Penny Hardaway might soon be returning to the University of Memphis to take over as head coach of the men&#8217;s basketball program.
According to a report by <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/memphis-officials-seriously-considering-penny-hardaway-to-replace-tubby-smith/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">CBS Sports</a>, Memphis is considering firing head coach Tubby Smith and replacing him with Hardaway, who played for the Tigers from 1991 to &#8217;93 and currently coaches East High School in Memphis, Tennessee, in addition to running the Team Penny AAU program on the <a href="/tags/nike" class="text-word" target="_blank" >Nike</a> EYBL circuit.
The hope is that Hardaway would be able to lure top recruits to play for Memphis, including some of the top-ranked players that he currently coaches at East High School and on the Team Penny AAU squad. Hardaway is &#8220;actively preparing to be a college coach&#8221; and has already started identifying possible future staff members, including Larry Brown who would serve as an assistant on Penny&#8217;s staff, according to <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/memphis-officials-seriously-considering-penny-hardaway-to-replace-tubby-smith/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">CBS Sports</a>.
Smith is only in his second season at Memphis and it would reportedly cost $9.75 million to buy him out. That said, the administration has reportedly come to the conclusion that keeping him around &#8220;might cost more in multiple ways,&#8221; according <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/memphis-officials-seriously-considering-penny-hardaway-to-replace-tubby-smith/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">CBS Sports</a>. 
The Tigers went 19-13 last season under Tubby Smith and are currently sitting at 19-12 heading into the American Athletic Conference tournament, which kicks off tomorrow. Memphis, the fifth seed in the AAC, will face South Florida in the first round. 
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 <h2>Penny</h2><figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://editor.urbanlinx.net/wp-content/uploads/gallery/79/11/1520441179_117740f2dba1ded0f5af3dc35635ecd9.jpg" alt="Penny Hardaway Being Considered For Memphis Head Coach: Report"></figure>