Memphis, Tenn. - Memphis Tigers Men's Head Basketball Coach Penny Hardaway became a viral sensation Thursday night for the wrong reasons.
During his post-game news conference, a radio talk show host and columnist asked Hardaway if he could still get it done in Memphis. And Hardaway showed everyone how much he didn't care about the line of inquiry after Tiger's 8th loss of the season.
Hardaway lashed out at reporters after losing to SMU on Thursday night.
In a clip posted to Twitter and other feeds, Penny said, "You all know we don't have our full roster. Stop asking me stupid questions about what can I do.
The response came after sports columnist and Memphis radio talk show host Geoff Calkins asked Hardaway if he had lost faith he could work in Memphis and whether he was embarrassed by the team's performance.
Here's Penny's full response to the question that set her off.
"I guess I can say one thing to this media because this media comes to me sometimes. We don't have a full roster. You know we don't have our full roster. If I guess I can't do something. Stop asking me stupid questions if I can. If I had my roster like they did, I think I can do what I want to do. I'm coaching really hard, my boys really Playing hard, I'm not ashamed of anything. We had four new players. You all need to act like this. Treat us like we did 17-, 18- and 19-year-olds to 22- , tried to learn how to play against 23- and 24-year-olds. Come on man, stop disrespecting me, bro. Don't do that. I work so hard, I work so hard for that. You all Write all these b**s*** articles about me, and I only work. We got little kids on the floor."
No matter your opinion, this is not a good look. https://t.co/YD1qb9MRzg
— Darrell Greene (@dgonfox13) January 21, 2022
"I don't think we know whether or not Penny can get the job done. I think everyone in Memphis is pushing for her to get the job done," Calkins said.
Memphis suffered its third consecutive defeat on Thursday night. This is their eighth loss in the last 12 matches.
"You're allowed to lose your temper. I've lost my temper in public. For me, what happened last night has nothing to do with what happens next. It's the same for every coach . Can he win enough games? And because he is Penny Hardaway, he will be given every chance he has to recover,” Calkins said.
What Tigers fans were grumbling about even before Thursday night's loss is a team that doesn't seem to be playing as a team.
Memphis has been supported in all 8 of their losses.
"The truth is, almost all of us who are being forced to ask the tough questions about Penny were completely in favor of hiring him and thought he would be the answer to the show. Among other things "It raised the question of whether we were all wrong," Culkins said.
Memphis is scheduled to take on last-place Tulsa on Sunday afternoon. The Tigers have not won in Tulsa since March 2012.