Four College Basketball Players with the Biggest Shoes to Fill in 2015-2016
Nigel Hayes (Forward), Wisconsin
Apr 6, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Nigel Hayes (10) shoots during the first half against the Duke Blue Devils in the 2015 NCAA Men
"“You watched that game,” Hayes said after scoring 13 points and grabbing just one rebound. “I’m nowhere near good enough to do anything but come back.”"
This was Hayes after the Badgers’ heartbreaking loss to Duke in the national championship. While I think he made the right choice in coming back, his reasoning may have been off. Many mock drafts had him going in the mid-to-late first round. That’s usually enough to lure a player out of college, but not for Hayes. With Kaminsky and Sam Dekker gone, Hayes gets the chance to be the star.
Between trolling fellow Wisconsin athletes on twitter, and diss-rap battles with teammates, Hayes has had a busy summer. But between all the fun, the always entertaining Hayes has spent plenty of time in the gym, and after failing to make the USA team for the Pan America games, he’s motivated.
He’s going to need all the motivation he can get. The aforementioned Kaminsky and Dekker were responsible were so much of Wisconsin’s offense, coming first and second in points per game and field goal percentage, and second and third among rotation players in offensive rating (shockingly, the team lead was Josh Gasser, with an absurd offensive rating of 138, which for comparison, was 20 points higher than Jahlil Okafor).
Hayes checked in right behind the Dekker-Kaminsky duo on most of those stats, but it’s going to be much more difficult now that he will be the one that the defense is keyed in on, not Kaminsky. Bronson Koenig will help where he can, but I’m not sold on him becoming a big scorer.
Hayes possesses an extremely versatile offensive game where he can score on a spot-up, out of the post, or in face-up situations. Put him on the free throw line, and he makes those at an efficient rate of 74%. He’ll extend the defense out to the three-point line, where he hit 40% of his shots. He was a model of consistency on the offensive side of the ball for the Badgers last season.
Unfortunately, they need him to be a bit more than consistent this season. He needs to be a star. Bo Ryan might be wise to run him out of the high post where he won’t be quite as susceptible to double teams, similar to what he did with Kaminsky. Hayes is also effective at the top of the key in Ryan’s swing offense, where he can utilize his rare quickness for a big man. Hayes posted a pretty good assist rate for a big man, 12%, and might even have some of the offense run through him. Seeing that Bo Ryan’s offense is notorious for spacing, I think Hayes will be fine regardless.
Next: The hero of the National Championship