Calkins: ‘What a difference a year makes,’ says Penny Hardaway — as he cuts down the net
University of Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway celebrates winning the AAC regular season championship after the March 7, 2025, game against South Florida. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian)
Geoff Calkins
Geoff Calkins has been chronicling Memphis and Memphis sports for more than two decades. He is host of "The Geoff Calkins Show" from 9-11 a.m. M-F on 92.9 FM. Calkins has been named the best sports columnist in the country five times by the Associated Press sports editors, but still figures his best columns are about the people who make Memphis what it is.
It had been seven years since Hardaway was introduced as the head coach of the Memphis Tigers in front of a raucous crowd at the Laurie-Walton Basketball Center. It had been — to be even more precise — 2,545 days.
But Hardaway was finally able to celebrate a regular-season title at Memphis. He was finally able to cut down a net in the city he loves so much.
This is an excerpt of this story. To read more, please click here and subscribe.
Topics
Memphis Tigers Tigers Basketball Memphis Tigers Basketball USF Bulls Memphis vs. South Florida South Florida Bulls University of South Florida Penny Hardaway Geoff Calkins Tigers vs. Bulls 2024-25 NCAA basketball season Subscriber OnlyAre you enjoying your subscription?
Your subscription gives you unlimited access to all of The Daily Memphian’s news, written by nearly 40 local journalists and more than 20 regular freelancers. We work around the clock to cover the issues that impact your life and our community.
You can help us reach more Memphians.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we provide free news access at K-12 schools, public libraries and many community organizations. We also reach tens of thousands of people through our podcasts, and through our radio and television partnerships – all completely free to everyone who cares about Memphis.
When you subscribe, you get full access to our news. But when you donate, you help us reach all Memphians.
Pay it forward. Make a fully tax-deductible donation to The Daily Memphian today.
Thank you for reading the local news. Thank you for investing in our community.
Geoff Calkins on demand
Never miss an article. Sign up to receive Geoff Calkins' stories as they’re published.
Enter your e-mail address
Related stories
Martin: Hardaway has earned this conference championship
Who could’ve imagined during last season’s epic collapse what would be in store for the Memphis basketball program this season? Who would’ve believed that six months later that Penny Hardaway would do something Josh Pastner or Tubby Smith never could?
Penny Hardaway says retaining PJ Haggerty is offseason ‘Priority No. 1’
Memphis Tigers coach Penny Hardaway has launched his campaign to bring guard PJ Haggerty back for another season. Tigers’ Dante Harris ‘might not be back for a minute’ after ankle injury, Hardaway saysRelated content:
Tigers Podcast: After AAC regular-season title, what’s next on Penny Hardaway’s redemption tour?
Tigers basketball beat writer Parth Upadhyaya and college sports columnist John Martin look at how Penny Hardaway and Tigers checked a key box off of their list of season-long goals, and what’s left to achieve.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.