The emergence of ‘Hoop City’ and its coaches is bringing the Memphis Grizzlies and the Memphis Tigers to form a beautiful dynasty.
New coaches. Same goals. Last year brought big changes for Memphis Basketball. Of course, the Memphis Grizzlies with the worst season in franchise history and the University of Memphis Tigers not making the post season, behind coach Tubby Smith.
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This is the first time since 2002 that neither of the teams had a post season appearance. The city of Memphis, known for its basketball dominance in all aspects of the game, unfortunately came up short. With this being said, it is time to reinvent what basketball means to this City. The answer comes in an NBA legend, a first season NBA head coach.
It is not time to tank or rebuild an entire team, like many fans have speculated, but rather reinvent themselves to better the game of basketball for THEIR city.
At a Basketball discussion panel this past month, both Penny Hardaway and J.B. Bickerstaff sat down to answer questions and state their goals for this season. Though neither one of them knew each other well before this interview, each coach stated that the post season is not out of reach. Bickerstaff believes that if the Grizzlies can have healthy veterans with a mixture of dominant younger players than their is no doubt the NBA playoffs are out of the question.
Accompanied by former Grizzly and NBA champion, Mike Miller, Penny Hardaway has set the same goal for his team; the post season. He believes, that even in his first year, the post season is not out of the question. He has a knowledge of the game as well as a few championships as a High school head coach to make this goal a reality. His play making style mixed with his leadership skills as a coach, can and will produce the team the Memphis Tigers used to be.
Memphis Basketball is very much alive and thriving this off season. Come THIS season, the City, the League, and the ACC will see just how dominant these two teams can be under the right leadership. Hardaway and Bickerstaff, the coaches these teams need will lead and help build these players into post season material. Though this article is about 2 teams, it is about one city.
A city that comes together and will support each coach. J.B. Bickerstaff is an experienced coach and understands his players. This will help as the team grows and as the season returns next month.