The Bronx Sports Column: Who's the Bronx's Best Point Guard? Dwight Hardy Makes His Case

Dwight Hardy, welcome to the conversation. (More on Hardy in this Bronxnet video above.)

Before this season, the question of who is the best current Bronx-bred point guard came down to two names: Villanova University senior Corey Fisher and Kemba Walker, a junior at the University of Connecticut.

After a highly productive three-year run mostly coming off the bench for Nova, Fisher, who attended New Jersey hoops powerhouse St. Patrick's Catholic School, etched his name in NYC street ball lore over the summer when he dropped 105 points in a summer league game.

A highly-touted McDonald's All-American out of Manhattan's Rice High School, Walker started the season in flames for the unranked Huskies, torching ranked foes Michigan St. and Kentucky during a preseason tournament and single-handedly putting UConn back on the national map.

Both play for top 10 teams and are worthy heirs to the point guard throne held in the past by Bronx legends like Rod Strickland and Kenny Satterfield. Both are more like so-called combo scoring guards than classic pass-first versions like Strickland, a Truman High alum who starred in the NBA.

But on Thursday night, JFK grad Dwight Hardy, the starting point guard for a resurgent St. John's team, forced his way into the conversation. On a nationally-televised ESPN game, Hardy outplayed Walker in Madison Square Garden on his way to 33 points. His performance carried the Red Storm to a convincing 89-72 victory and put St. John's in a position to possibly earn a NCAA tournament birth.

In the aftermath, Hardy told the Daily News: "I was just in a zone. When I'm in a zone, I just kind of black out. . . . The basket just keeps getting bigger and bigger."

Bronx News Roundup, Sept. 8

At a press conference announcing endorsements from Assemblyman Jose Rivera and Assemblywoman Carmen Arroyo, State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. said Eric Stevenson -- the candidate expected to take over Michael Benjamin's 79th Assembly District seat -- was intimidated into withdrawing his endorsement of Espada. Stevenson said he had no idea what Espada was talking about.

Planned Parenthood is now officially backing the primary opponents of both Espada (Gustavo Rivera), and his top Senate ally, Ruben Diaz Sr. (Charlie Ramos).

In his latest campaign finance filing, Espada said he spent $17,000 on produce that he's given out during his campaign. But the manager of Hunts Point Market, where Espada says he sent a $17,000 check to, said the market doesn't sell produce, it just leases space for produce vendors.

As we mentioned in yesterday's roundup, the apartment building generally considered the "birthplace of hip hop" will be purchased and renovated by a city-backed housing group.More here. And here.

Prosecutors have the defendants in the Riverdale synagogue bomb plot trial on tape testing out hand-held missile launchers. And reportedly getting really excited about them.

The Post's Bronx girls high school soccer preview says the Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy squad has become one of the top teams in the borough after two seasons of playing at the varsity level.