Penny Hardaway releases statement on Memphis basketball coaching staff shakeup

Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway on Wednesday addressed the abrupt and drastic changes he recently made to his coaching staff, admitting “the timing is not ideal.”

The athletic department also announced staff members Rick Stansbury, Faragi Phillips and Jamie Rosser were not being retained, confirming reports that surfaced late Tuesday. In a press release, the Tigers also announced Demetrius Dyson, the director of skill development and recruiting coordinator, will not return for the 2024-25 season − which begins Nov. 4.

Only a day earlier, multiple sources told The Commercial Appeal the program’s director of analytics Jermaine Johnson was part of the group being let go by Hardaway, but his name was not among those announced by the athletic department. Multiple sources told The Commercial Appeal on Wednesday that Johnson is now expected to be retained.

“I want to thank Rick, Faragi, Jamie and Demetrius for their service to the University of Memphis and our basketball program,” Hardaway said in a prepared statement. “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. The timing is not ideal, but I want to give this team the best opportunity to reach our goals of winning the American Conference and advancing in the NCAA Tournament. With the season rapidly approaching, we are going to move quickly to complete the staff.”

The moves come less than six weeks after new Memphis athletic director Ed Scott formally took office, and less than two weeks after Scott hired Tim Duncan as senior deputy AD and men’s basketball sport administrator.

Hardaway’s coaching staff currently consists of 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.

PENNY HARDAWAY: What we know about Memphis basketball coaching staff changes

Hardaway is no stranger to coaching staff turnover. But this offseason has featured an abundance of moves. Andy Borman (assistant coach), Darby Rich (strength coach), Garrett Kelly (director of basketball operations), Jeremy Kipness (director of recruiting) and Andy Pennington (director of analytics) are among the departures.

The Tigers also went through an extreme roster makeover since the 2023-24 season concluded in March. Hardaway returns just one scholarship player (forward Nicholas Jourdain). He has welcomed 10 new scholarship players, led by guards Tyrese Hunter and PJ Haggerty, as well as big men Dain Dainja and Tyreek Smith.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Penny Hardaway statement on Memphis basketball coaching staff shakeup