ANFERNEE AND DEZ
In the early nineties everyone knew Penny Hardaway.
We all adored “Li’l Penny” too, his bobblehead-double, quick with a Chris Rock-voiced quip amid plenty of trash-talking.
“You can’t guard me,” the puppet look-alike would taunt and boast. “The Secret Service couldn’t guard me!”
(The contrast in personality between “Li’l Penny” and the humble megastar was stark and striking).
That speaks to the depth and breadth of Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway’s fame and charisma — he had a bobblehead created in his likeness almost immediately after joining the Orlando Magic, a year or two into his NBA career.
A 6’7” point guard with unique skills, Penny was the next Magic.
And had knee injuries not destroyed his game he could have been perhaps even better individually than Johnson, although accumulating championships at Magic’s rate would most probably have been another story.
On the other hand, if a healthy Penny and Shaq had stayed together and played together for the duration, you never know.
As it was, he made more than $120 million in his 14-year NBA sojourn (4 teams) winning a 1996 Olympic Gold on the way and doing his native Memphis proud.
And in his retirement he has continued to make Memphis swell with pride.
Desmond Merriweather died on February 8, 2015 from colon cancer. He was 41 years old.
As kids — Dez was a younger tag-along — he and Penny became friends and rivals from time well-spent in the playground. Their young lives revolved around basketball. Not unlike countless others, they loved to play all day, every day, season in and season out.
And they could play.
Particularly Penny but Dez was no slouch. He was a star at Memphis East High School in the early 1990’s (Penny had rewritten the record book at Memphis Treadwell High) and went on to play at Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee whose notable alums include NFL wide receiver Jacoby Jones and American civil rights attorney Donald L. Hollowell.
Merriweather became the head basketball coach at Lester Middle School, his alma mater — and later at East — piloting the team to three consecutive state championships (2012-’13-’14).
Penny served as his co-pilot.
And herein lies the tale.
When Hardaway, a Memphis philanthropist, businessman and advocate learned of his pal’s colon cancer travails he offered to step in to help coach and educate.
The basketball successes are well-documented but Penny’s vision was far more broad and wide than the confines of the hardwood.
Just as he saw everything on the court and was often two or three plays ahead of the action, he knew that basketball alone would not be enough for the kids and had a plan.
He instituted a mandatory tutorial program for their boys.
The goal? To have each player graduate from college.
Both Dez and Penny taught the values of hard work and perseverance and the merit of each in the grand scheme of life. Together they became role models for the inner-city youth whom they were mentoring.
But they were a little different because their back stories didn’t simply strike chords close to home.
They hit home — flush in the jaw and square in the gut.
Penny and Dez once were these boys. They lived in the same projects and walked the same streets — the Red Oak and Tillman Cove projects in gang-infested Binghampton.
When Dez first introduced Penny to his Lester unit, the former NBA superstar was smitten.
“I came over and saw the team and just instantly fell in love with them…I wanted to let these kids know that I care. I come from the same situation and I let them know that they can make it, too. When you have an example who’s lived in the same neighborhood, lived in the same apartments, walked the same hallways, that is motivating, and it drives them. Their attitudes change…,” Hardaway recalled.
The life lessons Dez and Penny were imparting to their middle schoolers were clear.
“Don’t use the inner city as an excuse to fail…You can overcome your circumstances…Always dream big.”
But you gotta back it up. You gotta work. You gotta try.
Education is more than just sports. By crafting, instituting and implementing his mandatory tutorial program Hardaway was showing the boys that he really cared.
And he backed it up.
He’d show up in their classrooms early in the morning to make sure they were present and accountable. He peppered their teachers with questions about their progress, their strengths, weaknesses and attentiveness. He made sure they were doing their homework.
Bada-bing.
Grades rose from a 2.5 GPA to 2.9, from a C+ to a near-solid B. Graduating from college was the long-term goal. And it was attainable.
(Incidentally, in 2003 while still playing in the NBA Penny Hardaway quietly earned his college degree from the University of Memphis. Backing it up yet again).
“Just give me all you got,” became the mantra.
They did, Merriweather did and Penny did, leading by example.
God took Dez but he died a happy man, if that is possible.
The boys and Penny will never forget.
[Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in August 2016.]
ADDENDUM: Penny Hardaway became an assistant and then the head coach at Memphis East High School — Dez’ alma mater — and is presently the head coach at the University of Memphis where he starred from 1990-’93.
