Not the First, Hardy Leaving Washington for Portland State

Elijah Hardy, the first player to leave the University of Washington basketball team after it suffered through a disappointing 15-17 season, apparently will resurface at Portland State.

The point guard from Oakland, California, told the Seattle Times on Saturday that he will drop down a level and join the WCC program.

Hardy left the Huskies after two seasons, unable to make much headway as a Pac-10 player. He started just one game against Stanford in January, the first after fellow sophomore Quade Green was ruled academically ineligible.

However, the left-hander didn't have the offensive skills necessary to flourish in the Pac-12 with the Huskies and proved to be a disappointment.

Appearing in 25 games, Hardy shot just 29.2 percent from the floor and 15.2 percent from 3-point range. He averaged 1.9 points per game, finishing with a career-best 11 in his final outing in the Pac-12 tournament.

He entered the transfer almost immediately after the UW added two guards in Wichita State transfer Eric Stevenson and Northern Idaho College transfer Nate Pryor.

Hardy joins a handful of Washington players who left for Portland State, among them guard Brian Towne (1995), forward Jason Hartman (1996), center Anthony Washington (2004) and forward Phil Nelson (2007).

Washington and Nelson both ended up playing at Portland State for Ken Bone, who joined the Vikings as head coach (2005) after serving as a Husky assistant coach.

Hardy will have to sit out a season unless the NCAA provides a one-time transfer waiver, which is being considered by the governing body.