Butch Hays
Personal information | |
---|---|
Born | San Jose Jammers[4] | 16 September 1962
1991–1992 | Adelaide 36ers |
1993–1994 | Illawarra Hawks |
1995–1997 | Newcastle Falcons |
1998 | North Melbourne Giants |
1999–2000 | Newcastle Falcons |
2003 | Canberra Cannons |
2005–2015 | Maitland Mustangs |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
William "Butch" Hays (born 16 September 1962) is an American-Australian former professional basketball player who played most of his career in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) from 1991 to 2003.
Early life
Born in
Until high school, Hays and his friends would play street pick up games.
Several times we'd be playing pick up ball and if somebody didn't like a call that's made or they didn't like losing, they would pull out a gun. We would all scatter and jump over fences and under cars. But the street ball made you tough and made you play every shot. If you are playing pick up ball and you lose you may not get on the court again that day or it might take two or three hours before your turn comes up. So it was all about making the best of a moment and if your team was on the court you are playing to win.[citation needed]
School / college career
Butch Hays earned All-American honours while at St. Bernard High School and was awarded a scholarship with the University of California, Berkeley. After four years with the Golden Bears under the coaching of Dick Kuchen, Hays graduated as the Golden Bears' all-time leader in assists, though this record has since fallen to former teammate Kevin Johnson and, later, Jason Kidd.
Professional career
1984 NBA draft
After graduating from Cal Berkeley, Hays, a 193-centimetre (6 ft 4 in) point guard, nominated for the 1984 NBA draft and was a seventh round pick of the Chicago Bulls who that year also drafted a player from North Carolina named Michael Jordan. As draftees, Hays and Jordan roomed together and actually lived together before Hays was released from his contract.[5]
CBA
Hays landed in the Continental Basketball Association where in 1988 he signed with new team, the San Jose Jammers.
NBL
After two years with the Jammers, Hays was then signed for two years as an import player by the
Hays helped the Hawks to the quarter-finals in 1993 and 1994 before signing with his 3rd NBL team, the Newcastle Falcons from 1995.[7] He would spend 3 seasons in Newcastle, helping the Falcons to the playoffs in 1995, but missing the finals in 1996 and 1997.
In
During the 2002–03 NBL season, Hays suited up for four games for the NBL's Canberra Cannons before retiring (for the final time) from the NBL at the age of 41. He then returned to the Mustangs where he would play until calling time on his career at the age of 50 in 2012.[9][10]
Butch Hays played 232 NBL games, averaging 18.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.[11]
Honours and Accolades
Butch Hays finished his college basketball career in 1984 as the California Golden Bears all-time assists leader.
In 2015, former Adelaide 36ers teammate and NBL legend Mark Davis called Hays one of the smartest point guards he played with in his 17-year professional career.
During his career, Hays was known for his knee-high socks.
Current
Butch Hays currently lives in
Butch continues to play basketball in the Newcastle Premier League for local team the Hustlers, playing with fellow imports Terrell Turner and Waratah League MVP Mitch Rueter along with other ex-Waratah League, Newcastle Hunters and representative players.
He is now the CEO at SNAP Programs, which is a non-for-profit organisation that assists other organisations and families, in supporting both, young people and people with a disability, through a variety of different programs.
Butch also commentates for the Newcastle Falcons & Maitland Mustangs games on NBL1 broadcasts & live streams, and is regularly seen courtside at Sydney Kings games.
Butch was a key contributor in Argentina in 2023 to the Australian 60+ Bronze medal winning team at the World Maxibasketball Championships.
NBL career stats
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1991 | Adelaide 36ers | 30 | 30 | 42.4 | .542 | .551 | .821 | 4.5 | 9.0 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 24.6 |
1992 | Adelaide 36ers | 24 | 24 | 41.4 | .506 | .419 | .773 | 4.6 | 6.6 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 21.6 |
1993 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 28 | 45.6 | .483 | .309 | .774 | 4.5 | 6.2 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 18.3 |
1994 | Illawarra Hawks | 28 | 28 | 45.6 | .519 | .456 | .770 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 21.0 |
1995 | Newcastle Falcons | 29 | 29 | 44.7 | .472 | .422 | .778 | 5.6 | 7.1 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 20.2 |
1996 | Newcastle Falcons | 26 | 26 | 45.1 | .456 | .381 | .839 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
1997 | Newcastle Falcons | 30 | 30 | 42.9 | .473 | .366 | .781 | 4.2 | 5.1 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 17.8 |
1998 | North Melbourne Giants | 8 | 8 | 37.1 | .466 | .286 | .688 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 8.9 |
1998–99 | Newcastle Falcons | 25 | 25 | 28.8 | .459 | .337 | .758 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 10.8 |
2002–03 | Canberra Cannons | 4 | 0 | 11.4 | .250 | .200 | .600 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Career | 232 | 228 | 41.6 | .491 | .392 | .790 | 4.5 | 6.0 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 18.6 |
References
- ^ Rumsey, J (2007). A Sporting Rollercoaster: The History of Solent Stars Basketball Club. ISBN 9781471044564.
- ^ "Butch Hays, Game by Game Stats (1987-1988)".
- ^ "Molten BBL Team of the Year members".
- ^ "1989-90 San Jose Jammers minor league basketball Roster". statscrew.com. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
- ^ Butch Hays and Dave Simmons
- ^ NBL 1991 - Adelaide vs Illawarra
- ^ "Illawarra Hawks Legend Profile - Butch Hays". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-10.
- ^ andthefoul.net - Butch Hays
- ^ Mr Basketball calls time
- ^ Butch Hays - Waratah League stats
- ^ Butch Hays - NBL career stats
- ^ Sport star's son died train surfing, police believe
- ^ Butch Hays' son Griffin killed in train accident