In a matter of weeks, Eric Hayes will begin his Senior year at the University of Maryland.
It is rather hard to believe that Hayes already has 100 games in the books as a Terp. The 6’4, 184 lb guard has had an interesting career so-far.
In his Freshman year, Hayes made 11 starts, before Vasquez forced his way into the starting lineup. Vasquez needed mts, and with Mike Jones,and DJ Strawberry at the SG, and SF positions – Hayes was forced back to the bench.
In his Sophomore year, Hayes made 30 starts, mostly at the SG position.That MD team lacked shooters, so as the premier shooter on the team;Hayes was asked to play off the ball. In a lot of ways, Hayes responded to the challenge. He had 4.6 attempts from 3 per game, and made 39.6% ofhis attempts. For the season, he scored in double-figures 16 times.
By the end of that season though, Hayes was clearly playing with lowered confidence. Never known as one of the quicker Terps, Hayes was further limited athletically after suffering a badly sprained-ankle. That injury kept him out of 3 consecutive games, and caused him trouble on defense when he returned.
After the season, Hayes went and visited former Terp Steve Blake with the hope of raising his game. It was exactly the commitment for improvement you would expect from the son of a Coach.
In his Junior year, Hayes started the first 20 games before again moving to the bench for 14 of the last 15 games of the season. Even if Hayes was not starting games, he was typically on the court in crunch-time.
In-part this was due to his 87% career-mark from the Free-Throw line;but also due to Gary Williams’ confidence in Hayes to make the right-decision.
Playing in 4 mts less per game than he did as a Sophomore, Hayes increased his scoring from 9.9ppg, to 10.3ppg. He averaged 3.2 assists, 1.7 turnovers, 37.5% from 3, and 86.1% from the line. For the year, he scored in double-figures 21 times.
Vasquez was likely told by NBA teams that he is a 1 at the next-level. However, without Stephenson joining the starting line-up, Vasquez figures to again get most of his mts at the 2G position. This means you should again expect to see Hayes split-time with Bowie at the 1, for the 2009-10 season.
In the ACCT, Hayes averaged 17 points per-game in wins over NCST, Wake,and Duke. It was noticeable that Hayes had decided to drive and attack the rim, with the hope of scoring or going to the foul-line. As a PG, his main job will continue to be managing the game, and setting-up teammates like Vasquez, and Milbourne to score. If he regularly attack defenses and get to the line, Hayes could be in for a very productive Senior season.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.