MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Rasheed Wallace is no longer on the U of M coaching staff, according to Penny Hardaway. Wallace is now in more of a consulting role for the Tigers.
Wallace hasn’t been seen coaching for theTigers in more than a month. This comes after the 16-year NBA veteran was placed in health and safety protocols for COVID-19.
Hardaway said Wallace still communicates with the bigs via zoom and is a part of who this team is, but his future with the program is undetermined.
“Right now, I would say no, I’m not sure,” Hardaway said during the Tigers media availability Wednesday. “I don’t know about what happens later in the season, but he’s still a part of who we are, you know, talking to him and him looking at game film and looking at our practices as well, and staying in touch with the bigs.”
Wallace had a special relationship with the forwards and centers on the team. Tigers center Jalen Duren said Wallace’s presence will be missed.
“He’s the guy with a lot of energy and kind of was a great mentor for the bigs, like for the short time that he was here,” said Duren. “And I definitely learned a lot from him. He actually texts all the bigs and like forwards before the game sometimes it just kind of gives us some encouragement, lets us know what we got to look forward to and just kind of still kind of keeps his voice very alive and just like kind of like keeping us focused and letting us know what is going on.”
The Tigers host SMU Thursday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.