Wallace to Join Hardaway’s Staff in Memphis

Former Portland Trail Blazers forward Rasheed Wallace will be on the college sidelines this upcoming season. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Wallace has agreed to become an assistant coach on Penny Hardaway’s staff at the University of Memphis.

Wallace is 16-year NBA veteran and a four-time All-Star that played on six NBA teams before retiring in 2013. Most notably, he played an integral role on the 2004 Detroit Pistons championship team. In eight seasons with Portland, from 1996 to 2003, he guided the Blazers to back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances in 1999 and 2000. Wallace’s 9,119 points scored in Portland places him at No. 11 on the Blazers’ all-time scoring list.

An excellent player, Wallace’s time in Portland is also remembered by his loud personality, technical fouls, and famous quotes such as “both teams played hard” and “ball don’t lie.”

Wallace’s new position in Memphis will be his first collegiate coaching opportunity, but not his first coaching experience. Wallace was an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons on Maurice Cheeks’ staff for the 2013-14 season. Since 2019, Wallace has worked as a high school head coach at Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina. He was hired to become the men’s basketball coach at N.C. Good Better Best Academy in June, a position he will now step down from in order to move to Memphis.

Wallace’s time in Memphis also serves as a reunion with coach Larry Brown, who was Wallace’s head coach on the Pistons from 2003 to 2005. Brown accepted an offer to join Hardaway’s staff as an assistant in July.

In three seasons as head coach in Memphis, Hardaway has posted a 63-32 record. The Tigers have yet to qualify for the NCAA Tournament under Hardaway. Memphis won the 2021 NIT Championship.