Hardy was born in San Diego. His father, Andre Hardy, was a running back who played in the NFL from 1984 to 1987. Hardy played basketball at St. Augustine High School in San Diego. While an all-state and all-county player, Hardy did not earn GPA and SAT scores high enough for NCAA eligibility. Thus, his family decided to have Hardy miss one credit for graduation from St. Augustine and transfer to the New Hampton School.[1] Although Hardy committed to the University of San Francisco while at New Hampton, the university ultimately did not admit Hardy, so Hardy enrolled at Oral Roberts University the summer after graduating from New Hampton in 2007.[1]
With the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles, Hardy averaged 4.1 points and 3.6 rebounds as a freshman in 2007–08. That season, Oral Roberts won the Summit League tournament and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.[2] Hardy then averaged and 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds as a sophomore in 2008–09.[3]
He then transferred to Cal State Fullerton and sat out the 2009–10 season per NCAA transfer rules. Hardy missed the first 12 games of the season due to ankle surgery but led the team in rebounding with 8.5 per game, in addition to averaging 10.6 points per game.[2][3] Hardy was elected Big West Newcomer of the Year by conference coaches.[2] As a senior, Hardy averaged 4.9 points and 4.5 rebounds; he left the team in January 2012 for personal reasons.[3][4][5]
