That man did it again at the weekend, effortlessly putting his imprint on the Milton Keynes Lions during an 88-71 win for the Leicester Riders during which he racked up 20/12/8 with seven steals.

First year pro, Ayron Hardy, has taken to the professional game like a duck to water. And like the proverbial duck, Hardy glides by onlookers without drawing too much attention. At least until you look at the box score and see that the quietly spoken Hardy has wreaked havoc on the opposition and is on the verge of a triple-double. Or as was the case on Saturday, not far from a quadruple-double:

“I didn't know until the end of the game..” said a slightly taken aback Hardy, “...Coach told me I almost had a triple double,”

“We practice real hard. We've already simulated the game in practice so when it comes to the game it comes easy to us.”

Read that quote and then read it again. At no point does Hardy talk about his own brilliance on the floor, preferring instead to credit his coach and talk about the team.

I guess that would probably explain the following exchange with Hardy..

Me: “Do you know you were approaching a QUADRUPLE-DOUBLE?!”

Hardy: “As long as we win in the end, it's good with me.”

The Riders starting small forward has been in such dominating form this season that his own team-mates have started the #GoHardyorgohome MVP campaign on social media site, Twitter. Having your team-mates publicly back you for MVP whilst privately singing your praises is something very rare in the competitive world of sport.

But I guess that sums up Hardy beautifully: A rare basketball talent and an even rarer person.

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Keith Firmin is a freelance journalist who reports for the Leicester Riders and can be contacted at: Keith@leicesterriders.co.uk