Green Gold And Bold
FanSided

Big shakeup at USF men's basketball rival Memphis as Hardaway cleans house

By Joe Henderson

Memphis' head coach Penny Hardaway shouts to one of his players during the game between Florida Atlantic University and University of Memphis at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday, February 25, 2024.
Memphis' head coach Penny Hardaway shouts to one of his players during the game between Florida Atlantic University and University of Memphis at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Sunday, February 25, 2024. / Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK
facebooktwitterreddit

Yes, football season has just begun, but basketball will be here before you know it. And there was just a major shakeup with one of USF’s main competitors in the American Athletic Conference.

Memphis coach Penny Hardaway surprised just about everyone by firing assistant coaches Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips and Jamie Rosser, and special adviser Demetrius Dyson.

Hardaway did not give a specific reason for the moves.

"I want to thank Rick, Faragi, Jamie and Demetrius for their service to the University of Memphis and our basketball program," Hardaway said in a statement.

"These are good coaches that I've worked with closely over the past few seasons, but I made the difficult decision to go in a new direction with our staff. The timing is not ideal, but I want to give this team the best opportunity to reach our goals of winning the American Conference and advancing in the NCAA Tournament. With the season rapidly approaching, we are going to move quickly to complete the staff."

Not ideal?

Ya think?

The Tigers open the season on November 4 against Missouri.

Memphis was a disappointment last season, missing the NCAA Tournament after being bounced in the first round of the AAC Tournament. The Tigers declined an invitation to the NIT.

The Tigers were cruising early in the season, ranked 10th in the country with a 15-2 record when they couldn’t hold a 20-point lead in the second half at home against USF and lost 74-73.

That sent them into a tailspin from which they never fully recovered, while it helped propel the Bulls to the regular-season AAC title.

Home/USF Basketball