Colorado Christian University offered Bayfield High School senior Preston Hardy everything he wanted in a basketball program – a family atmosphere with hard-working student-athletes at a school not too far from home.
All that and a scholarship, of course.
Hardy signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday at BHS, taking advantage of the early signing period to commit to the Cougars.
“I absolutely love the coaching staff. They talked to my family, sat us down and talked about what they believed in,” said Hardy, son of Garth and Monna Hardy. “I loved it. I see myself doing what they want. Their a bunch of kids who work hard, and they’re good kids. I work hard, and I’m a good kid; I take pride in that.”
Hardy, a 6-6 post, made the All-Intermountain League first team the last two seasons and was first-team Academic All-State his first three seasons.
He also has honed his game in the spring and summer the last three seasons playing Amateur Athletic Union basketball with the Colorado Chaos out of Denver and the Danny Granger D1 Ambassadors in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“We are thrilled to have Preston joining our basketball family here at CCU. Preston is a tremendous young man and fits in great with our team academically, athletically and as a person,” CCU head coach Kevin Lubbers said in an email provided to The Durango Herald. “We are excited for four great years and are confident that his best basketball days are ahead of him. We look forward to working with him on a daily basis as he develops on and off the court.”
Hardy chose Colorado Christian over the likes of Adams State, the University of Mary and Rhodes College because of a variety of factors ranging from the coaching staff to location.
He wanted to be in the Denver-Metro area and wanted to play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
“Ever since I was little I always said I wanted a solid Division II school up in Denver, near home, in Colorado,” Hardy said. “I’ve always wanted that; it came along, and I was definitely happy.”
The Wolverines’ basketball season will get rolling later this month.
It was important for Hardy to get his signing out of the way early, so he could focus on the season and his team instead of his recruitment.
“I just wanted to focus on my team here at the high school, basketball with my teammates,” Hardy said. “I didn’t want to have to focus on me and worrying about college and signing late. I just wanted to get everything out of the way now and be more organized.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
