What did Penny Hardaway say at American Basketball Tip-off?

The American held its media days on Sunday and Monday for both men’s and women’s basketball, and the conference held interviews with every team on ESPN+ on Monday. Penny Hardaway was joined by guard Jayden Reid and wing Tylik Weeks, and they joined ESPN’s Maria Trivelpiece and Mike O’Donnell for an interview on Monday.

Hardaway was mainly asked about the roster that he put together during the offseason, bringing in 13 new guys, but it appears Hardaway likes where his team is at less than a month before the start of the season.

The head coach added nine players from the transfer portal, three high school signees and an international signee.

Here’s what Hardaway said about his new team at the American Basketball Tip-Off. 

Priorities in the portal:

The first question to Hardaway was about his priorities in the transfer portal, and the head coach sad that he focused on character over just sheer talent. He said that he wanted players that would allow themselves to be coached by his staff.

“For me, No. 1 was character,” Hardaway said. “Just to get high character young men with talent. In the past, it’s been about talent and trying to get that talent together, but in the portal era, you need guys that understand, that will do whatever it takes. They will humble themselves enough to be coached. That’s what we started with first and talent came second. Built a pretty good roster for us at Memphis.”

Hardaway seemed happy with the roster that he was able to assemble, and it will be interesting to see how fast the group is able to gel with a tough non-conference slate.

Three incoming freshmen:

Hardaway brought in three freshmen this offseason, and he talked about both Fred Smith Jr. and Cello Jackson. Smith was rated as a four-star by 247Sports, while Jackson was rated as a three-star recruit.

Hardaway said that Smith is an extremely talented player and was doing some nice things before suffering a foot injury that has kept him out of practice.

“Fred Smith Jr. is a super talented freshman,” Hardaway said. “He’s been out with an injury, a foot injury. He’ll be back soon, but he showed a lot of playmaking, and promise, and rebounding when he was healthy.”

Hardaway called Jackson a tough guard and made it sound like he would rely on him to play a role for the team this season.

“Cello Jackson might be one of the toughest guards in the country,” Hardaway said. “His size, rebounding. He’s just willing to do whatever it takes. He listens to these guys (Tylik Weeks and Jayden Reid). So, he has some good mentors to listen to, and he’s just willing to do whatever it takes to win.”

The head coach compared him to former Tiger guard Alex Lomax, who was a defensive staple for Hardaway’s teams.

Adding shooters from the transfer portal:

Last season, Hardaway’s team shot 31.6 percent from deep, and he made a point to get shooters from the transfer portal. It appears the Tigers have several players they can rely on to knock down threes, and the head coach said that helps in every element of the offense.

“I think shooting is a premium,” Hardaway said. “I think that if you can shoot the basketball, people have to respect you, and that opens up the lanes for theses guys because they can make threes but also get in the paint. When those shooters are out there, they’re spacing the floor. If you don’t respect that, these two guys are going to find them. So, going out and getting those shooters has been a blessing.”

Having the right fit and buy in:

Hardaway closed the interview by talking more about the type of players he brought in this offseason and how they all have the buy in that he was looking for.

“We were very aggressive with them to get them to our school because we understood what they brought to the table,” Hardaway said. “I’ve had teams that have bought in to that, and we’ve been very successful. That’s all I wanted again for guys to come in and believe in the buy in.”

He said that the coaching staff has stressed to the players throughout the offseason to stay together and playing for each other.

“Whatever we’re doing they’re willing to be loud, to be energetic, to be together, and that’s what that buy in is each and every day,” Hardaway said. “Even if they don’t want to do it. We’re giving speeches all day every day to basically say the same thing in different speeches about just being together, staying together, loving your teammate more, wanting more for your teammate than for yourself and doing it together, and they’re buying into that.”