Perhaps it’s his Northwestern shirt or his purple and white basketball shoes. Or maybe it’s the recruiting trips that never quite seem to stop. Either way, you would be hard-pressed to find a man more dedicated to Northwestern than Tavaras Hardy.
A former Wildcat player himself, Hardy spent just a few years in the financial sector before returning to the place he calls home as an assistant coach. Now, as the associate head coach, he is not only seen as an outgoing, charismatic man, but also as head coach Bill Carmody’s likely successor. Hardy, just as outspoken in person as he is on Twitter, discussed this rumor and other pressing questions facing the ‘Cats as the 2012-2013 season approaches.
Last year came down to that Minnesota game, where do you go from there and what impact does that loss have on this season?
I think when you look at the year as a whole, we never think of it as coming down to one game. We think there are several games, both Michigans in overtime, the Purdue games that were close. As coaches [what] we try to push to our players is we gotta get better every day, every possession, every game. So we don’t think that that Minnesota game was the end all be all, but at the same time we have to look at all of those games and really get better at those end of game situations and realize that all the sums have to equal the whole, all the parts have to equal that. Once we get that squared away with practice, going hard every day, getting better at all of the little things, then we think that we’ll win those games down the stretch.
Could you talk a little bit more about Drew Crawford, about his role and his impact, now that [John] Shurna is gone?
I think Drew has always been sort of that silent assassin. He had the chance to play with [Michael] “Juice” Thompson, he had the chance to play with John Shurna. They’re different players, but both sort of the focal point of the team. Now he’s going to be the focal point. You can’t let one game affect the next. He’s gotta come out every game and prepare to be the best player on the floor. Once he gets that mentality down – which I think he has, he’s shown it so far this summer in the preseason – once he executes that in the game I think we’re going to go as far as he can take us.
Those new players, are there any that you think are going to step in right away and have a role?
As far as the new veterans, Jared Swopshire in particular, he gets what we’re trying to do, he has the talent that we need. He rebounds, he defends, he’s capable of scoring a few different ways. We’re gonna need his experience to help take us to that next level. Out of the freshmen, Alex Olah has been really good. I think Sanjay Lumpkin has [also] been really good for us, just being one of those glue guys. He can play with the veterans already. I don’t see him doing some of the things Drew Crawford did as a freshman offensively, but he can do a lot of different things that Drew couldn’t do as a freshman: rebounding, defending, the way he moves, [and] he can make open shots, too. So I think he’s going to have a chance to have a big freshman year.
What do you think it would mean to you, as an assistant coach, and to the players to be able to be the guys to make it to the tournament for the first time?
I think it’s huge. A lot of people have come here for that reason, and it’s gonna happen. I think we now have the type of depth that we’ve lacked in the past to make something like that happen. It’s gonna be huge, but once it happens now you’ve gotta move on to something else. What else do you [have]? It doesn’t bog our guys down. What we’re starting to push now is [to] forget the NCAA tournament as far as we’re recruiting, because we expect our 2013 class to not be the first class to put us into the tournament. We’re more or less selling the chance to compete for Big Ten championships year in and year out. That’s really what our program’s goals are. If we get to the point where we get over the hump, we’re gonna have the opportunity to take this program to a Duke-type level. Once they got over the hump, they became a national name year in and year out, and that’s what we want to do for Northwestern.
It’s been said in several different articles that you are the most-likely candidate to succeed [head coach Bill] Carmody. Is that your ultimate goal? How long are you willing to wait for that to happen? What would it take for that not to end up happening?
I try not to think about things from a personal standpoint in regards to targeting a job. As the associate head coach, my job is to assist Coach Carmody with everything that he needs and try to get this team to be as good as we possibly can make it. With that success of this team, good things will happen for everyone. Yes, my ultimate goal is to be a head coach, and I look forward to running my own program someday. But those things are on the back burner. My role is to help coach, and as long as coach wants to be here I plan to be here helping him, helping him get this thing right and winning a lot of games. Yes, I love Northwestern, so if one day the opportunity comes where I could be the head coach at Northwestern, whenever Coach Carmody decides to hang ‘em up and leave on a great note, I would love to do that. But at the same time, I know the only way you’re going to be rewarded is if you work hard for your current boss … and in the process everyone will be happy.
On Twitter, you’re very open about your political views [and] social views, and you don’t really hold anything back. What do you think your role is as a basketball coach [in that regard,] versus just as a citizen? Do you say anything to your players? And is there a line that you draw?
That’s funny, I haven’t even defined my own personal view of how I want to be seen on Twitter. If I tweet something about politics, it’s because I’m watching the debate. If I tweet something about the Ryder Cup, it’s because Luke Donald’s an alum and I’m watching the Ryder Cup. It’s more or less just freelance. I try to stay away from anything that’s extreme. But tweeting support for President Obama, who lives on my block basically … and supporting our current president, I don’t feel like that’s insulting to anyone. I try to stay away from talking policy, even though I’m a political science major. I don’t try to tweet my views, I don’t try to sway anyone’s opinion. I never talk politics to our players or anything like that. I’ve led the recruiting of two recent guys who are extremely conservative, and their families love me, and I love their families. It’s just one of those things. I don’t Twitter to push Northwestern or my views on Northwestern fans. I don’t even think I have enough followers that it’s even that big a deal. [Hardy had 767 as of Nov. 12.]
I’ve never really invested in Twitter like I used to do in Facebook. Three or four years ago, if I had been tweeting instead of status updating on Facebook, I’d probably have about 10,000 followers right now. I was much more active, but now … if I’m sitting at home and something funny happens I may make a comment. I’m not really trying to sway public opinion or upset the norm. I don’t use it for anything derogatory. It is a little bit of personal expression. I don’t mind tweeting about a hip-hop artist, because I like hip-hop. I don’t mind tweeting about President Obama, because I like President Obama. But never am I trying to be derogatory to anyone or any other’s beliefs.
Do you have any particular values, [from] how you were raised, anything you learned at Northwestern, that you still hold with you that affect how you coach or how you comport yourself?
When I think about myself and the things that made me a strong business man, made me a strong player, make me a strong coach, it is directly the values and experiences that I had [that shaped me]. Understanding people from all different backgrounds, I think, is my strongest trait. It directly translates in recruiting [and] in player management. Those things are what I pride myself in, and not just understanding them, but being respectful of people’s situations from all backgrounds and trying to make it so … they understand the culture of Northwestern.