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Gordon Hayward, Rising Sophomore 6-8 Butler


Another extremely well-rounded prospect who is bound to become one of this team's leading players, Gordon Hayward acquainted himself quite well to the NBA talent evaluators in attendance who had not yet penciled in the Horizon League as a legitimate scouting destination.
Strictly a wing player, despite standing 6-8, Hayward showed a very polished game on the offensive end of the floor. He's first and foremost a terrific shooter, knocking down an incredible 45% of his 3-pointers as a freshman on nearly five attempts per game, which helped him rank in the top-10 in true shooting percentage amongst all NCAA prospects. He sports a quick, effortless stroke, being absolutely automatic with his feet set, but also looking very comfortable stepping back and pulling up off the dribble, particularly after a shot-fake.

Not particularly explosive, Hayward relies on his terrific smarts and excellent array of jab-steps and shot-fakes to keep his man off balance and create space to get his shot off. He does a great job of selling his moves and has terrific credibility thanks to how deadly a shooter he is. Once he gets past his defender, he's very adept at finding the open man, looking extremely polished with a high basketball IQ, even being capable of playing some pick and roll, which is somewhat of a rarity at his size.

One NCAA coach in attendance didn't seem to be too surprised by what Hayward was showing. "He's the best player we played all year," raved incoming Arizona head coach Sean Miller. His Xavier team only lost two out of conference games last season, to Duke and Butler.

Hayward's flaws revolve mostly around his average physical profile, not being particularly strong or overwhelmingly athletic. Mostly used as a mismatch nightmare as a face-up power forward, he struggled keeping power forwards off the block, being posted up and pushed around. His lateral quickness is average, and there will be question marks regarding his ability to guard some of the more explosive small forwards he'll have to match up with at his position in the NBA. With that said, he is a very crafty defender, using his length really well to come up with blocks and steals and also contributing significantly as a rebounder. Offensively, he struggled to create his own shot at times in pure one-on-one situations, as his first step is not all that great if his matchup does not bite on his initial move.

Hayward showed at these tryouts that he could have played for any school in America, and he's certainly a prospect NBA teams will have to keep tabs on. With Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack (who also fared well here in Colorado Springs), Butler looks like a sure-fire top-25 team next year and a very legit candidate to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.