Vanquish the Foe is reporting that junior point guard Jashire Hardnett is leaving the BYU Basketball team and will seek a transfer for his final year of eligibility.
If true, the transfer is the latest in a long line of early exits from Dave Rose’s program and leaves the team without one of its most dependable ball handlers and role players.
In BYU’s first conference game last Thursday against Pacific, Hardnett’s ability to score in the paint and get to the foul line in the second half were key to the Cougars’ victory. He finished the night with seventeen points in twenty-one minutes of playing time.
In contrast, two nights later, Hardnett recorded five minutes of playing time, one turnover, and no other recorded statistics in BYU’s twenty-two point shelling at St. Mary’s.
Pierce reports that Hardnett was already planning a transfer after graduating from BYU in April, allowing him to play at the school of his choice at the beginning of the 2019-20 season.
If Hardnett leaves BYU early, then he is not eligible to play for another program for a year (similar to when Matt Carlino transferred to BYU), making an immediate transfer detrimental to both the Cougars and Hardnett. But by leaving the program before enrolling at BYU for the winter semester, he could still play the second half of next season for whatever team he lands with.
Losing Hardnett does not have the same impact on BYU as losing Elijah Bryant to Israeli pro ball, for example, but Hardnett’s transfer will significantly impact the Cougars’s on-court performance this season. The Cougars’ guard line, which was already thin, will basically become a three-man rotation of TJ Haws, Nick Emery, and McKay Cannon.
Plus, losing Hardnett in this manner could potentially affect how future African-American, non-Latter-day Saint recruits perceive Dave Rose and the program.
Furthermore, the transfer places additional scrutiny on Rose’s overall performance and ability to field a program capable of reaching the NCAA Tournament consistently.