Memphis reportedly considering replacing Tubby Smith with Penny Hardaway, Larry Brown

With the Memphis administration planning to "evaluate the (basketball) program at the end of the year" after a disappointing season and Hardaway preparing to be a college coach, the stars have aligned for the former Tigers great to take over.

A four-time All-Star in the NBA, Hardaway, 46, currently coaches East High in Memphis and his own Nike EYBL program.

Brown, who would likely be on Hardaway's staff as an assistant, had great things to say about Hardaway on Feb. 26.

"Penny is one of my favorite guys of all time," Brown, 77, said last week on ESPN Memphis Radio. "He was all about winning and team. When I got into college coaching and started going around watching AAU and high schools, I'd see the effect he has on kids in such a positive way. Before Tubby got the job, he was the guy I was hoping would get the Memphis job. I just thought that he came back to his community, which a lot of guys don't always do. He grew up in Memphis. He's doing an amazing job in AAU and now in high school.

"There's gonna be a lot of college jobs open, unfortunately, and I can't think of many guys more qualified than Penny. At the end of the day, it's how you teach the game, how you care about the kids, how you make the kids accountable and grow up the right way. I think Penny Hardaway is as good a role model as you can possibly have."

Memphis is Smith's sixth head-coaching job and his 10-year stay at Kentucky from 1997-2007 is the only time he stayed for more than six seasons at a school. He left Georgia after two seasons to take the Wildcats job in 1997. According to CBS, it would cost $9.75 million to buy out Smith's contract.