Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway announced on Wednesday that he has dismissed four members of his coaching staff, just two months before the start of the 2024-25 season.
In a statement to Jason Munz of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Hardaway expressed his gratitude to Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips, Jamie Rosser, and Demetrius Dyson for their contributions to the University of Memphis and its basketball program. “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,” Hardaway said.
Hardaway acknowledged that the timing of the firings was not ideal but stated that the program would “move quickly to complete the staff.” The Memphis Tigers are scheduled to host Missouri on November 4 and participate in the 2024 Maui Invitational.
The reasons for the dismissals were not disclosed by Hardaway or the university.
Memphis athletic director Ed Scott, who was hired in June and began his role in late July, was not involved in the decision.
Following the dismissals, Hardaway’s staff now includes seven members: assistant Mike Davis, director of basketball operations Jordan VerHulst, director of player relations Andre Turner, scouting director Marcus Nunnally, equipment manager Cedric Prowell, strength coach Todd Forcier, and chief of staff Dwight Boyd.
The Tigers’ roster is also expected to undergo significant changes next season. Hardaway has recruited eight Division I transfers to replace his five leading scorers from the previous season, all of whom either graduated or entered the NBA draft.
In his six seasons at Memphis, Hardaway has not won an AAC regular-season title and has qualified for the NCAA tournament only twice, securing a single first-round victory in 2022.
The Tigers have faced several off-court challenges during Hardaway’s tenure. Freshman James Wiseman played only three games in the 2019-2020 season due to an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations and declared for the NBA draft after his sole season at Memphis. Last offseason, Hardaway received a three-game suspension for violations related to head-coaching responsibilities and recruiting, unrelated to the Wiseman investigation.
In February, fifth-year senior Malcolm Dandridge missed the Tigers’ final five games while the school reviewed his eligibility. Memphis also announced the firing of their men’s basketball academic adviser Leslie Brooks a day before Dandridge’s suspension.
