Just when we thought Chris Collins' staff at Northwestern was finalized, it appears to have taken a major hit. Jeff Goodman of ESPN reported on Wednesday that Georgetown has hired NU assistant Tavaras Hardy.
Georgetown has hired Northwestern assistant Tavaras Hardy, per sources. Quality pickup for JT3 and the Hoyas.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) June 5, 2013
[Also see: Great Move for Hardy, Georgetown is a Tough One for Northwestern]
Northwestern had no comment on the matter. A couple quick reactions:
First, the timing of this seems a bit odd. Hardy's fate was up in the air after Bill Carmody got fired, but he was re-hired by Collins and was already heavily involved with recruiting for this season.
Second, it's obviously a big blow to NU in both recruiting and player development. Hardy was the only carryover from the Carmody era, so he figured to help the transition go smoothly. He was also a favorite of a number of players on the team. From a recruiting standpoint, Hardy had a lot of contacts in Chicago and was involved with recruiting many current Chicago-area and Illinois targets. Collins' staff already has deep roots in Chicago, but losing Hardy will hurt. Right now, Collins technically has two openings on his staff, though NU is expected to announce the addition of former Philadelphia 76ers assistant Brian James soon. Will Collins' new hire be Chicago-centric like his other ones? Will this affect any players' decisions to stay at NU? The latter is unlikely, but there are a lot of questions to be answered in what is certain to be an interesting summer for NU basketball.