I am not a fan of hiring NBA stars to coach at the college level (unless they should happen to be named Bill Russell). And, quite frankly, that was what caused my hesitation about our hire of Darrell Walker. My observation is that in most of those situations the coaches try to bring down the glitz and glitter from the NBA instead of bringing up the guts and discipline like Beard did in Little Rock.

However, I have been pleasantly surprised by Walker's performance. He is tightening up the things that need tightening - gradually. Tip of the hat to him.

Memphis has not done quite as well with their high-profile hire. First there was the recruiting fiasco to start the season. And now they just got blown out by FORTY POINTS by Tulsa. But of course, apparently they never learn their lesson at Memphis. If Hardaway is not successful there, they will have to rebuild the program and probably deal with NCAA violations that surface later. If he is successful he likely will move on to the Kentuckys of the world. It might be wishful thinking, but if Walker is successful in Little Rock, I think there is just a chance that he might stay for a while.

Don't know if Penny will be successful at Memphis, but I believe he will stay there if he is. Memphis has always been "home" for him and the Tigers are a program that could regularly contend for the National Championship with the right coach. Don't see a lot of motivation for him to go elsewhere.