At the corner of 156^th street and Courtlandt Avenue in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx stand seven, 16-story buildings, known collectively as the Andrew Jackson Houses. If you stand on that corner and look up, the solid, brick-faced structures will stare back, boxed in on their other sides by 158^th street to the North and Park Avenue to the West.

Within these government-owned projects live just over 2,500 people, nearly half of whom live below the poverty line. In the span of a month during the summer, six separate shootings occurred in the area. In November 2009, the FBI indicted 53 suspected members of the Blood gang in connection to an alleged drug ring being run out of the Jackson Houses.

This is the place St. John’s senior guard Dwight Hardy calls “home”.

Today, Hardy sits behind a long, tan table, taking questions at St. John’s Media Day. He is in full gameday attire: St. John’s home white uniform with red lettering, the number “12”, outlined in black, just below the school’s name. At the table alongside fellow senior Justin Brownlee, Hardy carries the silent yet confident air of a man in pursuit of his dream, not yet there, but well on his way.

The journey for Dwight Hardy began at John F. Kennedy High School in The Bronx where, as a senior, he averaged an impressive 39.0 points per game and sparked a good deal of interest in the metro area. Basketball became the escape for the young guard, trying to find his way in a neighborhood he describes as, “full of negativity”.

“I was a knucklehead in high school until I found basketball,” says Hardy of his high school days. “When I finally focused on playing ball, I knew I had to keep my grades up to be eligible.”

Coming out of high school, Hardy spent a short time at The Patterson School in Lenoir, NC before choosing to attend Indian Hills CC (IA), one of the top junior college programs in the country. Playing with good friend and current Marquette guard Dwight Buycks, Hardy played an integral part in a team that went 58-13 in his two seasons with the school. He finished his career at Indian Hills as both the single season and career leader in three point field goals.

His coach at Indian Hills, Jeff Kidder, spoke highly of him not only on the court, but off the court as well. “[Dwight] is a tremendous shooter and scorer…a great teammate and a great student,” Kidder said to SNY’s Adam Zagoria.

But, in contrast to the false perception that abounds when it comes to junior college competition, it is, in fact, great competition.

“Indian Hills made me a lot tougher as a player,” Hardy says of his time there. “And as a captain I learned a lot about being a leader.”

Last season, Hardy took his raw skills and lessons learned to St. John’s, where he averaged 10.5 points per game and was a three-point-shooting sparkplug off the bench for the Johnnies. The countless shots that rattled through on netless rims in the South Bronx are now falling under the brightest lights in the world, on basketball’s biggest stage, Madison Square Garden.

“Playing at St. John’s is the best chance I could ever ask for,” says Hardy with a palpable sense of sincerity.

This theme is one Hardy continually harps on when discussing the neighborhood in which he grew up. In what is statistically the poorest congressional district in the United States, it is considered a luxury to even attend a game at Madison Square Garden, let alone be the man who dropped 19 points on 5-7 shooting from long distance against Sweet 16-bound Cornell last season under the bright Garden lights.

In talking to him, it becomes clear rather quickly that the career of Dwight Hardy embodies more than just the fate of one man. From an environment where the outlook is many times bleak, (his high school, John F. Kennedy, has a graduation rate of 33%) the basketball journey of this blossoming guard has become the unified goal an entire neighborhood.

“Even though it’s a negative place, I keep pushing and I use it as motivation,” Hardy says. “I do it for anyone who has ever supported me and wants to see me succeed.”

Hardy understands that he has been blessed with a talent and an opportunity to which few are granted. But, unlike others, it does not manifest itself within him in the form of an unwarranted sense of entitlement. Instead, just as he appears as he sits behind this tan table here on Media Day, he is eternally humble and grateful for the positive people and influences in his life.

“I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have basketball,” says Hardy after pondering the question for a moment, shaking his head slightly as he answers. “I’ll put it this way: I would be somewhere I don’t want to be, I can promise you that.”

“I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have basketball. I’ll put it this way: I would be somewhere I don’t want to be, I can promise you that.” Dwight Hardy

But, still, more challenges lie ahead.

Now, moving into the 2010-2011 season and transitioning into the Steve Lavin era in Queens, Hardy’s role is shifting as well. For the majority of his career, he has been asked to play shooting guard, a position that highlights his incredible scoring ability and accuracy from distance. But, at 6’2” tall, he is more of a point guard in physical size. With this in mind, Coach Lavin has been working Hardy at the point guard position to use him as a back-up and shift in style from starter Malik Boothe.

“Point guard gives me a better chance to shoot off the dribble,” Hardy says of transitioning to a relatively unfamiliar position. “[The coaching staff] want[s] me to be aggressive at all times.”

If the Red Storm are to make a run in this, the final season for nine seniors on the roster, Hardy will have to play an important role. The instant offense that he provided off the bench last season could possibly be utilized more in the starting lineup this season. Coach Steve Lavin has already recognized the shooting and scoring ability that Hardy brings to the floor.

“Dwight Hardy is as good a shooter as I’ve ever coached,” Lavin says of the senior guard. “He reminds me of [current Miami Heat guard] Eddie House when he was at Arizona State. He is playmaking well for us.”

Within Coach Lavin’s new scheme, one that emphasizes a structured offense in the half-court, look for Hardy to get many opportunities for open looks at the basket from the shooting guard position. When running the point, he contrasts the more distribution-oriented Malik Boothe. It is this change in pace that could free up more scoring opportunities not only for Hardy, but for other players on the floor, as he provides a pure scoring option at the point guard position.

Hardy’s demeanor, relaxed but confident while taking questions, does not change as Media Day winds down.

With all he has accomplished thus far in his career, it is interesting to note the fact that at no point does he relish in the triumphs of the past. In what he says, there is no notion of self-congratulation. The way he portrays his accomplishments are more so as a fulfillment of potential as he should, rather than creating something for himself and presenting it as something he did. He gives thanks to those who put him in a position to succeed rather than glorifying himself for personally being successful.

It is this unselfishness that makes Hardy such a great teammate and makes his friends and family on Courtlandt Avenue proud.

“I just want to thank everybody back home who has supported me and I’m gonna try my best to make it.”

And, for as much as an NCAA appearance would mean in this, his final season, Hardy is on track to accomplish something even more valuable, as well: his graduation in Spring 2011, when he will walk across the stage, degree in hand. From that point forward, regardless of where basketball takes him, he will already have “made it”.