Penny Hardaway

Hardaway is the son of Fae Hardaway (born 1951) and Eddie Golden.

The name Anfernee was that of a schoolmate of his mother.

Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC).

Hardaway played college basketball at Memphis and 14 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was a four-time NBA All-Star and a two-time All-NBA First Team member.

When she left Memphis to work in Oakland in 1974, she left her son with her mother, Louise.

His nickname came as a result of his grandmother's calling him "Pretty" with a southern drawl, thus sounding like "Penny".

Hardaway's first love was football, but his grandmother did not want him to get hurt.

He was raised in the Binghampton neighborhood of shotgun houses in Memphis.

As a teenager, Hardaway refereed youth sports at the Memphis YMCA and played on its Jr. Olympic basketball team.

Hardaway grew up playing basketball in Memphis for Treadwell High School where he averaged 36.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.9 steals, and 2.8 blocks as a senior and was named Parade Magazine National High School player of the year.

He finished his high school career with 3,039 points.

At Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis), Hardaway had to sit out the 1990–91 season with the Memphis State Tigers due to being academically ineligible according to the Proposition 48 regulation.

His grades were so low that he was admitted to the University on a special exemption from University President Thomas G. Carpenter.

He took the ACT five times with a maximum score of 17.2, with 17.5 being required to be eligible to play in college.

While he was sitting out, Hardaway was robbed at gunpoint outside his cousin LaMarcus Golden's house and was shot in his foot by a stray bullet, putting his career in jeopardy.

He returned to school while rehabbing his foot when the bullet was removed; that year, he made the Dean's List.

In the summer of 1992 Hardaway was selected to the 1992 USA Basketball Developmental Team that scrimmaged daily against the 1992 Olympic Team.

Hardaway was teammates with Chris Webber, Bobby Hurley, Jamal Mashburn, Rodney Rogers, Eric Montross, Grant Hill, and Allan Houston.

Hardaway returned for his junior season (1992–93) and bettered his numbers from the previous season.

He averaged 22.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 6.4 apg, 2.4 spg, and 1.2 bpg.

He accumulated two triple doubles.

He was again named an All-American.

He also was a finalist for the Naismith College Player of the Year and the John R. Wooden Award that are annually given the most outstanding player in college basketball.

Hardaway achieved a 3.4 cumulative GPA, but passed up his senior season to enter the 1993 NBA Draft.

Hardaway was selected by the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the 1993 NBA draft (third pick overall), but was traded along with three future first-round picks to the Orlando Magic for the rights to first overall pick Chris Webber.

The Magic's intent was to draft Webber and pair him with Shaquille O'Neal until Hardaway – whose desire was to play alongside O'Neal – requested a second workout to show why he should be their pick.

Two days before the draft, Hardaway participated in a pick-up basketball game with several Magic players and local talent and impressed the organization enough to make the draft day trade.

Having played point guard in college while drawing comparisons to Magic Johnson, he started out the season at the shooting guard position as he learned how to run an NBA point from veteran Scott Skiles.

By mid-season he took over point guard duties from Skiles.

He immediately made an impact on the league, winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award at the inaugural Schick Rookie Game.

Hardaway helped the Magic to their first playoff berth and first 50-win season.

In 1994, Memphis State retired his jersey number, 25, Hardaway's number while playing for the Tigers.

During the 1994–95 NBA season, the Magic won a franchise record 57 games while Hardaway averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game.

He was named a starter in his first NBA All-Star Game and was named All-NBA First Team.

He returned to the University of Memphis in May 2003 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in professional studies, ten years after leaving school early to turn pro.

Hardaway was named #5 on the list of top 100 modern college point guards by collegehoopsnet.com.

Additionally, he was a leading vote getter on ESPN Conference USA Silver Anniversary Team.

He averaged 16 points, 6.6 assists, 5.4 rebounds per game while his 190 steals ranked 6th in the league.

He recorded his first career triple double on April 15 when he registered 14 points, 12 assists, and 11 rebounds against the Boston Celtics.

For his efforts he was named to the NBA All-Rookie first team and was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year to Chris Webber.