Georgetown Hoyas Player Profiles: Bradley Hayes

Our award-winning Player Profiles Series continues today with a look at sophomore center Bradley Hayes.  When people bring up Bradley Hayes they will talk about one thing: potential. And it's hard not to, given his 7-0, 250 pound frame. That being said, Hayes is buried on the Hoyas depth chart, and can't be considered much more than a raw project at this point.

Last Season

2012-2013 Statistics (totals): 9 games played, 14 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 0.0 FG%, 7 fouls

Hayes played very sparingly last season for the Hoyas, as you likely inferred from the above statistics. He appeared only in the largest of Hoya blowouts, and even then the most minutes he recorded in a single game last season was 5. To say that Hayes did not get the opportunity to display his game is an understatement; John Caprio, a senior walk-on, more than doubled his total minutes on the season with 32. Considering that Georgetown has virtually the same frontcourt as last season, it would be foolish to expect a major jump in playing time this season.

Kenner League

Hayes' performance at the Kenner league this past summer was nothing to scoff at, but certainly nothing to get excited over either. Put simply: he is who we thought he was. Hayes demonstrated very little on the defensive end and did not display nearly the rebounding effectiveness one his size should. His footwork was pretty clumsy and his positioning on offense is still a major work in progress.

Thankfully Hayes spent the summer playing on the same Kenner League team as Jeff Green and Jonathon Wallace, both of whom prioritized helping the big man gain some confidence and hone his technical skills. Green fed him the ball down low a good amount, and although he disappointed more often than not, it's of note that his skyhook didn't look half bad and his offensive game actually showed some promise in the league's latter stages. He showed improvement from last summer's Kenner League performance, but it was not the jump many had been anticipating.

This Season

It's hard to expect much from Hayes this season on the Hilltop, as many factors simply aren't in his favor. As mentioned before there is a logjam in the frontcourt and Hayes has done little to make a name for himself.

One good thing for Hayes is that center Brandon Bolden transferred out of Georgetown and is now awaiting his chance to play at Kansas State. Then again, Bolden played 5 total minutes on the season, so the extent that this ends up benefiting Hayes likely won't be much, if at all.

If there is one thing that John Thompson has gotten much better about- much to the chagrin of Bradley Hayes- it's that he no longer feels the compulsion to distribute minutes to bench players. Not including Whittington, Thompson gave 640+ minutes to 6 players on the team last season, with the 7^th, Moses Ayegba, recording just 262 minutes. This does not bode well for Hayes considering Ayegba, Josh Smith, and Mikael Hopkins will get most of the time at center, the only position Hayes can play. Unless he makes a sudden, and unexpected, improvement, it's hard to imagine Hayes getting much playing time this season.

Best Case

Hayes experiences an unforeseen improvement in his game and earns playing time due to hard work at practice. He uses his big frame advantageously on offense and displays a knack for tipping in missed shots and grabbing offensive boards. He stars in garbage time against weaker teams earlier in the season and ends up seeing a bit of primetime action. He becomes a relatively consistent contributor from the bench as Thompson primes him for a bigger role next season.

Worst Case

The crowded frontcourt situation does not work out in Hayes' favor, as presumed, and he records an eerily similar season to last year statistically. He transfers at the end of the season due to a lack of playing time.