Anfernee Hardaway

Anfernee Hardaway: Future Olympic Hero

by Brendan Millhouser and Jake Wenger

Anfernee (Penny) Hardaway is the guard for the very powerful Orlando Magic Basketball team. With his skill and knowledge of the game of basketball, he should just be starting on his road to greatness. His future was not always so promising, though.

Penny Hardaway was born and raised in Memphis, Tenn. He lived in a tough area, that was infested with crime. When he was young, his mother had left to go to Las Vegas to become a singer, leaving Penny's Grandmother to raise him. His Grandmother made sure he kept out of trouble and had lots of rules for Penny to follow. He played basketball constantly while he was a child.

In High School, Anfernee won Parade Magazine's National High School Player of the Year. He averaged 36.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 3.3 steals, and 2.8 blocks. He then chose to attend Memphis State near his home. His first year of college, Anfernee couldn't play basketball because of his low grade point average. The next year, Penny played, and played hard. As a Junior, he averaged 22.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.4 assists, shot .477 from the field, had two triple-doubles, and set a school single-season record for points with 729. At the end of his amazing season, he was named conference player of the year, a First-team All-American, and a finalist for the Naismith and Wooden awards. Penny's next step was to the NBA.

The Orlando Magic again won the draft lottery in 1993, and picked Michigan's Chris Webber. Anfernee was drafted by the Golden State Warriors. Almost immediately after the draft, Chris Webber was traded to the Golden State Warriors for Penny plus three top draft picks.