The basketball team of the Memphis Tigers is in disarray, and head coach Penny Hardaway has had enough.
Memphis was 15-2 on the year and widely regarded as one of the nation’s most dangerous teams by the middle of January. When March rolled around, the Tigers’ floor felt like a Sweet Sixteen appearance.
Memphis is currently aiming for a position in the NIT and may not even be able to host a first-round match in the unimportant second-tier tournament.
The Tigers’ recent two-game road trip to North Texas and SMU seems to be the final nail in the coffin as they have dropped six of their past eight games, including crushing losses at home to South Florida and Rice.
For many closely following this Memphis team, the January 18 home defeat to South Florida—a game the Tigers were leading by 15 points at the half—marked the beginning of the end. In Dallas, the team’s 106-79 loss against SMU on Sunday effectively put an end to anyone’s optimism.
Teams with skill, and Memphis does have potential, who are on the brink of the NCAA Tournament in late February and lose a game by 27 points have given up on everyone, including themselves, and that is precisely what the Tigers have done.
In his post-game press conference following the SMU loss, Hardaway hinted at this team’s incapacity to resolve its immaturity problems and pulled no punches.
“This is awful, man. Fuc-ing losing like this is terrible.” I have no idea what’s going on, this isn’t even competition,” Hardaway remarked. “I’m not sure why we’re not in competition. Our goal is to qualify for the NCAA Tournament every day that we play.”
He then on, “We simply haven’t been a team in a long time.” “I’m fighting for the city and the school with all of my heart, and everyone has to pull the rope in the same direction. Not everyone is pulling the rope in the same direction at the moment.
“There was people unhappy when we were 15-2 and they’ve been unhappy all year,” he stated. “It seemed like the only conversation we had with all of these guys was, ‘Will we be able to keep everyone happy?'” Not everyone has been satisfied, and that is our fault. They withdraw when they’re unhappy.”
Given that it’s his responsibility to be fully informed on the team’s situation, Hardaway’s admission that he doesn’t know what’s going on isn’t exactly the sign of confidence Memphis supporters will be looking for in these trying circumstances.
Penny Hardaway is the Elvis Presley of hoops in the community, so it will take a lot to for Memphis fans to take an interest in him, but his CV is clearly heading in the wrong way.
The Tigers won’t be dancing next month, unless they win the AAC conference tournament. With just one tournament victory in their four tournament visits over the previous five seasons, this would represent the team’s second NCAA Tournament miss.
