AP Photo/Thomas Graning
After the Memphis men's basketball team lost to Ole Miss on Saturday, head coachPenny Hardaway gave a blunt assessment of his team's veterans.
"Everyone is trying to get to the NBA off the ranking we had, but nobody is willing to sacrifice minutes, touches, anything," Hardaway said in an interview with The Athletic.
It's been miserable. From this point on, I'm going to only play the players that care. The veterans don't want to take the young guys under their wing. They want it to be about them.
Hardaway said that there was a lot of jealousy in the locker room.
After adding a pair of 5-star recruits, Memphis began the season with high expectations. After a hot start, the Tigers climbed to ninth in the preseason poll.
It's been downhill since a five-point start. Memphis lost to Iowa State and Georgia before falling to Ole Miss. At this point, the Tigers are in danger of falling out of the Top 25.
Hardaway promised changes to the starting lineup.
"I guarantee you we'll start winning because you're going to see guys who care and will carry out the game plan," Hardaway said. They might make mistakes, but there are no character issues.
Memphis shot just 38.6 percent from the field and 2-of-11 from three-point range in Saturday's ugly game. The two players combined to score just nine points on 2-of-13 shooting.
Jarkel Joiner and Matthew Murrell both scored 20 points for Ole Miss, who didn't fare well on the offensive side.
Murray State is next on the schedule, and will play Memphis at home Friday. Murray State is off to a great start. The games with Alabama and Tennessee will be tough.
Changes are a good idea for Hardaway as the team looks to stop the skid.
