FEATURE STORY
points, 6.6 assists and 5.4 rebounds in his first season and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team. The following two sea- sons with the Magic brought more success. During the 1994-95 season, he aver- aged 20.9 points and 7.2 assists per game, started the NBA All-Star Game and was named to the All-NBA First Team, while leading Orlando to the NBA Finals against the Houston Rockets. Hard- away averaged 25.5 points and 8.0 assists in the series. During the 1995-96 season, Hardaway averaged a career-best 21.7 points and 7.1 assists per game. He again was named All-NBA First Team and finished third in the league's MVP voting. After the season, he played on the U.S. Olympic basketball team that won a gold medal in Atlanta, Ga. Hardaway started in the NBA All-Star Game the following two seasons. Dur- ing the 1997 NBA playoffs, he had the distinction of becoming the first player to score 40 or more points in back-to-back games against a Pat Riley-coached team when he had 42 and 41 in consecutive outings against the Miami Heat. Hardaway joined the Phoenix Suns to start the 1999-2000 season and averaged 16.9 points in 60 games and 20.3 points in nine playoff games. After playing a full season for the Suns in 2001-02, he battled knee injuries throughout the remainder of his career, which included stops with the Knicks and the Heat. Known for his support of
Ole Miss, Madlock helped the Rebels win 21 games and advance in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons. Under his guidance, Moody earned first team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press and the league's coaches. Madlock also spent four seasons as an assistant on Tony Barbee's staff at Au- burn and four seasons as an assistant at UTEP. He was an assistant for nine seasons at Arkansas State. At Auburn, Madlock helped coach Chris Denson to All-SEC second team honors in 2013-14, and he recruited three top-100 play- ers to the Plains during his time with the Tigers. In his four years at UTEP, Madlock recruited 2010 C-USA Player of the Year, Randy Culpepper, and Arnett Moultrie, a 2009 C-USA All-Freshman Team selection. UTEP won the 2010 Conference USA Championship with a 26-7 overall record and a 15-1 league mark as the Min- ers advanced to the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual NCAA runner-up Butler. He also coached Stefon Jackson, who is the all-time leading scorer in UTEP and Conference USA history, All-CUSA second-team selection Derrick Carracter, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010, and C-USA All-Defensive Team member Julyan Stone. Madlock spent six of his nine years at Arkansas State as the assistant head coach prior to going to El Paso. He helped Arkansas State to the
Tony Madlock
the University through the years, Hardaway donated $1 million in 2008 for the school's sports Hall of Fame building, which bears his name. Hardaway returned to school and graduated in May 2003 with a bachelor's degree in professional stud- ies. A native Memphian and former Tigers point guard, Madlock joined Hardaway's staff as an assistant shortly after Hardaway was hired in March 2018. In his first season as an assistant, he helped the Tigers reach the second round of the NIT. Madlock has amassed more than 20 years as a college assistant and served as interim head coach at the end of the 2017-18 season at Ole Miss. He spent four seasons at Ole Miss before coming to Memphis.
At Memphis, Madlock re-united with Hardaway, a teammate of his with the Ti- gers during the 1991-92 sea- son. Madlock and Hardaway helped the Tigers reach the Elite Eight in 1992. During the 2016-17 season, Madlock helped guide the Rebels to 22 vic- tories and a trip to the NIT Quarterfinals. He coached Sebastian Saiz to all-league honors and a record-break- ing senior season. Saiz set the school record by pulling down 409 boards. He aver- aged a double-double (15.1 points, 11.4 rebounds). During the 2015-16 campaign, Madlock and the Rebels won 20 games for the second time in as many seasons. Senior guard Stefan Moody earned first team All- SEC honors for the second- straight season. In his first season at
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