'The walking wounded': Penny Hardaway makes sense of Memphis basketball's mounting injuries
Penny Hardaway called his Memphis basketball team "the walking wounded" after Saturday's 83-79 win over Texas A&M at FedExForum.
For good reason. Seniors Malcolm Dandridge and Keonte Kennedy were both sidelined the entire game − Dandridge with a Grade 2 ankle sprain he suffered earlier this week against Alabama and Kennedy as he worked his way through concussion protocol. During the game, senior Alex Lomax's calf started acting up, and it limited him to just 23 minutes (the second-fewest he's played in a game this season). Senior Jayden Hardaway's hip gave him trouble, and he didn't play at all in the second half.
Hardaway has said that Dandridge would miss a week or two with his injury. As for the others, he did not provide timelines for their recoveries. The Tigers (9-3) return to the floor against Alabama State (1-9) on Wednesday (7 p.m., ESPN+).
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In fact, Hardaway said he's not even quite sure when Kennedy suffered a concussion.
"I asked him that and he said he didn't remember, so it must be a really bad concussion," he said, jokingly. "I didn't see it in the game (against Alabama). So, I don't know when it happened. But it's concussion protocol. After we got back from Alabama, he came in the next day and was, like, in a daze."
Hardaway said Lomax's calf tends to act up as a result of his overcompensation for the ankle injury that has bothered him for much of the past two seasons.
If there is a silver lining for Hardaway, it's the timing of this rash of maladies. After Wednesday, Memphis is off until Dec. 29, when it hosts South Florida.
"It's happening at the right time, because a break is almost about to come so they can kinda rest," he said.
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Penny Hardaway makes sense of Memphis basketball's mounting injuries
