The NBA Combine will take place May 9-14 in Chicago and Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes will participate (again).
Starting in 2016, college players were able to participate in the NBA combine but maintain NCAA eligibility so long as they withdrew withdraw from the draft within 10 days of the Combine’s conclusion (and did not sign an agent). Wisconsin’s Nigel Hayes smartly put his name in and had a dry run through the process before returning to the Badgers for his senior season.
Hayes will be participating in the NBA Combine this year as well, but no longer has the option to return to Madison.
As Bleacher Report notes, the NBA Combine assesses physical composition (height, weight, body fat, hand size, wingspan, reach), athletic ability (jumping, bench press, quickness, sprints) and shooting ability. Hopefully for Hayes, the 2017 Combine will also measure reactions to flops.
Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes had the greatest reaction to an Oklahoma player's awful flop 😂 https://t.co/3QKtcfCMiahttps://t.co/O06OHJTPcy
— For The Win (@ForTheWin) December 4, 2016
Hays has the advantage of experience and production in four years in college. He has the disadvantage of four years in college. NBA teams seem to like taking players age 18-20 and molding the younger clay as opposed to picking a more finished product.
Hayes has an interesting statistical profile since he got serious playing time in all four seasons in Madison.
| Min/G | FG% | 3P% | FT% | Reb/G | Ast/G | Pts/G | |
| 2013-14 | 17.4 | 51% | N/A | 58.5% | 2.8 | .9 | 7.7 |
| 2014-15 | 33 | 49.7% | 39.6% | 74.4% | 6.2 | 2 | 12.4 |
| 2015-16 | 36.2 | 36.8% | 29.3% | 73.6% | 5.8 | 3 | 15.7 |
| 2016-17 | 32.4 | 45.7% | 31.4% | 58.7% | 6.6 | 2.7 | 14 |
- 438 Field Goal Attempts (133 3PA) in 2015-2016
- 394 Field Goal Attempts (70 3PA) in 2016-2017
Hayes’ first season he did not attempt a three pointer (3P) so his high water mark for shooting percentage was a product of all his attempts coming from in close. His sophomore season Hayes had a support role with Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, Traevon Jackson/Bronson Koenig leading the Badger offense, which gave him plenty of open looks. Hayes took full advantage posting his best shooting season unveiling a new shooting stroke and range. The junior season did not go as planned. But don’t take my word for it.
Nigel Hayes said he has been "playing like poop" of late. He and the Badgers can turn things… https://t.co/kJet9JmXle
— BadgerExtra (@BadgerExtra) January 9, 2016
Hayes too often forced the issue trying to replace Dekker, Kaminsky, Jackson, and Josh Gasser on his own. His shooting percentage wilted as a result. He also posted a career high average in minutes averaged per game which cannot be helpful with your shooting if your legs are heavier. This season Hayes showed his maturity and poise perhaps best exemplified by his winner against Villanova in the NCAA Tournament.
Hayes also had a dominant performance against Syracuse in the Big Ten/ACC challenge missing a triple double thanks to clanging the front end of the 1-And-1. Hayes carved up the Syracuse 2-3 zone playing traffic cop at the elbow making the correct read time and again.
Hayes definitely has the balanced game to succeed in the NBA. He may not be your dominant scorer, but not many players possess his combination of passing, rebounding, post game, and defensive effort. Demonstrating a shooting form closer to his sophomore approach will be critical for Hayes to demonstrate he has the offensive range to contribute from multiple positions on the floor especially in small ball lineups. He is a safe NBA prospect with a solid floor and a fairly fixed ceiling.