NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
Nothing surprises Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway anymore.
As far as off-the-court distractions go, he’s pretty much seen it all. So, when Tyreek Smith came to him last week and requested “a couple of personal days,” Hardaway granted them without hesitation.
Only when word of Smith’s absence from practice was made public – and was subsequently misinterpreted as an intent to leave the team because he was disgruntled about unfulfilled name, image and likeness (NIL) promises or a lack of playing time in the first exhibition game – did Hardaway realize he had “a wildfire” on his hands.
But, just weeks earlier, Hardaway said one of the most significant skills he has developed since becoming coach at Memphis in 2018 is the ability to extinguish a flame before it gets out of control. After wrapping his arms around the situation and Smith returned to practice on Tuesday, Hardaway said it boiled down to everyone understanding the way things work in this day and age.
“I think that in this era, you have to understand that these young men are going to have situations where they’re going to need some time,” he said Thursday. “It’s so much pressure. That’s just the society we’re in. (Smith) understands that now. Every decision that we make is going to be under a microscope and you have to prepare for that.”
Underscoring what transpired at Memphis was the timing. The matter flared up almost immediately on the heels of Virginia coach Tony Bennett’s abrupt retirement. Bennett stepped down late last week and cited “the current environment” as his primary motivation.
“The game and college athletics is not in a healthy spot,” said Bennett, referring to unregulated NIL compensation and increasingly rampant transfer portal activity. “It’s not. And there needs to be change and it’s not going to go back.”
Bennett isn’t the only high-profile coach to get out of the game because of the seismic shift in the college athletics landscape. During his…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/penny-hardaway-gets-why-tony-150253937.html
Author : The Commercial Appeal
Publish date : 2024-10-24 15:02:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
