Memphis assistant coach Rasheed Wallace to work rest of season remotely
from Victor Barbosa, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
Former NBA All-Star Rasheed Wallace joined the Memphis men’s basketball program as an assistant to head coach Anfernee Hardaway in August 2021. The Tigers have dropped seven of their last 11 contests since a 5-0 start, and it was reported on Wednesday that Wallace’s role with the team will change for the remainder of the season.
Memphis basketball beat writer Jason Munz reported that Hardaway said Wallace will work the rest of the campaign in a “consultant’s role” — a mutual decision — and won’t join the program in an in-person capacity the rest of the way.
The team’s leading rebounder (7.2 rebounds per game) and third-leading scorer (10.6 points per game) Jalen Duren was asked about Wallace’s impact on the group this season.
Jalen asked about Rasheed Wallace being away from the team the past month. He said he’s done a good job of maintaining a presence despite not being in the building.
— Jason Munz (@munzly) January 19, 2022
More Jalen Duren on Rasheed Wallace: “Definitely a guy with a lot of energy and was a great mentor for the bigs when he was here and I definitely learned a lot from him.”
— Jason Munz (@munzly) January 19, 2022
“Sheed” hasn’t been present for any of the Tigers’ practices or games since Dec. 14, with Hardaway saying the absences were due to health and safety protocols related to COVID-19.
Wallace played 16 NBA seasons from 1995 to 2013, suiting up primarily for the Portland Trail Blazers and Detroit Pistons, while spending time with Washington, the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks as well. He was a four-time All-Star, making the squad in back-to-back seasons from 1999 to 2001, and then again in 2006 and 2008.