December 22, 2021: (Mock Draft) -- Hardy has had a somewhat disappointing season for Ignite, scoring inefficiently, appearing disinterested defensively and often looking selfish with his approach. He looked to be building positive momentum earlier in the week with strong performances against Salt Lake City and in the opening game of the Showcase, before completely falling apart in an ugly blowout loss to Austin, reminding scouts of how poor he's looked for much thus far.
Hardy is shooting a dismal 40% from 2-point range and 27% from beyond the arc, while posting a negative assist to turnover ratio. He's struggled to generate good looks for himself this season, regularly freezes out teammates and has been a defensive liability for most of the season. NBA scouts in attendance questioned whether he has the quickness or feel to play the only style of basketball he seemingly knows. Others pointed out that his team strung together back-to-back wins and played much better when he and his teammate/brother Amauri Hardy were suspended for two games in Stockton due to a violation of COVID protocols.
While Hardy's chances of being a top-five pick like he was projected in the preseason are looking unlikely by the day, he still has time to solidify his candidacy as a top-10 pick. Luckily for him, few prospects have emerged in the college ranks and flashed the type of star-potential NBA teams look for in the mid to late lottery portions of the draft, putting him in a large group of prospects with major question marks. It will be interesting to see what type of adjustments Hardy makes as the season moves along, or whether he'll continue to play the type of empty-calorie, volume scoring style that's mostly been his M.O. thus far. -- Jonathan Givony
October 29, 2021: (G League Ignite preview) -- Standing 6-4 with a solid frame, a 6-9 wingspan and shooting range from half court, Hardy possesses a lot of the qualities teams look for in a modern NBA guard. Thirty-foot pull-ups and step-back 3s have never been more valuable, and few teenagers in the world are as advanced as Hardy in terms of off-the-dribble shooting. He has spent time training with Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, picking his brain about the importance of pace. He has been in the gym with Brooklyn Nets guard James Harden, studying his creativity, feel for the game, and how he maintains balance on his go-to moves. Sitting down for a 40-minute film session with the Detroit native, his self-belief is clear.
"I feel like I'm the best player in this class honestly," said Hardy, whose brother, Amauri Hardy, was also signed by the Ignite. "There's a lot of great players in this class -- Chet [Holmgren], Paolo [Banchero], those are my guys. I just feel like my game stands out more. I feel like my game translates better to this modern NBA."
With guards ranging from Bradley Beal to Lillard to Devin Booker all thriving, Hardy has a point. One year after winning Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior at Coronado High School, he averaged over 40 a game before opting out of his senior year in January after the season was canceled because of COVID-19. His team went on to play as prep school Air Nado. Hardy once went for 62 in a high school game. He dropped 46 against premier program Prolific Prep. Watching his high school tape, he regularly knocked down 3s from just inside half court while also proving to be strong off screens, dribble handoffs, and out of pick-and-roll, elevating in midrange or getting to the rim and finishing with creativity. Simply put, he was the best scorer in high school basketball.
Evaluating Hardy live for the first time in over two years, it didn't take long to realize his shooting stroke is his clear strength. Given his confidence, instincts and shooting touch, Hardy could rank among the G League's top-10 scorers this season, which we saw from Green as he averaged 18.7 points over 32.3 minutes in 16 games.
Hardy's debut pro season shouldn't come without its lumps, however, and he had his struggles in live action during my recent visit, understandable given his lack of experience at the FIBA level. If Hardy puts forth an inefficient, uneven season where he's only hunting his own shots, scouts might wonder if he's better suited for a bucket-getting role like a Jordan Poole, Jordan Clarkson, Cam Thomas or Anfernee Simons than the stars he models his game after, especially with highly touted prospects like Jabari Smith and Jalen Duren right behind him in our Top-100. -- Mike Schmitz
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