny Hardaway
The Tigers will be largely healthy when they take the floor in a closed scrimmage Oct. 18 against Jacksonville State.
But freshman forward Fred Smith Jr. will not be available, Hardaway said, citing foot and knee injuries that he has been dealing with for the past three weeks.
Smith’s recovery timetable is unclear.
“First, foot. Now, knee (because he was) overcompensating for the foot,” Hardaway said. “We’re letting him take his time. Fully strong and fully well. I don’t think it’s long term. I talked to him every day. He’s feeling better and better every day. We just wanna be sure. There’s no rush. Obviously, the learning curve (is delayed), but still, we’d rather him be healthy. “
What Penny Hardaway is looking for in exhibition games
In addition to the closed scrimmage against Jacksonville State, Memphis has open exhibition games at Mississippi State (7 p.m. CT, Oct. 23) and Arkansas (Oct. 28) on the horizon.
Hardaway is keeping a narrow focus on the things he wants to accomplish before the regular season begins against Iowa State (Nov. 2).
“I’m trying to establish a rotation,” he said.
That might be an ambitious task, Hardaway notes, given the quality of the depth at every position — from Jayden Reid and Josh Holloway at point guard to Luke Almodovar and Brandin Cummings at shooting guard, and so on.
“(I’ll be looking for) guys we think will be really consistent together," he said. "(Guys who) believe and buy into what we’re teaching. And (who will) go to war every single possession and hold each other accountable for that.”
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com, follow him @munzly on X.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Fred Smith Jr. injury update and why 2023-24 Memphis team 'pretty much quit' | Exclusive
