Wilesia "Lele" Hardy (born September 6, 1988) is an American former professional basketball player. She won the Icelandic championship with Njarðvík in 2012, when she was also named Úrvalsdeild Playoffs MVP, and was named the Úrvalsdeild Foreign Player of the Year three years in a row, from 2012 to 2014. She won the Icelandic Basketball Cup with Njarðvík in 2012 and in 2014 with Haukar while also being named the Cup Finals MVP.

Lele Hardy
Hardy with Haukar in 2014
Personal information
Born (1988-09-06) September 6, 1988 (age 36)
Spartanburg, South Carolina
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Career information
High schoolSpartanburg
(Spartanburg, South Carolina)
CollegeClemson (2006–2010)
Playing career2010–2019
PositionForward
Number1, 11
Career history
As player:
2010–2011Nottingham Wildcats
2011–2013Njarðvík
2013–2015Haukar
2015–2017Vimpelin Veto
2017–2018Tapiolan Honka
2018–2019Haukar
As coach:
2012–2013Njarðvík
2018–2019Haukar (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
As player:

Hardy played three seasons in the Naisten Korisliiga, leading the league in scoring in 2016.

Professional career

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England

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Hardy's first professional stop was with the Nottingham Wildcats of the then top-tier English Women's Basketball League. She helped the club reach the English EBL semifinals and for the season she averaged 20,1 points and 10,3 rebounds.[1]

Iceland

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Hardy won the Icelandic national championship in 2012 with Njarðvík,[2] while also being named the playoffs MVP,[3] and the Icelandic cup two times; with Njarðvík in 2012[4] and Haukar in 2014.[5][6] She led the league in rebounds for four straight years (2012–2015) while leading the league in scoring for the 2013–2014 season.[7] She finished second in scoring in 2015[8] and third in 2012 and 2013.

Finland

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In August 2015, Hardy signed with Vimpelin Veto in the Finnish Naisten Korisliiga league.[9] In her first season she led the league in scoring with an average of 22,6 points per game.[10][11]

She spent the 2017–2018 season with Tapiolan Honka, helping the club finish second in the league.[12]

Return to Iceland

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On June 30, 2018, Hardy returned to Iceland and signed with Haukar as a player and assistant coach to Ólöf Helga Pálsdóttir.[12] In her first game back, Haukar lost in the Super Cup to Keflavík, 77–83, despite Hardy's 23 points.[13] On 20 February 2019, Haukar announced that Hardy would not finish the season with the team but would continue in her capacity as a coach for the junior teams. In 20 games she averaged 21.4 points, 14.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists.[14]

Career statistics

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College

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Lele Hardy Statistics at Clemson University
Year G FG FGA PCT 3FG 3FGA PCT FT FTA PCT REB AVG A TO B S MIN PTS AVG
2006–07 30 130 324 0.401 26 77 0.337 63 111 0.568 206 6.9 75 13 98 349 11.6
2007–08 31 103 304 0.339 10 60 0.167 56 83 0.675 220 7.1 105 13 83 272 8.8
2008–09 31 186 438 0.425 40 119 0.336 91 130 0.700 261 8.4 94 12 106 503 16.2
2009–10 31 158 468 0.338 40 152 0.263 91 141 0.645 246 7.9 66 19 111 447 14.4
Totals 123 577 1534 0.376 116 408 0.284 301 465 0.647 933 7.6 340 57 398 1571 12.8

Naisten Korisliiga

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG PIR
2015–2016 Vimpelin Veto 15 35.3 .468 .257 .693 11.9 3.8 3.9 0.7 22.6
2016–2017 Vimpelin Veto 27 32.6 .439 .214 .620 9.6 5.4 3.1 0.3 17.8
2017–2018 Tapiolan Honka 33 31.5 .404 .274 .662 13.6 3.7 2.8 0.5 15.1

Notes

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  1. ^ "Regeneracomsports.com (FIBA & WNBA Player Agency)". Regeneracom Sports.
  2. ^ Njarðvík Íslandsmeistari 2012
  3. ^ "Lele Hardy verðmætasti leikmaður úrslitakeppninnar". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). April 14, 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  4. ^ Njarðvík bikarmeistari kvenna 2012
  5. ^ Rúnarsson, Daníel (February 22, 2014). "Ingi Þór: Hardy væri með betri Könum í karladeildinni". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  6. ^ "Haukar bikarmeistarar – Hardy með 44 stig". www.mbl.is.
  7. ^ "Tölfræði 2013–2014".[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Tölfræði 2014–2015".[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Sigurðsson, Skúli. "Lele Hardy til Finnlands". Karfan.is.
  10. ^ "Player statistics". Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
  11. ^ "LeLe Hardy spilar í Finnlandi í vetur". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). August 26, 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Lele Hardy snýr aftur!". karfan.is (in Icelandic). 30 June 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  13. ^ Ólafur Þór Jónsson (30 September 2018). "Keflavík meistari meistaranna annað árið í röð". Karfan.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  14. ^ Ástrós Ýr Eggertsdóttir (20 February 2019). "Lele Hardy spilar ekki meira með Haukum". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 20 February 2019.
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