BleedGopher
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per the AP:
Penny Hardaway says the NBA background of his Memphis coaching staff is creating a little jealousy among other coaches, putting a target on his own back in his first season with the Tigers.
"I'm getting used to this as a coach because it's a little jealousy from a lot of these coaches around the country," Hardaway said Monday. "I do understand that because we are NBA players trying to come back, and we didn't have any experience as college coaches. So we didn't quote, unquote, 'Pay our dues.' So the coaches and their so-called boys that are in the media they're going to always throw jabs at us."
The first-year coach says his Tigers still have to prove the detractors wrong by winning.
Hired last March to replace Tubby Smith, Hardaway hired former NBA players Mike Miller and Sam Mitchell, who's also a former NBA coach of the year, as assistants. Hardaway has made it clear he's tapping into his professional background to help his alma mater, including making tweaks to a brand-new basketball facility on campus to bring it up to NBA quality.
He says there's a bit of a backlash and negativity with the NBA approach Memphis is taking with himself, Miller and Mitchell and that their NBA experience is "a little intimidating to a lot of people."
"For sure, I definitely feel like there's a target on my back," Hardaway said. "There's a lot of people that don't want me to succeed because it's going to look like an NBA guy came back with no experience and won so of course I relish in that."
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...round-creating-jealousy-other-college-coaches
Go Gophers!!
Penny Hardaway says the NBA background of his Memphis coaching staff is creating a little jealousy among other coaches, putting a target on his own back in his first season with the Tigers.
"I'm getting used to this as a coach because it's a little jealousy from a lot of these coaches around the country," Hardaway said Monday. "I do understand that because we are NBA players trying to come back, and we didn't have any experience as college coaches. So we didn't quote, unquote, 'Pay our dues.' So the coaches and their so-called boys that are in the media they're going to always throw jabs at us."
The first-year coach says his Tigers still have to prove the detractors wrong by winning.
Hired last March to replace Tubby Smith, Hardaway hired former NBA players Mike Miller and Sam Mitchell, who's also a former NBA coach of the year, as assistants. Hardaway has made it clear he's tapping into his professional background to help his alma mater, including making tweaks to a brand-new basketball facility on campus to bring it up to NBA quality.
He says there's a bit of a backlash and negativity with the NBA approach Memphis is taking with himself, Miller and Mitchell and that their NBA experience is "a little intimidating to a lot of people."
"For sure, I definitely feel like there's a target on my back," Hardaway said. "There's a lot of people that don't want me to succeed because it's going to look like an NBA guy came back with no experience and won so of course I relish in that."
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...round-creating-jealousy-other-college-coaches
Go Gophers!!
