Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway changes stance on who's responsible for team's internal rift

Penny Hardaway, sitting in front of a room full of Memphis basketball fans Monday at Brookhaven Pub during his first weekly radio show of the season, changed his stance on who's responsible for the internal issues facing his team in recent weeks.

Following back-to-back losses at Georgia and Ole Miss last week, the Tigers' fourth-year coach ripped a group of his veteran players for not doing their part to foster the development of the team's big-name freshmen Emoni Bates and Jalen Duren. Hardaway never directly pointed the finger at any specific upperclassmen. But he said he would increase the amount of playing time for those who care more about winning than individual accolades.

"That's the problem with this whole entire team, they're entitled," he said after losing to Ole Miss. "They feel entitled to do (expletive) and I don't like it at all. The city's hurting, we're hurting, but they're not hurting after we lose and that's the honest truth."

On Monday, Hardaway shouldered the blame for the dissonance inside the Memphis locker room.

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“It’s just taking a little longer for the chemistry of the team to come together,” Hardaway said. “The talent is there, but the chemistry just isn’t there like we need it to be. I have to put that all on myself and take ownership of that. (I) just have to do better in practice and push the guys more toward working together and not apart.”

While Hardaway – who made a plea for prayers on social media Sunday – accepted his role in what he termed a "tug-of-war inside our locker room for who's the man," he declined to fully absolve the Tigers' older players.

"The biggest thing about culture is it can't come just from the coaches," he said. "When younger players come in, you have to take them under your wing like they're your little brothers. That's what needs to happen. We're gonna continue to push for that.

"I feel like we have the best roster in college basketball, but it has to mesh and want to work well together. We have to rely on our veterans for that and the coaches have to continue to push."

Memphis (5-3), which dropped out of the top-25 rankings Monday for the first time this season and landed at No. 65 in the first NET rankings, has lost three games in a row. The Tigers return to action at 7 p.m. Friday (ESPN+) when they host Murray State (7-1).

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Penny Hardaway owns his role in clubhouse rift