Hayward embraces spotlight
Butler star has knack for making biggest plays
INDIANAPOLIS – Gordon Hayward has always embraced the big stage.
Whether it’s rapping on YouTube, winning a state title on a buzzer-beating shot or making a steal to preserve an NCAA tournament victory, it’s hard to miss the 6-foot-9 Butler sophomore.
He’s not just a forward, he’s a point forward. He’s not just a basketball player, he’s an academic All-American. And the Bulldogs are not just another midmajor powerhouse, they are a Final Four team with a chance to win it all at home.
“It’s been kind of crazy … real, real intense here,” Hayward said Tuesday, three days after the Bulldogs clinched the school’s first regional title. “People are always talking about it, and it feels like that’s all people are talking about.”
Of course. It’s the Bulldogs’ most significant basketball achievement since the 1920s.
The school that has always been overshadowed by Indiana, Purdue and Notre Dame, has suddenly become the new darling in a state steeped in basketball tradition. Reporters from coast-to-coast are converging on the 4,500-student campus to get a glimpse of historic Hinkle Fieldhouse and their new star.
Most know that without Hayward’s 22 points against second-seeded Kansas State, Butler probably wouldn’t be getting ready for Saturday’s national semifinal game against Michigan State about 5 miles from campus.
People forget, though, that without Hayward’s heads-up defensive adjustment against Murray State, the Bulldogs may not have even won their second-round game. Hayward sealed it when he started to trap a Murray State guard near midcourt, then backed off and dove into a passing lane. The deflection sent the ball into the backcourt, running out the clock on a 54-52 victory.
“I was trying to substitute (Shawn) Vanzant for Matt (Howard) so we could switch everyone, but we missed the free throw,” coach Brad Stevens said. “They made a hook pass toward half-court and their best shooter cut across the baseline and Howard left his man and took away that pass. Then Gordon said, ‘I’m leaving a guy who was not making any shots.’ It was smart. It was double smart. Those are our two academic All-Americans, so don’t leave home without them.”
It’s not the first time Hayward has come up big.
Two years ago, in the Indiana 4A state championship game, the Brownsburg center caught a long inbound pass, turned and connected on a short buzzer-beating jumper to knock off longtime power Marion 40-39.
Hayward hasn’t let his teammates forget and they can still watch the replay, like his rap song, on You Tube.
“I like to wear my Brownsburg state champs shirt because Ron (Nored) lost in the finals, just give him so much grief on that,” he joked.
Nored and the Bulldogs will gladly take it, given what Hayward has done for this program.
He’s the kind of player a disciplined program like Butler isn’t supposed to get – a naturally gifted talented player who can do anything on the court.
Hayward started out like all those other Indiana kids, dreaming of playing in the Big Ten. But when he visited Purdue’s campus, something didn’t feel right. So he decided to stay closer to home, closer to his family and closer to the way he thought basketball should be played.
“If I was supposed to go there (Purdue), I remember thinking my feelings would have been different,” Hayward said. “I think in my heart, I knew this is where I should be.”
Things have worked out even better than anticipated.