Penny Hardaway knows the last seven years haven’t been easy.
Since becoming Memphis basketball’s head coach in March 2018, Hardaway’s been put through the wringer time and time again. He’s led his alma mater through several NCAA investigations, numerous roster overhauls, countless coaching staff changes, a global pandemic, a new era of college athletics, an academic scandal, midseason departures from players and tumultuous season after tumultuous season—not to mention his own self-inflicted controversies throughout that span.
Hardaway made the NCAA Tournament just twice in his first six seasons, winning one March Madness game in the process. He’s never won the American Athletic Conference (AAC) regular season championship, and has only won the conference tournament once.
He admitted earlier this season that he previously approached his job the wrong way in multiple key areas—specifically culture-building and overall program management. But he also insisted that he made the necessary changes to nip those deficiencies in the bud. It turns out Hardaway told the truth, since his Tigers are No. 14 in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 in mid-February and have a chance to accomplish everything that’s alluded him in his tenure.
Hardaway earned his 150th win as Memphis’ coach at South Florida Thursday, feeling nothing but gratitude as the final buzzer sounded on the Tigers’ 80-65 victory.
“To have 150 wins six and a half years in—the players that have come, the coaches that have helped me have all been a part of this, man. I’m so thankful,” he told Tigers play-by-play man Dave Woloshin postgame. “I’ve been faithful to my craft. Even if I’ve made mistakes, I’ve been very faithful and I worked really hard.”
Last season, despite opening with so much promise, ultimately proved to be Hardaway’s most disappointing campaign. The Tigers started 15-2 and rose up to No. 10 in the AP poll by mid-January, but swiftly fell apart with a 7-8 finish in their last 15 games.
Hardaway felt lost both on and off the court. On it, he couldn’t say or do anything to help his mostly unmotivated, disinterested squad play winning basketball against inferior competition, costing Memphis its spot in the NCAA Tournament. Off of it, he cared for his cancer-ridden mother, Fae, who once suffered a stroke before a game—and that’s after she suffered another stroke during the 2022-23 season.
But Hardaway then spent the spring rebuilding his team with better fits, and his mother went into remission last June. Things kept going his way for a change once the season began in November, since Memphis owns 10 combined wins in Quads 1 and 2 and is projected to get a No. 4 seed in this year’s Big Dance by CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm.
“I’ve grown so much in the coaching game,” he said. “I’m light-years ahead from where I was last year…Everything that’s happening to us right now is supposed to happen. That’s how I look at it.”
Hardaway isn’t the only one saying he’s different. Moussa Cisse is too.
The 6-foot-11 center spent his freshman season under Hardaway at Memphis before spending the last three years at Oklahoma State (2021-23) and Ole Miss (2023-24). Cisse, who played his final high school campaign at Lausanne Collegiate School, returned to Memphis for his final year of college eligibility. He averages 5.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks, and has started 16 games in 2024-25.
“Most definitely, he’s a different guy,” Cisse said. “He’s a vet in the coaching aspect now, so he knows what he’s doing. That’s where all the wins are coming [from]…He’s helped me a lot.”
Cisse’s teammates all share the same sentiment, so it wasn’t hard for the Tigers to find joy in Hardaway’s milestone.
“Everybody congratulated him. Everybody was happy for him,” Cisse said.
Hardaway hopes to get win No. 151 when Memphis (21-4, 11-1 AAC) visits Wichita State on Sunday (11 a.m., ESPN).