Report: Penny Hardaway Calls Out Memphis Team Chemistry: 'It's Been Miserable'

Memphis was ranked No. 9 in the country after a 5–0 start, but has lost its last three games as the locker room has begun to splinter.

Ten days ago, the Memphis Tigers were 5–0 and ranked No. 9 in the AP poll. Now, it feels as if its season is on the brink of disaster—at least, according to its head coach.

In an interview with The Athletic's Seth Davis, Hardaway was brutally honest about what he described as a "miserable" stretch in what was a once-promising season. Hardaway offered pointed criticism at the team's veteran players, who he described as being selfish and jealous of the younger players on the roster, including freshman phenom Emoni Bates.

“We’ve got so much negativity in our locker room with veterans being jealous," Hardaway said. "Everybody’s trying to get to the NBA off the ranking we had, but nobody is willing to sacrifice minutes, touches, anything. It’s been miserable. You can imagine what a 17-year-old is thinking as he’s trying to figure it out.”

The team's losing streak extended to three games following Saturday's 67–63 loss at Ole Miss. Bates, who Hardaway said requested to come off the bench, was 1-for-10 from the field in 22 minutes with two turnovers.

Hardaway said that, to shake things up going forward, he would need to be "a complete a--hole" and determine playing time based on those who put forth the best effort.

“There’s a group of people on this team that if I played them, I really feel in my heart we could be undefeated or only have one loss," Hardaway said. "The main reason we have these losses is the veterans don’t want to take the young guys under their wings. They want it to be about them. So when adversity hits, they run. I guarantee you we’ll start winning because you’re gonna see guys out there who care and will carry out the game plan. They might make mistakes, but there are not gonna be any character issues.”

Hardaway said that friction developed as soon as Bates and fellow highly-touted freshman Jalen Duren arrived on campus, saying there was "tension everyday." Still, he says the ultimate blame for the team's current plight fell on his shoulders.

“This is all on me. I’m the head coach,” Hardaway said. “I’ve tried to think it through as a guy that played the game. Our problems have nothing to do with X’s and O’s. We have character issues all the way around.”

Memphis plays next on Friday at home against Murray State, followed by back-to-back games against ranked opponents Alabama and Tennessee.