Man charged with taking from Hardaway home

• Myron Medcalf, ESPN Personnel WriterAug 22, 2024, 02:04 PM ET

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  • Covers college basketball
  • Joined ESPN.com in 2011
  • Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato

Cops arrested a suspect Thursday in the theft of special shoes from the home of Memphis males’s basketball coach Cent Hardaway.Ronald James, 42,

was charged with theft of residential or commercial property, Memphis authorities spokesperson Officer Joseph Hibler informed ESPN.Per a Memphis cops report obtained by

ESPN, a man was caught on camera previously this month swiping the merchandise and pushing boxes on a shopping cart near Hardaway’s $4.25 million home.This week, authorities released photos of the suspect online and asked anybody who recognized him to contact them. Hibler did not say whether a suggestion had actually resulted in James’s arrest.Hardaway informed Memphis TV station WREG today that 26 pairs of “one-of-kind”Foamposite shoes had been taken from his

home.Nike’s Foamposite line, made popular by Hardaway when he starred for the Orlando Magic in the 1990s, is still popular today. Hardaway and Nike still have a financially rewarding collaboration years after the former NBA All-Star last played in the league.Last year, Nike launched the Nike Air Max Cent 1 Lester Intermediate school editions to honor Hardaway’s Memphis middle school.It’s unclear when James will have his

first court appearance related to the theft, and his bond has not been set. Authorities did not say whether they had actually recovered the merchandise.