Penny Hardaway is classifying recent moves made by the NCAA as progress.
On Wednesday, the Division I Board of Directors adopted two measures that are of particular importance to Hardaway's Memphis basketball program.
The first was the dissolution of the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) overseeing the Tigers' NCAA infractions case, and the second is the establishment of designated transfer windows to help regulate the movement of players between programs.
The Tigers’ ongoing NCAA infractions case was sent to the IARP on March 4, 2020. Two-and-a-half years later, a ruling has still not been made. The final hearing was held in May, leaving the program without closure entering the second straight season.
The transfer portal has changed the landscape of college athletics over the past two years and has been the overarching theme of Memphis’ offseason. Six players from last season’s team transferred elsewhere, and Hardaway leaned on the transfer portal almost exclusively to replenish his roster.
But two weeks ago, one of those transfers, Emmanuel Akot, transferred again – this time to Western Kentucky – on the first day of the fall semester. Beginning with the 2022-23 athletic season, most basketball players can only enter the portal between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15 or during the 45-day window immediately following Selection Sunday and be eligible for the next season at their new school.
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“Anything that improves is always best,” Hardaway said Thursday. “I think some of this is good. I don’t think we want to go backwards. We want to move forward, so I appreciate when we can improve on things.”
Hardaway was among more than 100 Memphis coaches and athletes from various sports participating in the school’s annual Blue & Gray Day, which coincided with the city’s annual 901 Day. The group met in the plaza adjacent to the R. Brad Martin Student Wellness Center, then fanned out across campus to pick up litter as part of the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” initiative.
Most of the players on Hardaway’s new roster were on hand for the event. He chose not to lament the late loss of Akot and instead took a glass-half-full approach without specifically commenting on the addition of former Illinois-Chicago guard Damaria Franklin, since his transfer hasn’t been officially announced.
“I’m appreciative that we (could) go out and still get guys,” Hardaway said. “That’s the positive side. The negative side is people (could) leave if they’re not enrolled and things of that nature. I just adapt to it.
“The first couple months of the summer, things went perfect and I could not be happier with this group.”
One thing that helped keep Hardaway from having to dig further into the transfer portal is the return of veteran point guard Alex Lomax. The fifth-year senior announced his decision to return to the team last month.
“A-Lo, all of us know, wasn’t really excited because he felt like he was having harsh treatment from the fans,” said Hardaway. “He’s from here. He loves the city. He works his butt off and he didn’t feel appreciated. But, to come back and say to the city, ‘I’m still all about the 901 and I’m back and I want to help us win a national championship,’ I think that’s big of him and I’m happy to see him back.”
Last week, point guard Kendric Davis made it a point to dispel any thoughts that he and Lomax wouldn’t be able to co-exist. Hardaway took it a step further on Thursday.
“(Davis) was one of the one’s recruiting Alex to come back,” said Hardaway. “He and Kendric (are) very tight. I know that’s great for us.”
Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.