Penny to University of Memphis??????

[OldSportsGuy]

Here is the ESPN link to the story that is talking about Penny to University of Memphis

 

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/22672236/memphis-tigers-looking-firing-tubby-smith-bringing-penny-hardaway

 

 

[warmachine7954]

No doubt it was gonna happen. It was a matter of when. Look for U of M to recruit at a very high level when Penny is hired. 

[OldSportsGuy]

This will also open up 3AAA to someone other than East to have a chance to win. LOL

[TonyG]

Would be happy for both the tigers and AAA ball. Tiger brand will get what they deserve from a fan enthusiasm, recruiting, and talent perspective and AAA disperses the players back to the schools were they belong and even the playing field in Memphis (not for the rest of the state lol). 

[OldSportsGuy]

11 minutes ago, TonyG said:

Would be happy for both the tigers and AAA ball. Tiger brand will get what they deserve from a fan enthusiasm, recruiting, and talent perspective and AAA disperses the players back to the schools were they belong and even the playing field in Memphis (not for the rest of the state lol). 

agree

[Osage]

It was always going to turn out this way, and makes perfect sense for Memphis. It's all about recruiting talent, keeping the top kids in the program for a year or two, winning with them while you can, then moving on to the next set of McDonald's All-Americans. Penny can do that. He can sell the vision, he already has the relationships with the right kids and third parties. He might even compete well in the transfer market.

Gotta think Todd Day will be part of this too.

If I'm John Calipari, I am not happy about this news. Penny is going to get the kinds of kids Cal used to be able to count on.

Memphis is running off an outstanding coach, and a class guy.

[TonyG]

Tubby: Outstanding coach, classy guy, but not built for this job. The guy literally got up on the podium within a week of having the job and said that fans should lower their expectations bc the program isn't as good as we think it is and he would not play the games that it takes to get the top talent. 

On the other hand, i know there is a lot of rumbling on social media about fans disapproval for tubby's inability to secure guys like Lomax Harris and other Memphis kids better than his recruits, but if penny takes over this job there essentially won't be room for all Memphis talent. He has shown a knack for already flying-in out of town talent to compete on the national talent on the AAU level He flew in guys like John Petty, PJ Washington, and Dennis Smith Jr in the last 3 years, so it's not as if the Team Penny organization is only Memphis kids when they are winning but the teams are definitely built around the Memphis guys. 

There may be room for some of these guys now but not for long unless they are willing to be 4 year role players who are phenomenal seniors. For instance if this hire is being made in 2016, there would've never been complaints from fans about not signing William Douglas in 2017 because a kid like that might not be a good fit for Penny's depth especially seeing that he couldn't fit well with Penny's AAU organization due to the depth. All in all i would love to see penny as the coach with successful x&o assistants backing him along with Tony Madlock in some role. And as far as Tubby goes, enjoy your $10M retirement gift. 

[bigchief]

With the current climate of legal troubles many coaches are facing does it really make much sense to open THAT can of worms at Memphis? The scrutiny will be heavy.

[OldSportsGuy]

1 hour ago, bigchief said:

With the current climate of legal troubles many coaches are facing does it really make much sense to open THAT can of worms at Memphis? The scrutiny will be heavy.

If the NCAA does not do something to redefine who is an amateur then the NBA is going to get all the best players out of high school and send them to a developmental league and pay them enough to make it worth their while. High school kid graduating high school:

Which do you pick?

Playing hoops for 50 to 150K a year or more with no restrictions on your ability to make money of of your hoops abilities... or free education and playing 35 games a year while the universities get rich because people want to come watch you play?

I know it isn't all about the money but kids go to school, so they can get a good job, and make a good living for them and their families. 100K is a pretty good living.

[IrishBBall]

Silly question but does Penny have his degree?

[osunut2]

20 minutes ago, IrishBBall said:

Silly question but does Penny have his degree?

He went back to Memphis in the early 2000s and finished his degree in professional studies. Not exactly sure what that major is, but he does have his degree.

[osunut2]

1 hour ago, OldSportsGuy said:

If the NCAA does not do something to redefine who is an amateur then the NBA is going to get all the best players out of high school and send them to a developmental league and pay them enough to make it worth their while. High school kid graduating high school:

Which do you pick?

Playing hoops for 50 to 150K a year or more with no restrictions on your ability to make money of of your hoops abilities... or free education and playing 35 games a year while the universities get rich because people want to come watch you play?

I know it isn't all about the money but kids go to school, so they can get a good job, and make a good living for them and their families. 100K is a pretty good living.

I'm happy to see the NBA seriously talking about ending the one-and-done rule and even expanding the draft. I never thought the NBA would be interested in reversing that rule, simply because reverting back to the old rule (allowing 18-year olds to go pro) doesn't really benefit the league. Which is why investing in the G-League is a big part of addressing that issue. D-League players currently earn $19k-26k per season, so that will definitely have to improve; based on current proposals, the G-League could offer $50k-75k salaries. For reference, league minimum in the NBA is currently set just below $550k/yr.

$100k/yr is a good living, depending on where you live. There's also a difference between making that money for 5 years vs. making that money for 35 years. Granted, some of these kids (and adults) can't see beyond the end of their nose, and some of these kids have zero interest in a career outside of basketball, but there are still plenty of people out there who understand that you can't play basketball forever and that a good college degree is a much better long-term financial solution.

I will be happy to inevitably see the one-and-done rule go, but I honestly don't think the developmental league will have much of an impact on college basketball unless the salaries significantly increase.