Penny Hardaway wins gold with her hometown with James Wiseman

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There were questions when Memphis rented. Could the success of Hardaway's coaches at the high school and local level translate into a college match? Would the NBA's experience and relationships with Hardaway's top high school players become highly ranked recruiting classes in Memphis?

On the recruiting front, Hardaway had to compete with the blue players of college basketball to get the best prospects. He started swinging for the early hurdles, making Wiseman his top priority. When local five-star striker D.J. Jeffries left Kentucky in July and Memphis immediately embarked on a strong lawsuit. The five out-of-state stars like Trendon Watford, Matthew Hurt and Precious Achiuwa remain on the list.

But we have already seen this story. A new coach is hired, he has too much trouble finding talent to recruit players, he is underperforming when he is recruited, then clears and is fired. Miss Anderson Kim Anderson was a great example. When he took over the Tigers, they quickly started recruiting five stars like Thomas Bryant, Antonio Blakeney and Isaiah Briscoe. They fought for all three and had none. Three years and a record 27-78 later, Anderson was gone.

If Hardaway missed some of the best targets in 2019, what leeway would it have in terms of the results on the ground? Do not forget that he only received a three-year contract last spring – and not the usual five or six year contracts entered into by most new coaches.

But the main question that came up when Hardaway was hired was: could he revive the Memphis basketball program?

Under Smith, the Tigers were not terrible in terms of victories and defeats. They finished 40-26 in his two years, reaching .500 or better each season in the American Athletics Conference. But that was only part of the problem. The enthusiasm was gone within the fan base. The average attendance at home games would have dropped to 6,000, about 10,000 less than under Josh Pastner. It was not that the high-level recruits no longer came to Memphis; they did not even think of travelers. The best Memphis players left the city for college in droves. The Memphis fan base wants prestigious rookies, she wants to win and she wants to talk about the program. Under Smith, there was none.

Hardaway's mission was to change that and he quickly demonstrated that he was on the right track.

The credit around Hardaway when he showed up at an AAU match in April and July was similar to that of Mike Krzyzewski or Calipari entering the gym. The heads would turn. And Hardaway is making itself felt, taking center stage in front of a number of elite level prospects. The message was obvious: If Hardaway lost a five-star perspective, especially one from the Memphis area, you had to go through Hardaway for him. He did not accept blue bloods.

Then Memphis Madness, where 18,000 spectators – accompanied by a handful of five-star recruits and local rappers – went to witness the official beginning of the new era. This was no longer Tubby Smith's diet. Memphis basketball was back.

Three weeks later, another domino fell: Jeffries decided to commit to Hardaway and Memphis.

But everything came to a head on Tuesday.