Moving On From March Madness
March is about to get mad, just like it does every year at this time in college basketball, and for those that remember the 2010 tournament nobody had it madder than Gordon Hayward.
As a sophomore, Hayward led Butler University to the championship game and came inches from sinking a half-court shot at the buzzer that would’ve won that game. Nobody expected Butler to play so well, and while Hayward had been projected as a first-round pick all season long, nobody expected him to be selected in the top ten.
But both happened, and Hayward—now a rookie with the Utah Jazz—admitted he can’t believe how far he’s come over the course of the last year.
"I miss it," Hayward said about college basketball, "but I miss high school games as well. Any time you move on to the next level you miss the previous one, but I’m excited for my guys at Butler. Those guys are still my best friends, and I’m hoping for them to do well. It’s still really exciting."
While Butler heads into this year’s NCAA Tournament as an 8 seed—respectable considering they lost their best player to the NBA—Hayward and his Jazz struggle just to make the postseason. It’s been a bumpy season for Utah for a number of well-publicized reasons, but Hayward himself has had to adjust to a whole new role on a whole new level of basketball.
"All your life you’ve been the guy, and then you hit in the NBA and you’re back at the bottom of the totem pole. Everyone’s an All-Star. Everyone can play, so you have to try and do some other things—learn from the bench, support your teammates, and always be ready for when you do get in there. You just want to try and do your job."
Jazz head coach Ty Corbin has been impressed with Hayward this season, but said he’s still looking for more improvement.
{AUTHOR_BOX}"You want to see some growth in him," Corbin said. "He’s worked hard all year long, even when he wasn’t getting time on the floor, he was working on the practice floor before the games. Now it’s good to see him get some minutes and transfer some of that hard work into the game. I think we will continue to see growth from him."
Hayward himself admits he’s still trying to find himself offensively.
"You’ve got to stay aggressive and find your shots," he said. "You never know how long you’re going to be out there depending on what the scenario is, so when you get the ball in your hands you’ve got to do something positive with it."
"His reads and his feel for the game are getting better. Especially for a guy like him who’s used to having the ball in his hands to score, he can make plays for other guys just because of his versatility," Corbin added. "He’s learning how to share the ball with his teammates, plus putting the ball on the floor, taking the right shots, or penetrating at the right time to make a play in the lane."
Hayward will continue to find his way in the league while his old teammates gear up for another improbable run at the Final Four. It hasn’t been easy for this young man, but he’s incredibly upbeat about his burgeoning career. At the very least, he’s being paid to play ball. Sure, it’s hard, but he’s compensated more than appropriately for his hard work.
"It’s a lot of basketball games, and it’s a job. But at the same time, it’s really fun," Hayward said. "Being able to say I play basketball for a living is pretty cool, and it’s been everything I expected and even a little bit more."
In other words, it’s easy to miss the madness that March provides, but life goes on in a lot of good ways for young men as talented as Gordon Hayward. When the NCAA postseason ends, the NBA postseason begins. Hayward and the rest of his team just hope that they’re part of it when the time comes.
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