How do you get somebody’s attention? Well, one way to get a college basketball player’s attention is by taking away their NIL money, like Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway did with junior forward Aaron Bradshaw.
“Aaron Bradshaw has played for some great coaching staffs, but they haven’t figured out how to motivate him, so Penny Hardaway found a way to motivate Aaron Bradshaw. He started taking his NIL money away,” it was revealed on the broadcast of the Tigers’ Wednesday night loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores.
“He said, ‘I fined him for showing up late. I fined him for violating our dress code. Three grand here, three grand there. Guess who started to show up early? Guess who started to put the effort in?’ … He [Hardaway] takes that fine money and puts it back in the bucket and has some guys further down the roster reaping the cash benefit of those fines.”
Message received.
Memphis is the third stop for Bradshaw in his collegiate career, with the former five-star recruit spending his freshman season at Kentucky (2023-24) and sophomore season at Ohio State (2024-25). Through nine games this season, six of which he has started, Bradshaw is averaging a career-high 7.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per game, while shooting 50.0% from the field.
Hardaway, who starred at Memphis for two seasons as a player (1991-92, 1992-93), is in his eighth season as the Tigers’ head coach, with Memphis a combined 166-74 under him since the 2018-19 season, highlighted by two American Tournament titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances. However, Memphis is off to a 4-6 start this season, with three of its six losses being against ranked opponents in Purdue, Louisville and Vanderbilt.
Maybe if Hardaway takes away the entire team’s NIL dough, Memphis will run the table in conference play?
MORE COLLEGE HOOPS: Last Night in College Basketball: No. 13 Vanderbilt Passed OT Test vs. Memphis
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