Penny Hardaway confirmed that he’s fined Aaron Bradshaw and others for showing up late to practice, disobeying Memphis’ dress code, and violating other team rules.
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Wow! I didn't realize they are 5-7. We've had enough problems of our own at UK to distract me and keep me from paying much attention to other teams as I usually do.
I've never really thought Penny Hardaway was a great coach. He was a great player, no doubt, and he was great with the ball in his hands. But sometimes playing acumen and ability doesn't translate to coaching others. I think he tries to be a "players' coach" most of the time. He gets away with lack of discipline as a coach because he can recruit. Guys want to play for the NBA star. But he has struggled at times instilling discipline with his teams. He's not alone in that, trying to be a players' coach and struggling with discipline. It's become more and more common, and with the NIL money flying around and players being paid like professionals only complicates the issue.
Now, I think he's wise to bench these guys who are late for practice and not taking care of business. You've got to address those things or you'll lose the team completely. And at 5-7, he may have already lost them, but that also means he has nothing to lose. If you won't discipline a 5-7 team, when would you discipline anyone?
Of course, the other issue is this: if you've never really disciplined a team very much and the "inmates are running the asylum," you're unlikely to be able to start disciplining them now. They're likely to rebel. Some may leave the team now that they're between semesters. Things may get worse before they get any better.
