Penny Hardaway never had a Louisville defender leaning on him, never walked into the old Freedom Hall wearing a Memphis State jersey, never sent the Cardinals home with a performance somebody in this city would still be talking about over lunch.
Penny Never Played Louisville. Somehow, That Makes Sunday Mean More.
Think about that. The player most closely connected to Memphis basketball missed one of the rivalries that helped define it. His playing years fell inside a break in the series. By the time the schools met again in the 1995 NCAA Tournament, Hardaway was in the NBA.
Sunday, he gets another opportunity from the sideline. No. 10 Louisville comes to FedExForum at noon, bringing a name that still means something around here even when the conference standings no longer put the schools together. For Memphis, the challenge is making sure the afternoon becomes more than a reunion.
Some Names Still Get Your Attention
There are opponents you recognize because they show up on the schedule every year. Then there are opponents whose names bring a game back before you finish reading them. Louisville belongs in the second group.
Maybe your memory is Memphis State beating the Cardinals three times in 1985. Maybe it is the 1995 NCAA Tournament victory. Maybe it is the 2005 Conference USA championship game, when Louisville escaped Memphis with a one-point win, and the Tigers were left with an ending that still stings. Different generations have different entry points. That is what gives a rivalry depth. It belongs to more than one coach, one roster or one particularly loud afternoon.
The schools have shared four conferences. Louisville leads the series 55–36, but Memphis holds a 23–16 advantage at home. There is a useful reminder in that second number. This has not simply been Memphis measuring itself against somebody else’s program. The Cardinals have had plenty of afternoons when leaving town with a win was more difficult than they wanted.
Penny Knows What He Missed
Hardaway does not need to have played Louisville to understand what the matchup means. But the missing experience gives his role now an interesting wrinkle. He cannot pull a player aside and describe the shot he made against the Cardinals. He has no personal box score from this series to point toward. His opportunity is helping somebody else create one worth remembering.
Last season did not provide much Memphis will want to revisit. Louisville won 99–73. Sunday is Hardaway’s second meeting with the Cardinals as Tigers coach. That makes this more than an exercise in bringing back an old opponent. Memphis needs a better performance. The players need something from the rivalry that belongs to them, rather than another reminder of what previous Tigers accomplished. Fans can bring the memories. They cannot bring the defensive rotations.
Give the Next Generation a Game
Louisville has not played in Memphis since 2014, when the Tigers won 72–66 and completed a regular-season sweep. Twelve years is a long time between visits. Some fans who will be in the building Sunday were children the last time this happened. Others have heard considerably more about the rivalry than they have seen.
That is why the basketball matters. A competitive, consequential game can explain the history better than an afternoon spent telling younger fans how important this used to be. Memphis arrives after allowing Vanderbilt 105 points. Louisville arrives ranked No. 10. There is enough present-day urgency without borrowing any from the past.
Still, the history gives the opportunity a little weight. Nobody needs these schools to pretend the years apart never happened. What Memphis needs is a performance that makes the next meeting feel necessary. Penny never got his Louisville moment as a player. There is still time to help somebody else find theirs.
