Former NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace is heading to Memphis to join Penny Hardaway’s coaching staff, sources confirmed to CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish on Wednesday. Wallace won a title with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 and will reunite with the coach of that team, Larry Brown, who was also hired as an assistant by Hardaway this offseason. Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported the news.
Wallace spent the past two seasons as coach of Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina, before taking over at Good Better Best Academy in Durham. But it became obvious in recent weeks that a move to the college ranks might be in the works as Hardaway acknowledged publicly that he was a candidate for a spot on the Memphis staff.
The additions of Wallace and Brown constitute an overhaul to Hardaway’s staff as he looks for a breakthrough in his fourth season as the Tigers’ coach. Memphis has yet to make the NCAA Tournament under Hardaway, but the Tigers won the 2021 NIT and bring in the nation’s No. 5-ranked recruiting class headlined by five-star center Jalen Duren. They recently cracked Gary Parrish’s Top 25 And 1 at No. 17.
Wallace’s hiring at Memphis also comes as the Tigers are in hot pursuit of Emoni Bates, another five-star prospect from the class of 2021, who is expected to announce his future plans soon.
