Making his next move
Quamauri Hardy’s story is not one of five-star recruiting hype, scholarship offers too numerous to count and instant stardom.
It’s one of hard work, persistence and capitalizing on opportunities.
Hardy played three years on the varsity basketball team at Hoover High School from 2012-14, guiding the Bucs to the playoffs all three years. One of those playoff runs included a Final Four appearance during his sophomore year, where he provided a scoring punch off the bench.
Early postseason losses the next two years followed, leaving a slightly bitter taste in Hardy’s mouth. During his junior campaign, the Bucs rose to the No. 1 ranking in Class 6A, but lost in the regional round. In a bit of a rebuilding year in 2014, Hardy took on the role of leading scorer, and the team reached the sub-regional round.
Hardy said he got down on himself early in his senior season, but by the end of the year, the team got better and was “really good” heading into postseason play.
But after high school, Hardy was unsure of where to turn to continue his career on the hardwood. High Point and Furman were interested,but never pulled the trigger on a scholarship offer. The University of Alabama in Huntsville extended a scholarship offer, but the likelihood of sitting out a year before playing wasn’t ideal.
“When I decided not to go to UAH, I almost quit basketball and went to Alabama to be a student,” Hardy said. “But I told my mom I could not see myself going to school as a student and me just watching everybody else play sports and be happy.”
With that declaration, he went another route and attended the Elev8 Sports Institute prep school in Delray Beach, Florida, for a year before deciding to accept a basketball scholarship from Marion Military Institute. MMI offered Hardy in high school, but he chose not to pursue that route at the time. Even after Hardy’s initial snub, coach Philip Stitt and the Tigers were still waiting on him.
“They were there the whole time,” Hardy said.
In his freshman year at MMI, Hardy was the backup point guard and one of the Tigers’ top bench options in one of MMI’s best seasons in school history. The Tigers won the Alabama Community College Conference championship and advanced to the national tournament.
Hardy made the best of his chances and started all 24 games last season as a sophomore, averaging 13.9 points and 3.3 assists per game. At the end of his run at MMI, he sat with offers from Alabama A&M, Alabama State and New Mexico State. Then, a connection between coaches got him an offer from the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
He was sold on UAPB when he took a visit and felt the same vibe around Golden Lions head coach George Ivory as he did around other “inspirational” coaches in his life: Charles Burkett at Hoover and Darrell Barber at Midfield, with whom he trains when he’s in town.
Throw in Stitt’s influence on Hardy as well, and those four men have played a significant part in Hardy’s future plans, which include obtaining a degree in secondary education with the hopes of being a high school or college basketball coach someday.
Leadership and confidence are among the traits Hardy has picked up from his previous coaches, along with the importance of helping others in all aspects of life, something he has put into practice the past two summers while working as a part-time summer camp counselor at the YMCA.
“If I could help people and play basketball for free, I would do that,” Hardy said. “I love helping people and making others happy. If they’re happy, I’m happy.”