NBA teams are making calls to gather intel on University of Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Hardaway is expected to get offers to interview for NBA jobs this offseason.
A four-time All-Star as an NBA player, Hardaway has slowly been climbing the coaching ladder over the last decade. After several years in the high school ranks, he was hired by Memphis in 2018 and has landed top recruits like James Wiseman and Precious Achiuwa in recent years. The Tigers haven’t made the NCAA tournament since Hardaway joined the program, but had a 20-8 record and were NIT champions in 2020/21.
It’s not clear which teams might offer Hardaway an interview – or if he’d be open to leaving Memphis – but the Celtics, Pacers, Magic, and Trail Blazers currently have head coaching openings.
Another noteworthy college coach, Juwan Howard of Michigan, continues to draw NBA interest as well, but he has been telling teams that he has no interest in leaving the Wolverines, according to Wojnarowski. Howard, who was specifically identified as a potential Blazers candidate, also rebuffed NBA interest in 2020.
Penny…stay with the college ranks…where you can pay the moving expenses of your recruits
Penny should recruit illegally but only using any residuals he gets from Blue Chips.
(Okay I guess we have to pretend Blue Chips is making money)
Still love that movie. I don’t care what anyone says.
Blue Chips wasn’t THAT bad of a movie. I’m sure someone is currently buying the DVD from the discount bin at Wal Mart. That $3.75 will be a nice addition to the box office receipts.
That’s not much of a discount. I was thinking more like the 99¢ bin.
goodwill’s trying to just give em away.
He feels like a Celtics hire.
I called this weeks ago. He’s the obvious choice for Orlando for multiple reasons
Other then that’s not a great job. No clear go to guy and a lot of injured young dudes. Usually when they r injured young and some of them multiple times already, they usually don’t get more healthy as they get older.
its a NBA head coach job which by definition makes it a great job. Penny was a legendary player, he won as a AAU coach, HS coach, college coach & the obvious next step is NBA head coach. Orlando obv isn’t ready to compete for a title anytime soon but that lack of pressure should work in Penny’s favor. Also you couldn’t be more wrong about guys that have injuries early in their career. MJ, Embiid, Steph Curry, KD, Ben Simmons, Blake Griffin & many many more have overcome early career injuries to go on to beast in the league. Its 2021 anybody who’s paying attention should know that its pretty normal for guys to come back strong from even the most serious injuries
No, the next “obvious” step is nothing. Usually, college HC is a last step.
College coaches taking NBA jobs do not have a good history.
Of course it does still happen though; Owners still want to believe.
For Penny Hardaway the next step is very obviously NBA head coach. Idk if you’ve heard of him but anyone who’s familiar with his story knows that his goal is to be an NBA head coach
Not multiple reasons, only one. Selling tickets.
He doesn’t want to develop more future HOFers for the Tigers like James Wiseman?
Is it jealousy that makes you this way? Why not just watch another sport if you dislike basketball & struggle to understand it so much?