Hardaway fires 4 members of Memphis' coaching staff

Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway announced Wednesday he has fired four members of his coaching staff just two months before the 2024-25 season.

"I want to thank Rick (Stansbury), Faragi (Phillips), Jamie (Rosser), and Demetrius (Dyson) for their service to the University of Memphis and our basketball program," Hardaway said in a statement, per Jason Munz of the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "These are good coaches that I've worked with closely over the past few seasons, but I made the difficult decision to go in a new direction with our staff."

Hardaway added "the timing is not ideal," but the program will "move quickly to complete the staff." The Tigers will host Missouri on Nov. 4 and are scheduled to take part in the 2024 Maui Invitational.

Neither Hardaway nor the school provided a reason for the firings.

Memphis athletic director Ed Scott was hired in June and took office in late July.

Hardaway's staff is now down to just seven individuals: assistant Mike Davis, director of basketball operations Jordan VerHulst, director of player relations Andre Turner, scouting director Marcus Nunnally, equipment manager Cedric Prowell, strength coach Todd Forcier, and chief of staff Dwight Boyd.

The Tigers' roster will also look noticeably different next season. Hardaway brought in eight Division I transfers in an attempt to replace his five leading scorers from last season, all of whom either graduated or declared for the NBA draft.

Hardaway has spent six seasons at Memphis. The 53-year-old has never won an AAC regular-season title and has only qualified for the NCAA tourney twice, winning a single first-round contest in 2022.

The Tigers have also faced numerous off-court issues since Hardaway's arrival. Highly touted freshman James Wiseman only played in three college games during the 2019-2020 campaign due to an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations; Wiseman declared for the NBA after his lone season in Memphis. Last offseason, Hardaway received a three-game suspension for violating head-coaching responsibilities and recruiting violations in an investigation unrelated to Wiseman.

In February, fifth-year senior Malcolm Dandridge missed the Tigers' final five contests while the school looked into his eligibility. A day before Dandridge's suspension, Memphis announced they had fired their men's basketball academic adviser Leslie Brooks.