Michigan basketball targeted by Penny Hardaway for showcase featuring ex-NBA All-Star coaches

MEMPHIS — Michigan basketball might be doubling down on blockbuster scheduling, thanks to Penny Hardaway. 

Hardaway, the Memphis basketball coach, said he spoke with Michigan coach Juwan Howard during the summer about a potential blockbuster four-team showcase featuring teams coached by former NBA All-Stars. 

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The event, Hardaway said, could feature teams such as Memphis, Michigan, Vanderbilt (coached by Jerry Stackhouse) and Georgetown (Patrick Ewing) and be played at Madison Square Garden in New York. 

“I thought that would be pretty cool,” Hardaway said. “Not to exclude Bobby Hurley (Arizona State) or Damon Stoudamire (University of the Pacific) or anything like that. But the new guys on the block versus the vet in Pat Ewing. I thought that would be pretty cool.

“They said they were OK with it. We just have to put it together.”

Michigan did not immediately respond to an email from the Free Press seeking comment.

The news comes a day after Michigan announced it had agreed to a three-year series with Kentucky, including a game in London in 2020, and home-and-home games in 2021 and 2022. 

Howard, in his first year at Michigan, was an All-Star once in his 19-year NBA career. Stackhouse made two All-Star teams, Hardaway made four and Ewing leads the group with 11 appearances. 

Howard, Hardaway and Ewing are coaching at their alma maters. Stackhouse played at North Carolina.