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Penny Hardaway to Remain at Memphis and Add Larry Brown to the Tigers Staff

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Basketball

It's a good day for Memphis fans as they are waking up to the news that Penny Hardaway will remain as the head coach of the Tigers men's basketball team. Over the past several days, rumors have swirled that Hardaway might leave the college ranks to take the head coaching position of the Orlando Magic in the NBA.

The good news is that will no longer be a concern - until the next Magic coach is fired. And there's more good news (if your an NCAA employee paid by the number of NCAA violations you can find) as famed coach Larry Brown will join the Memphis Tigers basketball staff too.

 Hardaway had interviewed last week with the Magic after it was announced that Steve Clifford would not return as head coach in Orlando.

"One day, in the future, I would love to coach in the NBA, and wouldn't it be great if it were the Orlando Magic?" Hardaway announced via social media. "But today isn't that day."

"Today I'm here with my players, with the fans, with the city, working as hard as I can to try and bring us a national championship, and that's what I set out to do, and that's what I want to do," Hardaway said ion Instagram. "So for all the fans that have rocked out with us, cheered with us, that are rocking with us, through wins and losses, cheering us on, fighting for us and staying loyal, thank you so much.

"And I'm doing the same thing. I'm going to be here. I don't want you guys to be afraid that I'm going anywhere."

As for Larry Brown, he's about to turn 81 years old and has not coached at the college level since resigning from SMU as the Mustangs got ready to face a bevy of NCAA violations. While Brown brings a wealth of experience, Penny Hardaway's recruiting has already come under fire from the NCAA after it was learned the Memphis coach gave former top recruit James Wiseman and family $10,000 while in high school.

So is it smart for a school that can't even hang its 2008 Final Four banner due to NCAA violations, and coming off NCAA violations tied to Wiseman's recruiting by Hardaway to hire a guy known for constantly racking up NCAA violations? You be the judge.