Sudden Impact: Freshman Hayes quickly becoming vital piece
December 17, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 17, 2013
MADISON, Wis. -- Since the start of his freshman season, Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes has seen his appetite grow for M & M's - or at least for what he called the two M's - the Mechanics & Mental preparation that goes into personal growth. "It's usually one of those two," Hayes said, "which affect shooters."
In particular, he had targeted his own free throw shooting, a source of early concern for Hayes who missed eight of his first 12. After getting "hot" - converting six of his next nine - he was still shooting just 47 percent (10-of-21) going into the Eastern Kentucky game. He was only 5-of-13 (.385) at the Kohl Center.
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"It was terrible," conceded Hayes who shot 72 percent as a high school senior in Toledo, Ohio.
After identifying a flaw in his mechanics - "It was the way I was bringing the ball up; my elbow was not getting under the ball" - Hayes went to work on correcting his form which meant, he said, getting in the practice gym "every day, every night, in-between classes, whenever I got a chance."
The Badgers had an early wake-up call and 7:30 shootaround the morning of the Eastern Kentucky game; a rare noon tipoff. "We had a great warm-up in the morning and I worked on it then," Hayes said of his free throw stroke, "and it paid dividends during the game."
Hayes had not attempted a free throw in the three previous games combined (Virginia, Marquette and Milwaukee). The last time that he was on the line was Nov. 27 in Mexico where the Badgers beat West Virginia in the second game of the Cancun Challenge. He made both of his attempts.
Hayes had an inkling that he could draw some fouls against Eastern Kentucky after UW coach Bo Ryan went over the scouting report on the aggressiveness of the Colonels who had the second most steals (111) in the country and were turning over their opponents on the average of 18 times per game.
"Coach Ryan told us that because of the type of defense they play, they will foul a lot with all the reaching they do and in trying to get all the steals they do," Hayes said. "It would be just up to us to take care of the ball, be strong and when we do get there (the free throw line), convert."
Hayes did exactly that by making 13 of 17 free throws; the most attempts by a UW player since January of 2011 when Jordan Taylor had 18 against Illinois. (The school record is 24 set by Paul Morrow in 1953). On the strength of his free throw shooting, Hayes finished with a season-high 17 points.
"The guys have been getting on me constantly that I need to be more aggressive and take more shots and get to the rim more," said Hayes whose previous high was eight points against Florida. "I like to pass but sometimes I'll try to throw an extra pass and that usually turns into a turnover."
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One such shuffle pass in the first half resulted in a steal by Eastern Kentucky's Timmy Knipp and led to a transition basket for the Colonels. "He made the one pass that drives coaches crazy," Ryan said.
Explaining his decision, Hayes noted, "Sam (Dekker) was cutting baseline and he was wide open and I tried to throw it around the guy (Knipp). I usually make that pass nine times out of 10."
On learning his lesson, he also said, "Against defensive teams like this, where their hands are always in the passing lane and they're very active with quick feet, I have to make more precise passes."
Hayes had another turnover in the second half on an errant pass - one that he airmailed from the right short corner over Ryan and the Wisconsin bench and into the first row of the seating area.
"Coach Ryan once told us the story about how he shot from the sidelines during one of his games (at Wilkes College) and I just wanted to see if that was true," Hayes teased.
"That one just got away from me. As soon as I looked, I saw Ben (Brust) waving his hands - I knew Ben was hot from 3 - and I just wanted to get him another shot. Bad pass by me."
Hayes refused to give himself a pass - when asked to evaluate his freshman year to this point. "I feel like I've played sub-par," he said candidly. "The coaches recruited me to come here and make a big impact and contribute right away. I've been doing it in spurts. But I need to be way more consistent."
Prior to the Eastern Kentucky game, UW associate head coach Greg Gard talked about the jump that Hayes had made on defense as far as "understanding angles in defending the post" and "when to try and get it around and when not." The same applied to exchanges on ball screens.
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| "The coaches recruited me to come here and make a big impact and contribute right away. I've been doing it in spurts. But I need to be way more consistent." |
"Offensively," Gard said, "he has to continue to get a better feel of when to attack. He's gotten called for a couple of travels here recently with his spin move along the baseline. That's more technique and balance and getting his feet wider than the rest of his body so he can play off contact that way.
"He's a much better offensive player than what he has shown so far. But it's just part of being a younger post player who's trying to do everything right on the other end of the floor knowing that defense and rebounding are crucial in terms of what we need done."
Wisconsin assistant coach Lamont Paris recalled watching Hayes expand his offensive game to include some 3-point shooting during his senior year at Whitmer High School in Toledo. "He had an unbelievable year shooting the ball from the perimeter," Paris said.
Added Gard, "I think we'd like to have his offensive game continue to take steps forward. A lot of that is just confidence-driven in understanding when he's open on the perimeter from 15 to 17 feet and that it's Ok to shoot the ball and not be hesitant with it."
Not that the Badgers are advocating that Hayes stray from the paint. It's just that he can still develop some other dimensions to his offense. "The physical tools and ability are there," Paris said. "His feel for the game is there; his passing is there; and he has a knack for getting the ball to the rim."
He has something else that is very important to growth.
"He learns," Paris said. "He's a good learner, a quick learner."
He also has something else going for him.
"He's a hard worker," said Paris. "He played football in high school and he used to come in at 6 in the morning (to the gym) and do his basketball stuff then go to football practice after school. That's part of the reason why he got so much better."
Looking back on that routine, the challenge of balancing his participation in both sports, Hayes said wistfully, "My biggest regret in high school is not playing football my senior year."
Instead, he opted to focus on basketball. Hayes definitely stood out in football as a 6-7 wide receiver. Not that his height made him special; not, of course, when there was a "fellow named LeBron" from Akron that stood even taller, Hayes said. LeBron James also gave up football after his junior year.
Few, if any, Hayes acknowledged, could measure up to Kentucky's 7-foot basketball center Willie Cauley-Stein who caught 57 passes for over 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns while playing wide receiver for his high school football team in Kansas.
"It makes you a lot tougher and not afraid of contact," Hayes said of the benefits of having played football as a prep athlete, especially from the standpoint of "initiating contact on the court." It was something that he did with astonishing frequency while drawing fouls against Eastern Kentucky.
"It was a good springboard," he said eyeing the final nonconference game against Prairie View A&M (Dec. 28) and the opening of the Big Ten season Jan. 2. "It's a good boost for my confidence. Like I said earlier, working on the two M's, the mechanics and the mental part, have helped me out."
