Memphis Coach Penny Hardaway Is Sick Of People Age Shaming DeAndre Williams

The primary distinction of DeAndre Williams being the oldest player in NCAA basketball this season is his age. Penny Hardaway, his coach, has grown weary of that story.

Memphis Coach Penny Hardaway Is Sick Of People Age-Shaming DeAndre Williams

Williams, a senior forward for Memphis who is 26 years old, averages 17.3 points and 7.9 rebounds a game while shooting 54 per cent from the floor. He is one of the greatest players in the American Athletic Conference this season, ranking sixth in scoring, fourth in rebounding, and second in the conference in field-goal %.

Williams’ age is what jumps out in the public eye despite his strong output.

Penny has had enough of the "unfair" age jokes at DeAndre Williams' expense.

Here's what he had to say about it.

I also talked to Dre about it recently: "It can demoralize you." https://t.co/nSB4E9EZ45

— Jason Munz (@munzly) February 21, 2023

In Sunday’s 72-62 loss against top-ranked Houston, ESPN analyst Mark Adams poked fun at the age of the Tigers forward. He joked that Williams was “only 39 years away from Medicare” during the broadcast, which struck a nerve with Hardaway.

During his weekly radio show on Monday, Hardaway shed some light on the history of Williams’ situation.

“He got tricked by some guys to leave his high school to go to a virtual school,” Hardaway explained. “Stayed there to play basketball, was promised he was gonna get these different scholarships. He did not get the scholarships and the guys just left him hanging. Found out that none of the accreditation would carry over for him to get into college. He has to go to night school and work until he got his credits back up to go to college. Didn’t get into college until 21 years old.”

It wasn’t until the 2018-19 season when Williams — as a 22-year-old freshman— saw his first collegiate action at Evansville.

Memphis' DeAndre Williams is the oldest player in college basketball at 26 years old.

Penny Hardaway thinks it's 'unfair' that broadcasters bring up that fact during their games.https://t.co/okeIsNyOEv

— OutKick (@Outkick) February 23, 2023

“Every time we have a telecast, these commentators are talking about his age in a negative fashion, I think that’s so bad,” Hardaway continued. “I think it is unfair how they always talk about his age during the games. I hate that for DeAndre. It was brought to my attention about Stetson Bennett, the quarterback at Georgia is 25 years old. I didn’t know he was that old, because they would never say it. So, what’s the difference? To me, it just has to be fair across the board.”

Williams himself commented about the age digs in a recent interview with The Commercial Appeal.

National media members: We, the people of Memphis, know how old DeAndre Williams is! Find something else to say! pic.twitter.com/1Y2cOCKDma

— Doc Holliday (@The_DocHolliday) February 20, 2023

“I know it’s more love than negativity, but the negative stuff can get to you,” Williams said. “In all reality, like, by myself at home, sometimes I don’t feel great. I am human. I’m just a regular person. It can demoralize you. But I try not to complain when people talk about my age, (because) nobody knows, has no idea how I got here. If they wondered how I got here or knew how I got here, they wouldn’t say anything bad.”