Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway was one of the iconic NBA stars of the 90s. He played 15 seasons spanning from 1993-2008, including stints with the Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks, and was a four-time All-Star selection
Hardaway, whose fame grew as the star of Nike’s ‘Little Penny’ commercials in the mid-90s, has transitioned to coaching in recent years. As a vow to a dying, childhood friend, Hardaway took over as Memphis East’s coach in 2015.
The backstory on this is amazing. Read more about it HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. He’s coached much of Memphis East’s current junior class since they were in middle school.
Memphis East won Tennessee’s Class 3A state championship last season, Hardaway’s first year as head coach.
We caught up with the NBA legend during this week’s Tournament of Champions to get his thoughts on coaching, his playing career and acting.
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On being a head coach…
“I’m really enjoying coaching in high school. A buddy of mine introduced me to it. It’s been keeping me close to basketball. I still love the game so much and I love teaching the game at the grass roots level.”
Coaches that influenced him and his coaching style…
“There are some great coaches that I admired over the years. Some of the coaches that I played for – Larry Brown, Chuck Daly, Lenny Wilkens – those guys are some of the winningest coaches in the NBA. But I’ve basically just used my basketball style (for) how I coach. How I thought through the game as a player is really want I try to introduce to the guys.”
On his injury-marred playing career…
“I think about it all the time: what would have happened if I didn’t have six knee surgeries on one knee. I always think about that. But you know what? I had my time in (the NBA) where I had some health and played some good basketball. I can still cherish those memories.”
On how his playing style would fit in today’s NBA game, which has a heavy emphasis on 3-pointers…
“I wasn’t a 3-point shooter. I was a dunker and a mid-range guy. I still think (my game) would fit in, even though the guys now shoot way more 3s. I figured I would’ve worked on my game enough to be a 3-point shooter in this era.”
Growing up and playing basketball in Memphis…
“Memphis is a basketball town. That’s home. I would go back every summer. I stayed in touch with all my friends and family in the city and (knew) what was going on. It was easy for me to transition back home.”
His biggest passion away from basketball and his son, Jayden (a player on Memphis East), being called “Little Penny”…
“Acting was my dream. If I wouldn’t have made it in basketball, I would have moved to California and try to act. I love acting, I love TV. It was a blessing for me to be in the movie Blue Chips. Then, to take that into the Little Penny commercials with Nike and to see the way my shoe sales went through the roof, it was unbelievable. With my son being called ‘Little Penny,’ he just has to deal with it.”
On the fame and attention he received from the Little Penny commercials…
“They recognize me all the time because I was one of those – thank God – memorable faces in the NBA. I played a lot of good basketball where people could see me, and with Orlando being one of the top teams at the time and being on TV a lot, a lot of people recognize me. They’re always talking about Little Penny and giving me the Little Penny lines.”
The comments he most frequently receives from Little Penny fans…
“The craziest thing, the weirdest thing is always about Tyra Banks. They always remember the pretty girl from the Little Penny commercials. So they always say, ‘Hey, where’s Tyra Banks?’ I know my spot, fool. ‘That’s Tyra Banks, fool.’ It’s pretty funny.”
Balancing coaching and a potential acting career…
“Really, all of it interests me because you can do it all. You can coach in college, you can coach in the NBA, you can still act. You can still do it all. That’s the blessing of it. Acting, it doesn’t have to be a full-time job. You can do a movie in the summer and still work in the fall. Hopefully I’ll be able to do that in the near future.
“Chris Rock owes me a favor. And I saw Chris a few years ago and he said he’d love to do some work with me again, so I’m going to hold him to that.”
How long he wants to keep coaching…
“That’s the magic question: how long do I want to stick with coaching? When I was coaching in middle school, we had a group in the 6th grade that we said we wanted to carry through high school. They’re juniors now. So I’m supposedly having one more year, but who knows.”
The relationship between AAU basketball (Hardaway also coaches an AAU team in the summer) and high school basketball…
“The powers that be, they think that (AAU and high school) conflict but (AAU and high school) really don’t. Summer basketball is way different than high school basketball. Summer is really where you’re seen and where (college) coaches come out to see you and recruit you. They really don’t come to many high school games anymore. They (AAU and high school) can still definitely co-exist.”
The reputation of the Tournament of Champions…
“White Station (Tenn.) High School came here a few years ago, which is a really good team. They have a lot of great talent. We heard that the competition here was very stiff. It was an easy decision for us to come down here and be a part of it. We’ve always heard about the (Tournament of Champions).”
