PonyTime wrote:skyscraper wrote:Gary Parrish @GaryParrishCBS
Memphis President Dr. David Rudd said he estimates the men’s basketball program lost $4.7 million this season while season ticket sales dropped to around 4,000. That, as much as anything else, is why the school has made this change from Tubby Smith to Penny Hardaway.
Very short sighted IMO. Penny might sell some seats this year, but at what cost for the future?
The UCONN hire is much more important for out conference though.
I understand and acknowledge this point - too many times schools have taken a chance on old stars who never came close to getting it done as a coach. And as much as I understand why the city and boosters at Memphis turned their nose up at Tubby I still feel as though he got a raw deal (although he's still bringing home $10M after the firing, regardless of whether or not he gets a new job).
But the Penny hiring took minutes - literally minutes - to start turning around the program. Wichita State has already found out the hard way:
https://www.sbnation.com/college-basket ... alex-lomax
He's about to steal a 4* PG and Memphis is about to be on top of recruiting - Penny coached the No. 1, No. 26, and No. 40 recruits all on his high school team. That alone will put butts in the seats. If he can at all grow into a college coach the tigers are going to be a force.