MONTICELLO – “To play great defense, you have to be an intensely focused and aggressive player who sees the game earlier than most. That allows you to be an actor rather than a reactor,” avers Golden State Warrior defensive standout Draymond Green, 2017 NBA Defensive Player of the Year and four-time NBA champion.

Were Green to have observed Monticello senior Dylan Hardy, he would surely have concurred that the Panther senior positioned himself as an elite high school defender. 

According to Max Preps, Hardy drew 38 charges in 21 games this year and 70 over the course of two seasons ranking him first in New York State and ninth in the country in charges/game. He grabbed 200 rebounds and scored 150 points while racking up 27 assists. 

As Monticello Coach Christopher Russo, New York State’s Coach of the Year adds, “He took more charges this year than most teams in the section. Who does that?”

All of this from an athlete who initially set out to play football. But the 6 foot-four-inch Hardy was introduced to basketball by his friend Demetrius Edwards in fifth grade. Hardy continued playing football, in which he stood out as the center until eighth grade. “I fell out of love with football and fell in love with basketball,” he recalls. 

That decision was a preamble to yet another riveting chapter in Monticello’s storied hoops history. It would come to delight his modified coach Harrison Larkin in 7th grade. Hardy played a second year in modified and then had Larkin again briefly as his JV Coach. 

As a freshman he moved up to varsity under Russo’s savvy tutelage. Over time he became a fan favorite of the enthusiastic crowd in “The Pit,” Monticello’s home court. A natural at power forward or center, Hardy possesses great quickness, instincts and footwork. 

“I love everything about defense: when you get those blocks, chase downs and charges. Those things get everybody hyped for the next possession on offense.”  

Asked what’s involved in taking charges, Hardy replies, “Mainly courage, because you know you’re going to get trucked, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.” 

Taking charges involves great reflexes and positioning. Hitting the floor as often as he does seems daunting, but Hardy downplays it somewhat.  

“There are a lot of flops and sometimes a bit of exaggeration, but overall, you get used to it.” 

Hardy had to step up this year after the graduation of standouts Pedro Rodriquez and Michael Mingo. Mingo had spoken to Hardy at the end of last year and said, “With us leaving, you’re going to have to be a leader along with Joe Russo and Demetrius Edwards. You have to be a strong rebounder and more aggressive.” 

Hardy understood. “I knew I could step up to the role as they passed the torch on to me.” 

Great defenders have to be extremely confident. They welcome the challenge of playing against great offensive players. Hardy revels in that calling. To turn this past season northward after a slow start, Hardy was instrumental in encouraging his teammates to believe that they could succeed just like last year’s team had rallied from a slow start to make sectionals. 

“I tried to encourage them to keep going and going, to keep pushing them so we could start closing out games and winning. There’s always that one person that stays positive no matter what and that’s what I try to do.” 

Monticello swept both Cornwall and Minisink Valley this season. They split with Port Jervis and Beacon but fell to Goshen twice with its trio of 6-foot-eight tall trees. They succumbed to Our Lady of Lourdes in the sectionals. 

“The game was going well for us early on, but things fell apart for us with a pair of technical fouls. I guess we started hanging our heads and they pulled away. For the younger guys it should be a learning experience.” 

Hardy is intent on playing at the next level. He has already been accepted at TC-3, Keystone, Delhi and Oneonta. The latter is his first choice and is awaiting further contact from the Red Dragons’ coaching staff. Hardy plans to major in criminal justice. 

Asked about what the greatest challenge on the court has been, Hardy quickly responds that it’s been keeping the team unity. “I struggle with that a lot. That was the most challenging thing I ever went through.” 

Hardy’s greatest moment came last year when Russo drew up a high screen for Hardy to enable Pedro Rodriguez to come flying down the court and get the and-one, winning the game and clinching a playoff berth against Cornwall. The crowd went crazy. Hardy prides himself on his defense and admits that scoring is not as important to him. 

“I’d just rather get the win.” 

On the other hand, rebounding is very important to Hardy. “I’m the one everybody looks to rebound. We didn’t have much height this year, so I was like the key rebounder.” 

Hardy lists the keys to rebounding as positioning, finding the ball and boxing out strong. 

Hardy’s mom Annmarie has been extremely supportive. “She’s always motivated me from a young age to keep my grades up and pushed me to do my best. Every time I made high honor roll she would reward me. Eventually, she stopped doing that, but I have continued to make high honor roll ever since my sophomore year.”

Coach Russo summed up Hardy’s role, character and performance. “Dylan was the anchor of our defense and one of the toughest players to wear the blue and white. His presence in the middle of the floor gave his teammates the confidence to be aggressive defensively. When you have a guy that willingly lays his body on the line, it automatically lifts the play of others. It takes a special kid with tremendous toughness to play that way, and he just went about his business day in and day out. 

“He never complained to an official, set screens for his teammates and let his play do the talking. He cared more about winning than any personal stat or achievement. Dylan is a leader on and off the court, does well in school, is a My Brother’s Keeper fellow (MBK), team captain and has a commanding presence in our huddle and locker room. I have been blessed to have some really talented players call me ‘coach’, and I am extremely grateful that Dylan has been one of them.”