With Andy Kennedy’s decision to cut his season as Ole Miss men’s basketball head coach short, assistant coach Tony Madlock was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the year.
A University of Memphis alumnus, Madlock is certainly a valuable assistant coach to have around the program. With more than 20 years of college coaching under his belt, he has been at Ole Miss for four years and been in Oxford for some of the program’s highlights. However, he just isn’t going to cut it as a long-term solution to the head coaching vacancy.
For a program that is trying desperately to build a name for itself, the sights need to be higher and the name needs to be bigger.
Since Kennedy’s initial announcement, talk of his replacement has ranged from Steve Forbes, head coach at East Tennessee State University, to former NBA Rookie of the Year Damon Stoudamire. However, if Ole Miss wants to capitalize on the opportunity of a lifetime, another Memphis graduate should be in the crosshairs: Penny Hardaway.
Hardaway recently said he would love to start his college coaching career, so why should Ole Miss not give him the opportunity?
In fact, rumors have rumbled that he has interest in the head coaching spot at Memphis and the open job at Ole Miss, as well as assistant coaching positions at Kentucky and California Berkeley.
From an outsider’s perspective, it seems clear that a head coaching position on the highest level of college basketball would be more tempting than beginning as an assistant. And the Memphis job simply wouldn’t make any sense for the Tigers. Having enjoyed a fair amount of success in the past few seasons, it would be a risky (and presumably unpopular) move to dump current head coach Tubby Smith just to hire an untested collegiate coach in Hardaway. Thus, Ole Miss is seemingly the most tempting offer for Hardaway – should it be given to him.
When it comes to his qualifications, Hardaway only lacks experience on the college level. He has proven himself as a very valuable recruiter as a high school and AAU coach in Memphis and recently attracted the No. 1 recruit in the 2019 class to play for his team. On a developmental level, as a former star NBA guard himself, he could continue to reinforce Ole Miss’ emphasis on elite guards. As a No. 1 priority, young, talented guards like Devontae Shuler and 2018 commit Serrel Smith could see their growth hit a whole new level under the expertise of a coach like Hardaway.
As it stands, to turn a team around that is struggling as much as Ole Miss, hiring a big name for recruiting is the only option, and there are few hires with a name as big as Penny Hardaway. Undeniably, he would bring remarkable star power to the program, and Ole Miss may finally become a destination basketball school.
When push comes to shove, Ole Miss needs to turn the ignition on this program quickly. With a new multi-million dollar facility, a growing fan base that loves its sports teams and an opportunity to make a splash within a potentially crumbling NCAA basketball world, there is no excuse for a less-than-stellar hire.
Penny Hardaway is the key.
