Anfernee PENNY HARDAWAY....from HS Phenom....to MEMPHIS STATE ALL-AMERICAN...to NBA-ALL STAR

I remember when I first heard of the man they call "PENNY".....I was watching a MEMPHIS STATE Basketball Game in 1989-90 Season and DICK VITALE aka DICKIE V was telling a story between Timeouts and it went a little something like this.....VITALE says," I can't wait til NEXT YEAR FOLKS....REMEMBER this name......Anfernee PENNY HARDAWAY......right here in MEMPHIS will be a STAR....write it down......he is a FABULOUS High School player and has Big Man on CAMPUS written all over him".

He was the 1990 Parade MAGAZINE Player of the Year his senior year at Memphis TREADWELL HS in Tennessee. Look at these HS STATS.........36ppg 10 rebs 6 assts 3 steals and 2 blocks........oh and ran the concession stand at HALFTIME of Home GAMES. A ridiculous talent that is one of the best to come out of STORIED MEMPHIS High School Basketball.

I couldn't wait to see PENNY HARDAWAY and and it was almost 2 years until I finally saw him due to becoming Academically Ineligible his Freshman Year at MEMPHIS STATE. And then he was shot in the Foot on a robbery attempt that almost cut his whole career short.

Then it finally came.....the 1991-92 MEMPHIS STATE Basketball. He did not disappoint to the TUNE of BACK to BACK All-American teams in '92-'93 at MEMPHIS and in 1993 he passed up his FINAL SEASON to turn Professional.

And then came one of the CRAZIEST non-talked about Draft DAY TRADES of All-TIME. PENNY was projected TOP 3 PICKS in the 1993 DRAFT but was no way going in front of Michigan ALL-AMERICAN and FAB-FIVE STUD Chris WEBBER. So the Orlando MAGIC are on the CLOCK and everyone in O-Town to the MEDIA and throughout the NBA saying the MAGIC have to pick WEBBER.....So they did.

But hold on.......#2 is the Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers.......and they have told everybody but themselves that their consensus pick will be BYU'S 7'6" TREE Shawn BRADLEY......cant' pass up height right. Now with the GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS holding the #3 Spot and already have Perimeter Players everywhere including aging Chris MULLIN, young stud BILLY OWENS, who thy acquired in the '92 Draft for sending Mitch RICHMOND to the SAC-TOWN KINGS, and LATRELL SPREWELL....Does PENNY REALLY FIT THEM?......Really he doesn't because of OWENS and SPREE.

The WARRIORS select PENNY and the Crowd is like...MAN the WARRIORS are going to be NICE.....all them Young PERIMETER PLAYERS....but hold up....NBA COMMISH DAVID STERN comes back and says (those FAMOUS DRAFT DAY WORDS)," WE HAVE A TRADE".

The WARRIORS send Anfernee HARDAWAY along with 3 future 1st round PICKS to ORLANDO fir the RIGHTS to Chris WEBBER......Both STARS were BORN and PENNY with SHAQ...was suppose to be MAGIC and KAREEM.......KAREEM and the BIG O.....Hal GREER and WILT.

So at the beginning PENNY and SHAQ were doing their THING...BIG TIME......the MAGIC had the most powerful PLAYER since WILT and a PG that was off the dribble....unguardable...PENNY could get to the RIM, Shoot it from deep, and passed like MAGIC and J-KIDD....a real treat.

The 1st Season for PENNY All-ROOKIE 1st Team and Runner-Up to C-WEBB in NBA Rookie of the YEAR. The 2nd Season PENNY took off and was All-NBA 1st TEAM with SHAQ and led the MAGIC to the FINALS where DREAM and the HOUSTON ROCKETS swept them in 4.

The next season one AIR JORDAN CAME BACK for revenge having came back from Baseball the year before when the MAGIC beat them. PENNY was too tough to guard #23 and #33 couldn't check him, Tyra BANKS, or LIL PENNY.......thanks NIKE. But MIKE and the BULLS got the best of them as they went on to beat PENNY, SHAQ, and the MAGIC.

Then for some unknown Reason....SHAQ decides that the GRASS is GREENER on the OTHER Side...and leaves PENNY and the MAGIC before the 1996=97 Season.......To this day SHAQ'S Agent Leonard ARMATO had promised Jerry WEST and LA SHAQ way before SHAQ even knew he was leaving.....but I didn't say that.

Penny in his 3rd campaign made the All-Star and he and the MAGIC were knocked out by the HEAT in 5. The 1997-98 Season PENNY'S Career turned and he had Season-Ending KNEE INJURY....which later he would have to have MICRO-FRACTURE SURGERY in PHOENIX when he played there from 1999-2004.

Penny had some good years in the DESERT playing with Jason KIDD and STEPHON MARBURY then traded to the KNICKS from the 2004-06 Season and finally ended his Career in MIAMI in 2007-08 season.

PENNY will always be remembered as the GUY that if he hadn't gotten injured and SHAQ STAYS....it would have been really hard for the BULLS to PULL off the last 3-PEAT.

A sensational TALENT and when he was in his HEALTHY EARLY ON in his career......NO ONE WAS BETTER than ANFERNEE PENNY HARDAWAY.....I mean NO ONE.

NOTE*****Happy BIRTHDAY on the 18th of JULY to PENNY, the GREEN TEAM'S SUGAR RAY ALLEN, and the GLOVE EAST BAY'S Finest..and SUPERSONIC forever......GARY PAYTON.