Tavaras Hardy had to work on Sunday. Now in his first year as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech, the former Northwestern player and coach was busy escorting a Top 35 recruit around campus for an unofficial visit.
Before he left home for downtown Atlanta, however, Hardy made sure that he set his DVR for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. Like anyone else associated with the Northwestern basketball program, Sunday was a big day for Hardy. He was excited to see his alma mater and former team make the Big Dance for the first time in school history.
“I’m incredibly proud,” said Hardy. “I haven’t lost any of my passion for Northwestern.”
Even though he now wears navy-and-gold, there are very few people who gave more to the purple-and-white than Hardy. He played for the Wildcats from 1998-99 to 2001-02, and then came back to coach at Northwestern for seven seasons as an assistant to Bill Carmody from 2006-07 to 2012-13.
So it’s understandable that he was as giddy as any fan that the Wildcats earned a No. 8 seed in the NCAA field and a first-round matchup with Vanderbilt on Thursday in Salt Lake City.
“It’s incredible,” said Hardy. “The job Coach (Chris) Collins has done with his staff and the group of guys that they brought in, and the tremendous support they got for (athletic director) Dr. Jim Phillips and his staff and President (Morty) Schapiro.
“There was never a doubt in my mind that it was possible. We got close in my time there. It’s a credit to them that they were able to push through and make it happen.”
Northwestern did come close with Hardy on the bench as Carmody’s right-hand man and principal recruiter. The Wildcats won 20 games in both 2009-10 and 2010-11, setting the school record for single-season wins that wasn’t broken until this season. Hardy also coached teams that went 8-10 in Big Ten play, just one game below .500, in both 2008-09 and 2011-12. Another win or two and one of those teams could have stopped the most infamous streak in college basketball.
Hardy followed the Wildcats from afar this season. His duties at Georgia Tech didn’t allow him much time, but he followed the team online and made it a point to watch the team every chance he could.
“It’s huge for us,” said Hardy, referring to his family. “My wife (Billee) played (women’s basketball) there, my oldest daughter (Mariah) remembers living there, so it’s a family affair. We sit by the TV, screaming and yelling.”
Hardy also got a chance to see the Wildcats on film when he was preparing the Yellow Jackets to play Notre Dame, Penn State and Wake Forest, common opponents that the two schools shared. Hardy was impressed by the Wildcats as both a fan and a coach.
“They defend, they execute on offense, they’re tough, and they play with energy and teamwork. Those are the same things we are starting to build as coaches at Georgia Tech” he said. “They’re a tournament-worthy team. It’s a source of incredible pride for me.”
Hardy ranks as one of the best and most consistent players in Northwestern history. The power forward was a two-time All-Big Ten selection and a three-time team MVP who is still in the school’s all-time Top 10 in blocks, games, starts and minutes. He played two years for mercurial coach Kevin O’Neill and two years for Carmody, his future boss.
When Carmody’s staff was dismissed in 2013, Hardy was the only member of the previous staff that Collins invited to stay. After initially agreeing to remain in Evanston, Hardy decided to take a job at Georgetown under coach John Thompson III just two months later.
“I just needed a change of scenery,” he explained. “I made a career decision.”
Hardy thinks things worked out well on both sides of the equation. Northwestern, of course, enjoyed a magical ride to the Dance this season. Hardy got to the tournament in his second year as an assistant at Georgetown (the Hoyas won a game as a fourth-seed before losing in the Round of 32). He also points out that Carmody led Holy Cross to the NCAAs last season while former assistant Mitch Henderson will be there this season as the head coach at Princeton.
Hardy is currently working on a “ground up” rebuilding job at Georgia Tech, not unlike the one that Collins embarked on in 2013. The Yellow Jackets returned just one starter this season and many experts predicted that they wouldn’t win a single game in the ACC in head coach Josh Pastner’s first year.
Instead, they defied the odds, finishing 17-15 and winning 8 of 18 games in the conference, including wins over tournament teams North Carolina, Florida State and Notre Dame. As a result, Pastner claimed the ACC Coach of the Year award and the Jackets earned a first-round NIT matchup with Indiana.
Hardy still has a few ties to the NU program. He says he keeps in touch with Collins, as well as assistant Pat Baldwin. He coached starter Sanjay Lumpkin for one year before Collins arrived and was the principal recruiter for Nate Taphorn. He also recruited freshman Barret Benson when the coach was still at Georgetown.
Hardy said several times that he wasn’t surprised by the Wildcats’ success this year. Those two months he spent with Collins four years ago was enough for him to figure out that the first-time head coach from Duke would get Northwestern to the Promised Land.
“I learned a tremendous amount from Coach Collins,” said Hardy. “There was never a doubt in my mind.”
So then, does Hardy regret leaving Evanston, especially now that the Wildcats are the feel-good story of the tournament?
“No, not at all,” he said emphatically. “I have no regrets about leaving. I feel just as much a part of it as anyone.”
Given his history with the program, maybe he should feel a little more.
