Photo by Larry Kuzniewski
The Penny Hardaway Era at the University of Memphis officially starts on Tuesday, November 6th, when the Tigers and their rookie coach host Tennessee Tech at FedExForum. This will actually be the second Hardaway Era, of course, as the man — given name, Anfernee — earned All-America status as a player in 1993.
Here are 10 Penny factoids to kick-start your Tiger hoops conversations this season.
• Hardaway was named the national high school Player of the Year by Parade magazine in 1990. He scored more than 3,000 points at Treadwell High School, though never won a state championship.
• Hardaway led the Memphis State Tigers to the NCAA tournament’s Elite Eight in 1992, his sophomore season (and first as a Tiger, as he sat out his freshman season for academic reasons). The Tigers didn’t return to the Elite Eight until 2006.
• Hardaway had two triple-doubles (10 points, assists, and rebounds in a game) for the Tigers. Only two other Memphis players have had as many as one such performance.
• Hardaway is one of just three Tigers to earn first-team All-America recognition from the Associated Press. The others are Keith Lee (1985) and Chris Douglas-Roberts (2008).
• Hardaway was the third selection (by Golden State) in the 1993 NBA draft, chosen after Chris Webber (Orlando) and Shawn Bradley (Philadelphia). The Warriors traded Hardaway to the Magic (for Webber) on the day of the draft.
• Hardaway played in four NBA All-Star games and earned first-team All-NBA honors after the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. He played in the 1995 NBA Finals, where the Magic lost to Houston in four games.
• Hardaway played for the 1996 U.S. Olympic team, earning a gold medal at the Atlanta Games. To date, Penny is the only member of that team to not be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
• Hardaway was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 2014. He is one of only 11 Tennesseans to be so honored.
• Hardaway coached East High School to three consecutive state championships (2016-18) and will now coach former Mustang star Alex Lomax at the U of M.
• Hardaway (age 47) will be older when he coaches his first Tiger game than his own college coach, Larry Finch, was when Finch coached his final game in 1997.
