The Celtics are in the midst of a thorough search for their new head coach, having already interviewed several internal candidates and seeking out permission to interview several top assistants around the league including Chauncey Billups. However, one intriguing name at the college level has emerged this past week as a potential candidate for NBA jobs.
University of Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway is expected to get offers to interview for NBA jobs this offseason according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The four-time NBA All-Star has only been a head coach at the college level for three years but NBA franchises are starting to make calls to gather intel on him. This comes as one other rumored college coaching name for NBA openings, Juwan Howard, has reportedly told teams he has no interest in leaving his job at the University of Michigan.
Hardaway started his coaching in the high school ranks last decade before being hired by the Memphis Tigers in 2018. He’s helped put Memphis back on the national landscape with his ability to land big-name recruits like James Wiseman and Precious Achiwua. Wiseman sat out most of his single season in Memphis due to eligibility issues before being drafted by Golden State at No. 2 last year. Achiwua was taken at No. 20 by Miami.
Hardaway has a career record of 63-32 during his three years at Memphis and led the Tigers to an NIT championship last season. So what exactly might put him on Boston’s radar as a head coaching candidate besides his success at the college level and his past experience as a player? There is a connection to Boston’s All-Star Jayson Tatum.
Tatum spent time with Hardaway in Memphis after his rookie season in 2018 and their connection goes back far earlier than that. According to Jay King of the Athletic, Hardaway is a close friend of the husband of Tatum’s mom, Marcus “Jake” Barnes.
Hardaway offered advice to Tatum’s mother, Brandy Cole-Barnes, while Tatum was still a teenager to help him navigate the obstacles on the way to NBA stardom.
“I was just trying to be like a sponge,” Cole-Barnes told King of her conversations with Hardaway. “The mistakes that they made, the mistakes that they saw teammates make, bad habits that even they had temporarily, or that they witnessed other people have that created huge problems or resulted in different players’ downfalls.”
Hardaway said Cole-Barnes’ line of questioning was thorough.
“She’s a really smart lady,” Hardaway said. “She tried to put herself in a position, and put Jayson in a position, where he could learn things before they actually happened. Don’t let experience be the best teacher. Try to get people who have already done it to try to give you a heads-up and an upper-hand on things that are going to come your way and how to handle certain things before they happen.”
Just how interested Hardaway is in coaching at the NBA level remains to be seen. Just four days ago, he downplayed any potential interest in the Magic job on a Memphis radio show after Orlando parted ways with Steve Clifford last week.
“I’m definitely flattered by that situation,” Hardaway said. “My heart is in Memphis. I’m here. I love the Tigers. I love our fans. I started off doing something and I want to finish that.”
A rebuilding job in Orlando may be understandably unappealing for Hardaway, who has no incentive to fuel any rumors of a potential jump to the pros in a radio interview. However, a pair of young All-Stars in Boston would probably hold a lot of appeal to Hardaway or any other coach than the Orlando gig, particularly when Hardaway already has a connection with one of them.
It remains to be seen whether Hardaway will throw his hat in the ring, but if he does, the Celtics should certainly give him a long look as they expand their list of candidates.
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June 11, 2021 at 10:12PM
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Could Celtics give Penny Hardaway a look for their coaching job? Former All-Star is drawing interest around N - MassLive.com
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