Hardy’s big return game
Former UNLV guard leads Oregon into semifinals of Pac-12 tournament
Oregon senior guard Amauri Hardy said he felt like he was home when the Ducks arrived in Las Vegas for the Pac-12 tournament earlier this week.
He certainly seemed comfortable Thursday afternoon at T-mobile Arena.
Hardy, who played three years for UNLV, returned to his old stomping grounds and posted 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting in a convincing 91-73 victory over Arizona State. The eighth-seeded Sun Devils conclude what was once a promising season with an 11-14 record.
Top-seeded Oregon (20-5) will play Oregon State (15-12) at 5:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. Oregon State defeated UCLA 83-79 in overtime.
“Although I’m not from here, I spent a good deal of time here when I was at UNLV, but it felt good,” Hardy said of his performance. “I played in this arena a couple of times since I was in college. So although there wasn’t a lot of fans, I feel like we brought great energy. It just felt good to be back in Las Vegas at all.”
Hardy hails from the Detroit area and committed to play for the Rebels as a four-star recruit in the class of 2017. He blossomed into one of UNLV’S most productive players, averaging 13.1 points and 3.5 assists in 2018-19 and 14.5 points and 3.3 assists last season en route to All-mountain West honors.
He elected to transfer last spring to Oregon, a perennial Pac-12 power that’s qualified for six of the last seven NCAA tournaments.
ESPN’S Joe Lunardi projects the Ducks as a No. 6 seed in this year’s Big Dance.
“I’ve enjoyed it a lot. Just being on a winning team and just embracing the opportunity of being able to play here, embracing the journey,” Hardy said. (I’m) just being selfless in this whole experience and just enjoying each and every day.”
Hardy started 11 games this season while starter Will Richardson recovered from a thumb injury, but has since nestled into a role as the first guard off coach Dana Altman’s bench. Altman said Hardy did a “great job” shepherding the Ducks from the point while Richardson was out and praised his unselfish approach in his new role.
“Him being all about the team has helped us,” Altman said.
Richardson ran the show Thursday, finishing with 17 points and nine assists, and senior wing LJ Figueroa scored a team-high 21 points. But Hardy played his role to perfection during 18 minutes of action, using his dribble to probe the paint, attack the basket and finish around the rim.
Just like he used to at UNLV. “Each and every day presents its own problems, its own opportunities,” said Hardy, who equaled his second highest scoring output of the season. “I went about it in a positive way, just uplifting my teammates and just staying positive throughout the whole season.”