Memphis basketball coach Penny Hardaway apologizes for letting 'my emotions get the best of me'

Penny Hardaway expressed remorse Friday night after the Memphis basketball coach blasted members of the media with an expletive-laden rant following the Tigers third straight loss the previous day.

"Memphis, I just wanted to let you guys know that I love you. Tiger Nation, I love you," he began in the video posted on Instagram, shown seated in front of a framed portrait of his grandmother, the late Louise Hardaway. "I want to issue an apology to my school, to the players and to our fans. I let my emotions get the best of me last night and that's not the way that you handle situations."

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Following the Tigers' loss to SMU on Thursday, Hardaway was asked if he still has faith in his ability to get the job done at his alma mater.

“I think the one thing I can say to this media, because this media gets kind of (expletive) up sometimes when it comes to me, (is) we don’t have our full roster,” Hardaway said. “Y’all know we don’t have our full roster. So, stop asking me stupid, (expletive) questions about if I feel like I can do something.”

Hardaway's reference to his roster woes stem from Memphis' struggles avoiding the injury bug. The team has not had everyone on its roster healthy since Nov. 24. Memphis’ leading scorer (DeAndre Williams) and its top assist man (Landers Nolley II) have been out the last four and two games, respectively. Jayden Hardaway also missed his second straight game. Senior guard Alex Lomax returned against SMU after a five-game absence due to an ankle injury. Sophomore guard Earl Timberlake has missed two games in the last five weeks with various ailments. Freshman Emoni Bates sat out three games with a finger issue during that stretch. Fellow freshman Jalen Duren has also missed multiple games in recent weeks.

In the loss to SMU, Memphis started Bates, Duren, Josh Minott (another freshman), Timberlake (whose freshman campaign at Miami last season was limited to seven games due to injuries) and Lester Quinones. Hardaway has put walk-on freshman Tadarius Jacobs on the floor the past two games in meaningful situations.

“If I had my roster like (SMU) did, then I feel like I can do whatever I want to do,” Hardaway continued. “I’m coaching really hard. My boys are playing really hard. I’m not embarrassed about nothing. We have four freshmen starting (referring to Bates, Duren, Minott and Timberlake). Y’all need to act like it. Act like we’ve got 17- and 18- and 19-year-olds out here trying to learn how to play against 22-, 23- and 24-year-old guys.

“C’mon, man. Stop disrespecting me, bro. Like, don’t do that. I work too (expletive) hard. I work way too hard for that. Y’all write all these (expletive) articles about me and all I do is work. We’ve got young kids on the floor.”

In the video, Hardaway acknowledged the adversity but declared it won't stop the Tigers (9-8, 3-4 AAC) from working hard. Memphis plays at Tulsa (6-10, 0-5) on Sunday (2 p.m., ESPN)

"I just, I bleed Blue and I'm fighting always for my school, for my city and for my players," he said. "We are going to make you guys proud. We are going to win. We're going to get through this together.

"And to the fans that are fighting with us, thank you so much. We really appreciate it. You guys help push us through with your energy. And to my players, let's keep fighting on. We're 901 strong and again, Memphis, I love you. Peace."

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball: Penny Hardaway issues apology for postgame tirade