Memphis basketball dismisses staffers Faragi Phillips and Jamie Rosser

Staff turnover continues to run rampant for head coach Penny Hardaway and Memphis basketball.

Memphis staffers Faragi Phillips and Jamie Rosser have been dismissed from the program, multiple sources told Bluff City Media Tuesday afternoon.

Hardaway officially announced that Phillips, Rosser, lead assistant Rick Stansbury and special advisor Demetrius Dyson would all be leaving the program in a statement Wednesday morning.

Sources also told Bluff City Media that former assistant coach Jermaine Johnson would be dismissed as well. He wasn’t included in Hardaway’s statement, however, so it appears he’s still on Memphis’ staff for the time being.

Phillips, who spent the last two years as an assistant under Hardaway, was set to return for the 2024-25 season in a reduced role. Rosser, meanwhile, departs after just one year as director of player development.

Memphis has also lost former recruiting director Jeremy Kipness, strength coach Darby Rich, assistant coach Andy Borman and others this offseason. Hardaway has brought in plenty of new faces too, including Tigers legend Andre Turner as the director of player/alumni relations and former Indiana coach Mike Davis.

Davis is expected to fill one of Memphis’ assistant slots this season, and another will go to former Duke and Louisville assistant Nolan Smith once he is officially hired, according to sources.

Memphis’ turnover extends to its roster as well, given the fact it’s brought in eight scholarship players via the transfer portal since April.

PJ Haggerty (6-foot-3) averaged 21.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for Tulsa last year, which helped him earn the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Freshman of the Year award.

Tyrese Hunter (6-foot) averaged 11.1 points and 4.1 assists for Texas in 2023-24. He also won the Big 12 Freshman of the Year award at Iowa State in 2021-22, and is 6-3 in NCAA Tournament games.

Colby Rogers (6-foot-4) scored 16.4 points per contest while shooting 40.9% from 3-point range (7.1 attempts per game) for Wichita State. PJ Carter (6-foot-5) averaged 9.5 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 41.5% from the field and 40.3% from 3-point range in 31 appearances for UTSA.

Moussa Cisse (7-foot) and Tyreek Smith (6-foot-8) averaged a combined 3.1 blocks per game last year for Ole Miss and SMU respectively. Nick Jourdain (6-foot-9) started 25 of 32 games for the Tigers in 2023-24, and put up 6.5 points and 4 rebounds per contest. Dain Dainja (6-foot-9) averaged 6.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in limited minutes for an Illinois team that made the Elite Eight last season.

Memphis—currently the No. 24 team on barttorvik.com—still has three open scholarships remaining headed into 2024-25. It opens the year against Missouri on Nov. 4 inside FedExForum.