‘What life is all about’: Hardaway earns redemption a year after hitting bottom
Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway is presented with the championship trophy as the team claims the American Athletic Conference regular season championship following an NCAA college basketball game against South Florida, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Nikki Boertman)
Minutes before the blue and gray confetti shot out of cannons and Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration” rang through FedExForum’s speakers, Penny Hardaway grabbed a microphone.
He had a message he’d waited nearly 12 months to deliver.
“We did this for you guys,” said Hardaway, standing on the court and pointing to the thousands that stayed after the final buzzer sounded in Memphis’ 84-68 win over South Florida on Friday night. “Thank you guys so much!
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Parth Upadhyaya
Parth Upadhyaya covers the Memphis Tigers men’s basketball team. A Raleigh, N.C., native and a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Media and Journalism, Upadhyaya is a longtime college hoops junkie. Prior to joining The Daily Memphian in 2022, he covered high school sports in western Pennsylvania for the Beaver County Times and Penn State football for the Centre Daily Times.
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