Anfernee Deon “Penny” Hardaway is a former professional basketball player and the current head coach of the University of Memphis Men’s Basketball Team. Hardaway played for the NBA for 14 seasons, earning four All-Star selections and two All-NBA First Team honors. He was also a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team where he earned a gold medal. Before entering the NBA, he averaged 37 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocked shots per game coming out of high school. He later played guard for the University of Memphis from 1991–1993, earning two All-America honors.
Penny Hardaway, now head coach of the Memphis Tigers, has overcome loads of adversity as head coach. However, in true Memphis fashion, he stayed the course resulting in him leading the Tigers to their first-ever outright AAC (American Athletic Conference) regular-season title after beating South Florida 84-68. It’s the first time Memphis — which joined the AAC at its inception in 2013 — has won any version of the AAC regular-season title.
Hardaway, a Memphis native and former NBA star, has been instrumental in the Tigers’ success since taking over as head coach in 2018. He really brought some excitement back to Tiger basketball.
Hardaway’s coaching maturity, philosophy, and leadership were showcased during the championship game. He and his staff really prepared for this game and it showed.
Hardaway, a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi, was initiated into the fraternity through the Kappa Beta Chapter at the University of Memphis. He continues to uphold the founding principles of his fraternity by being actively involved in his community, serving the underprivileged, and striving to be the best version of himself.
3 Fun Facts:
♦️His nickname “Penny” comes from his grandmother’s thick accent, which made “Pretty” sound like “Penny
♦️He chose to wear the number 1 jersey to honor his grandmother
♦️Penny has his own shoe, Nike Air Penny and in the 90s took over with a marketing campaign to feature Chris Rick as a voice over for a puppet named, Lil Penny.
Congratulations Coach Penny on a remarkable accomplishment and I wish you nothing but success.
@memphis_mbb