Michigan State basketball showing interest in UNLV transfer Amauri Hardy

A day after entering the NCAA transfer portal, Amauri Hardy has heard from a host of coaches including Tom Izzo and Michigan State basketball.

Amauri Hardy grew up in the Detroit area, going to high school at North Farmington, but Tom Izzo never truly went all-in on his recruitment. He was a mid-rated three-star prospect, ranked the No. 228 overall player and 43rd-best point guard in the nation.

But Izzo could get another chance at landing the talented point guard who chose UNLV and spent his last three seasons with the Rebels.

Hardy had an impressive career with UNLV, averaging 13.1 points and 3.5 assists as a sophomore and 14.5 points and 3.3 assists as a junior. He’s set to graduate this summer and become a grad transfer, immediately eligible at the next program he chooses.

And Michigan State is making a push.

That’s a lot of schools to have reached out in the past 24 hours, but Michigan State has a connection due to where he grew up and familiarity with the program and state. Also, the fact that the Spartans need a point guard to help ease the loss of Cassius Winston in 2020-21 could be a pull factor for a potential transfer.

Whoever MSU lands could start alongside Rocket Watts and the two could share point guard duties. Either that, or he could act as a sixth man and get quality minutes as the backup point and still play 20-25 minutes per game.

Hardy showed the ability to play major minutes for the Rebels, averaging 30 minutes per game as a sophomore and 35 as a junior.

While his shooting numbers could all improve, he is an experienced point guard with Michigan ties who could run the offense in any sort of capacity.

Also, landing him could put Michigan State in the race with his brother Jaden Hardy, a five-star combo guard from Nevada in the 2021 class. But since their time in the program wouldn’t overlap, it wouldn’t be a deciding factor for the younger brother.