Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway was one step away from leaving a press conference following his team's 70-62 loss against Southern Methodist University, according to Bleacher Report.

When pressed about his aptitude as the head coach, Hardaway bit back.

"Stop disrespecting me, bro. … I work too f–king hard"

Penny Hardaway wasn't having it after Memphis' loss ????

(via @CassieCarlsonTV)pic.twitter.com/I5MWMgwYu7

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 21, 2022

"I think the one thing I can say to this media because this media gets kinda f**ked up sometimes when it comes to me," Hardaway said, per USA Today. "We don't have our full roster. Y'all know we don't have our full roster. Stop asking me stupid f**king questions about if I feel like I can do something," he said.

"If I had my roster like [SMU] did, then I feel like I can do whatever I want to do. I'm coaching really hard. My boys are playing really hard. I'm not embarrassed about nothing. We have four freshmen starting. Y'all need to act like it. Act like we've got 17- and 18- and 19-year-olds out here trying to learn how to play against 22-, 23- and 24-year-old guys," Hardaway continued.

Injuries have plagued the Tigers for the last two months as players have struggled with staying healthy enough to play. The team's leading scorer, DeAndre Williams, has missed the last four games, and the top assist, Landers Nolley II, has missed the last two games, respectively. Jayden Hardaway was out for his second straight game.

Senior guard Alex Lomax returned to the court to play against SMU after nursing an ankle injury that caused him to miss five games. Sophomore guard Earl Timberlake was out for two games in the last five weeks due to various ailments. Freshman Emoni Bates couldn't play three games because of a finger injury and fellow freshman Jalen Duren was also out for multiple games in the past weeks, USA Today reports.

Hardaway was later asked about the team's current frame of mind to play Tulsa on Sunday.

"It's down because this is not what we expected," he said. "I don't like to get out of character, but I'm just kind of — we're hurt, man. Our roster is depleted right now of guys that can definitely make a difference and help the young guys get through this. Right now, they're having to learn on the fly. It's hard."

Memphis-Tigers

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