Penny Hardaway on Instagram: 'The worst is over' for Memphis basketball team
Less than 24 hours after the Memphis basketball team's nightmare stretch continued with its third straight loss, coach Penny Hardaway made both a plea and a declaration on social media.
Hardaway, whose once-top 10 team fell to 5-3 after a 67-63 loss at Ole Miss, posted a video recorded during a Sunday morning service at Light of Glory International Church on Instagram.
"Memphis pray for us! Prayer warriors all over the city please pray for your team," Hardaway wrote, adding blue heart and tiger emojis. "THE WORST IS OVER."
Following the loss at Ole Miss, Hardaway was outspoken in multiple interviews about the rift within the Tigers' locker room. Specifically, according to Hardaway, some of the team's veteran players have not gone out of their way to help make the transition any easier for its heralded group of freshmen (which include Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren).
“The biggest problem we have at the University of Memphis right now is that our veterans aren’t willing to help the young guys. That’s not how it’s supposed to be,” Hardaway said Saturday. "We could be up two points and you’ll have three people on the sideline talking negative to teammates and quitting, because they haven’t touched the ball. That’s every, single game we’ve had this year. It’s sad, it really is."
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He declined to identify which of the team's more experienced players were contributing to the divide. But he vowed to begin giving more minutes to the players on the team who care most about the team. Hardaway named veterans Alex Lomax, Tyler Harris and Jayden Hardaway, as well as freshman Josh Minott, as prime candidates for more minutes.
In recent weeks, Hardaway has repeatedly said in interviews that he wants to see more leadership from upperclassmen, including DeAndre Williams, Lester Quinones, Landers Nolley II and Malcolm Dandridge.
In a postgame interview with The Athletic's Seth Davis, Hardaway said the issues facing his team have nothing to do with "X's and O's."
"We have character issues all the way around," he said.
Memphis will try to avoid its first four-game losing streak under Hardaway when it hosts Murray State (7-1) on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN+) at FedExForum.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Penny Hardaway asks city to pray for Tigers
