Penny Hardaway: "We're going to win a national championship"

[tcf15]

Penny Hardaway has a message for the rest of college...

MEMPHIS — The University of Memphis won 22 games last year, lost in the second round of the NIT,...

theathletic.com

The University of Memphis won 22 games last year, lost in the second round of the NIT, and here sits Penny Hardaway inside the glass-walled conference room outside of his office, talking unabashedly about winning a national championship. Not eventually, mind you. No, he’s talking about this season, about lifting the trophy over his head inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on April 6, 2020. It’s not a premonition, he explains. It’s more a sixth sense. The same gift that in 1995 made him certain Orlando would reach the NBA finals when the Magic acquired Horace Grant, has him convinced his untested, unproven and woefully young Tigers will win it all. “What do I know?” he says. “I know when I have something special. When I see this group in action, see their abilities, I know what’s at stake and I know what’s out there. The teams like Michigan State, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, all the usual suspects. I’ve studied the film. I know who they are, but when I look at this group, I just say to myself, ‘We’re going to win a national championship.’ That’s what I know.’’

 

[CL82]

Fighting these guys for conference supremacy was the pretty much the only thing that was intriguing about the American. I'm not sure that Penny won't eventually flame out, much like KO but he's off to good recruiting start.

 

[storrsroars]

Bold words, but there doesn't seem to be any truly great teams out there, so who knows?

 

[Travelman6]

Cool, he just provided locker room ammo for every opponent this year. I am sure Wichita, Cincy, Houston, Oregon, Tennessee, Georgia, etc. will be primed and ready to take down this young team and what seems like their arrogant new coach. Lets see if he can back up his words, the aforementioned teams and more are eager to see it.

Mark your calendars, 121 days and 22 hours from now....

 

[tcf15]

Bold words, but there doesn't seem to be any truly great teams out there, so who knows?

Yeah, if you have a talented team, you obviously want your coach to have this mindset. But I'm just glad this quote is out there so we can laugh at them when they fail miserably.

 

[superjohn]

Can't stand this guy, looking forward to the day it all comes crashing down on him.

 

[mauconnfan]

Hope he hires another coach. Good luck to him, really hope they get thrashed 1st round he's starting to annoy me. He and Miller getting who they want ($$$$) and now arrogantly stating this so early. Screw them Huskies are going to beat them they are coached so badly.

 

[McLovin]

Bob Diacco 2.0

 

[ZenConn]

Penny's putting his money where his mouth is - literally.

 

[McLovin]

Next year he'll say during a press conference he asked ESPN to move their games to the Disney Channel cause those kids will eventually be 18 one day.

 

[Psolo12]

With the team he has their goal should be nothing less, I respect the mindset and the confidence. Still hope we smash them

 

[SubInATub]

Makes sense. I wouldn't want my coach to say anything other than that.

 

[mauconnfan]

Makes sense. I wouldn't want my coach to say anything other than that.

I hear you but not so LOUD. I mean did you watch his team perform last year? It was like they weren't coached very well at all, out of control. Think you need to prove yourself a little before you pop off like this but that's just me. Good for him he's the one who will look foolish when the hammer comes down on his talented team by one that's less talented but coached up much better.

 

[QuickDraw]

I don't remember the Magic winning the year he made it there, didn't they get swept?

 

[B1GEast]

What would you expect him to say with that class he just recruited with some one and dones?

He has to get them to play with a sense of urgency, he just became Squid Lite

 

[Guapo]

Bob Diacco 2.0

...if Bob Diaco had recruited a bunch of 5 stars

 

[Cuse Socks]

It's one thing to have a team with extremely talented freshmen, it's another thing to coach them, manage their egos and get them to buy in to winning and not just let them try to showcase their skills individually. Will be interesting to see if Penny can do that

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I can recall an inexperienced head coach saying, "We're gonna win this game," before rejoining his team in the locker room for halftime in an NCAA game against Villanova. Earlier in the season, he had his team visit the TX site where the Final Four would be played.

Plus this vintage NY Lottery ad . . .

 

[AntG168]

They’re not winning a national championship.

 

[QuickDraw]

I guess his feeling knew they were going to loose in the NBA finals

 

[B1GEast]

They’re not winning a national championship.

The Fab 5 came close

 

[ctchamps]

Yeah, if you have a talented team, you obviously want your coach to have this mindset. But I'm just glad this quote is out there so we can laugh at them when they fail miserably.

Can we hold you to this?

 

[Pudge]

In the arc of CBB history, guys like Penny Hardaway don’t win the NC. You have to grind your way through HS & 10-15 years of major college ball. There is a Kevin Ollie reference here.

Jim Calhoun or Chris Beard. Bobby Knight & Jerry Tarkanian & K & Izzo & even Gary Williams have more credibility. Guys who win NCs aren’t flukes. Which gets us back to Kevin: he was brilliant for a 6 game ride PLUS the BE. But only a crusty old gym rat understands the 100 other things you need to be to be a Solid Championship Program. I like he said this. And I bet we could hear Calhoun saying it loudly in our locker room. Occasionally. But I say he is yet unaware of the bumps on the road.

 

[LStudfellow]

The truth is... we should all LOVE this

For anyone who has not been paying attention, since forming the conglomeration of mostly ill-fitted conference mates (for us) we have been out wandering in a wasteland on so many levels, particularly when it comes to being able to lather up a deep-in-our-souls hatred for someone... anyone.

We have had to mostly manufacture it... and that has SUCKED. And frankly, it has not worked much.

We have hated on Kentucky (John Calipari) and Duke (Coach K) by far more than anyone else, and certainly anyone in our conferece, over the last 5 years... and we rarely even play either of them. It's just not the same. Sure, we pick on the nose picker and Syracuse as well, but it is just not the same when the "highlight" of our year has come in December! And sorry, but Cincinnati, even with that little Napoleonic head coach Cronin, did not rise up to that level with any consistency, either.

I, as well as many of you, have been around long enough to remember what it was like to really HATE a team and their coach... Georgetown/John Thompson, St. John's and Louie Carnesecca, Syracuse/Boeheim, Villanova and Rollie and then Pittsburgh with Ben Howland and then Jamie Dixon. We respected them, sure (at least for the most part)... but we HATED them. We REVELED in those moments when we beat them. Particularly in the moments that produced the highest stakes. Those are some of the games that stand near the pinnacle of best games we have ever been involved in.

Now, we have a guy who is a chip off that old block... big ego and all! And he brought in a recruiting class that even surpasses Calipari and Coach K, atleast for this year.

So, I think Penny's boastfulness is wonderful... two AAC conference contests to actually circle on our calendar. What a novel concept. Thanks Penny!... and thanks to Coach Hurley and the entire coaching staff, too, as they rebuild our program back towards what we were like in our glory days.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Someone needs to introduce Penny the the word Doomed.

He essentially has a modern Kentucky all freshman team. They will struggle at times and then possibly gel for a run in the tournament. But the same reason I almost never think Kentucky will win a championship applies here as well. Young teams rarely do. They don’t have as much young talent as Duke had last year and that team fell short.