Report: Rasheed Wallace Joins Penny Hardaway's Staff at Memphis
Who better than Rasheed Wallace to teach talented, impressionable teenagers about the tenets of "Ball don't lie?"
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, the Trail Blazers' former All-Star big man has joined Penny Hardaway's staff at the University of Memphis as an assistant coach.
The No. 4 overall pick of the 1995 NBA draft, Wallace came to Portland in a trade for Rod Strickland after spending his rookie season with the Washington Bullets. He played the next seven-and-a-half seasons with the Blazers, establishing himself as one of the league's most impactful—not to mention intense—two-way bigs.
Wallace made his first of consecutive All-Star appearances in 1999-2000, the same season Portland surrendered a double-digit lead to the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.
His tenure with the Blazers came to an end in 2004, when Wallace was dealt to the Atlanta Hawks. He was quickly traded again, this time to the Detroit Pistons, proving the final piece teammate Chauncey Billups and company needed to win the Larry O'Brien Trophy just a few months later.
Wallace retired for good in 2013 following a 16-year playing career. His first experience as a coach came the following year under Stan Van Gundy in Detroit, but Wallace wasn't retained for the 2014-15 season.
In 2019, Wallace took over as head coach of Charles E. Jordan High School in Durham, North Carolina, not far from his alma mater in Chapel Hill. The 46-year-old joins a Memphis staff that includes not just Hardaway, but also Hall-of-Fame coach Larry Brown.
The Tigers, NIT champions last season, welcome a star-studded freshman class to Memphis next season highlighted by big man Jalen Duren, a potential top-five pick in next summer's NBA draft.