Penny Hardaway's coaching criticized by fans during Memphis vs Virginia: "Clowns", "Just wanna shoot bulls*** fake NBA shots"
Penny Hardaway and the No. 21 Memphis Tigers narrowly avoided an upset on Wednesday night, pulling off a 64-62 victory over the unranked Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena. The Tigers battled back from an 11-point deficit in the second half to improve their overall record to 9-2.
The Tigers went on a 26-7 run in the opening stages of the second half, turning a 32-21 deficit into a 47-39 Memphis lead with 10:46 remaining in the second period. The Tigers wouldn't relinquish that advantage for the remainder of the contest, preserving their unbeaten record on the road.
Memphis' close win against Virginia wasn't enough, however, for the Tigers to escape the wrath of their hoops fans. They took to X (formerly Twitter) to blast Hardaway and his players.
"How does Penny Hardaway continuously recruit the dumbest players on the planet? It’s like Penny Hardaway won’t recruit you if you do anything smart on the court," one fan shared.
"Get Memphis basketball out of the top 25. Just because Penny Hardaway shoes were awesome doesn’t mean this team is good," another fan wrote.
"Penny Hardaway has made massive leaps in his coaching since he took the job at Memphis. The one constant on every team he’s coached is the ridiculous turnover problem. It has to get fixed," one fan posted.
Some fans weren't kind to Hardaway, offering harsh takes on his coaching performance against Virginia.
"Memphis players just wanna shoot bulls*** fake NBA shots smh. Penny Hardaway teams are never coached well," one fan claimed.
"Man, you tell Penny Hardaway is not a good coach. Just watch Memphis. They play horrible defense and they take horrible shots. That is all about coaching," another fan argued.
If somebody says that’s good defense from Virginia, you’ve got rocks in your head. No plan whatsoever from Penny Hardaway. Mississippi State and Ole Miss eat their lunch on our court," one fan tweeted.
"Tf is Penny Hardaway doing," one user wrote.
"Soon as I bet these Penny Hardaway clowns," another user commented.
Penny Hardaway leans on PJ Haggerty to deliver road win for Memphis vs Virginia
Penny Hardaway needed a spark from his team after the Tigers faced a double-digit deficit to open the second half. The Memphis Tigers coach got one from star player PJ Haggerty, who finished with a game-high 27 points. He did most of his damage in the second period, scoring 21 of his 27 points after halftime.
Eleven of Haggerty's points came during a critical 16-5 stretch for Memphis in the first seven minutes of the second half, That run knotted the score at 37-all, giving new life to the Tigers, who looked sluggish prior to Haggerty's explosion. Haggerty has been a vital cog for Memphis this season, leading the team in points, assists and steals.