Prospect Watch: Dominique Hardimon (2019)
Class of 2019 forward Dominique Hardimon of Poplar Bluff brings hard work to a whole new level every time he steps on to the court.
The 6’3″ Hardimon epitomizes the adage “it’s not how big you are, it’s how big you play.” He has been an undersized warrior throughout his career, but he has made it a habit of outworking the opposition with his high motor and ever evolving skill set. The bigger the player he faces, the more Hardimon embraces the challenge and he comes out ahead more often that not.
“I love the challenge of playing against bigger people,” he said. “I feel I have to work harder to get where I want to be as I move on to the next level in college.”
Hardimon’s hard work paid off in a big way during his junior year in 2018 when he led the Mules to the championship of their own Christmas Tournament in late December against a talented field of teams. A couple of months later, Hardimon led Poplar Bluff to the Class 5, District 1 championship. They nearly pulled off a big upset in the sectionals against Hazelwood Central, losing 66-64 in the final seconds.
“It was exciting to win a district championship last year because we haven’t won it in a long time,” he said. “We want to get back to the same game this year and hopefully go further in the state tournament.”
As a junior, Hardimon averaged 19 points and nine rebounds a game. He has been putting those type of numbers consistently since his freshman year at South Pemiscot. He is a strong finisher around the basket and an excellent offensive rebounder. He is also a big matchup problem on offense with his physical drives to the basket and strong finishes. His ball handling has also improved and he is also starting to knock down perimeter jumpers, which makes him even tougher to guard.
“I’ve really worked hard on my jump shot and my dribbling,” he said. “It’s become harder to guard me because they can’t just play me to drive all of the time. I can shoot from the outside, which also adds to my game.”
Hardimon enjoyed an excellent summer playing for Victory Ministry. He was selected to the Prep Hoops Missouri 17U All-State Grassroots Team.