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    Then & Now: Carl Hayes

    Then & Now: Carl Hayes

    Compiled By Dave Brandon

    (Photo Courtesy NU Media Relations)

    Carl%20Hayes.jpgCarl

    Hayes played at Nebraska from 1990-1992, and is tied for

    twentieth on the Nebraska all-time scoring list (1,136

    points) with his former high school and college teammate

    Clifford Scales. While at Nebraska, the 6’9” Hayes was

    also a two-time honorable mention All-Big 8 player, and

    was a starter on the two teams that earned back to back

    NCAA appearances in 1991 and 1992. 

    Hayes

    recently talked with HHC as the latest installment of

    "Then & Now”, as we continue to honor the 1990-1991 team

    he was a part of.

    HHC: Thanks for talking with us.

    CH: No problem man, I’ve been looking forward to

    this!

    HHC: As have

    we. Talk about what brought you to Nebraska in 1988. Was

    your former high school teammate Clifford Scales the

    biggest recruiting tool, or was there more to your

    decision than that?

    CH: Yeah,

    Cliff Scales played a big part in me coming to Nebraska,

    as did (Assistant Coach) Gary Bargen. Bargen pretty much

    recruited me. Well, him and (Assistant Coach) Lynn

    Mitchem. But yeah, Cliff and I went to high school

    together, so that played a major part. Either I was

    going to go there (Nebraska) or Colorado, because I had

    another teammate who went to Boulder. So, I didn’t want

    to go 500 miles away from home without knowing someone.

    HHC: To refresh our readers, talk about

    what kind of player Carl Hayes was, as far as individual

    strengths, and what you brought to the team?

    CH: My

    strengths were that I was a slasher. When I came to

    Nebraska, I didn’t really have a major position, but was

    just more of a 2/3 guy. And then Danny used me at the 4

    my senior year when all the big guys were gone.

    HHC: You redshirted your first year at

    Nebraska in 1988-1989. What was that like?

    CH: It was rough, because we were losing

    and I wasn’t able to help the team. I don’t think it

    helped my development a lot, because I wasn’t really

    around the team like I wanted to be, and I kind of

    slacked off and wasn’t focused like I should have been.

    HHC: Your

    first season in 1989-1990 was a tough one, as you guys

    finished 10-18. How tough was that year?

    CH: It was

    that bad, 10-18?

    HHC: Yes sir.

    CH: (Laughs) Ah man, I at least thought it was

    12-18 (Laughs). We were terrible, huh? (Laughs). Well

    that year, Beau Reid got hurt, which in hindsight,

    actually kept me at Nebraska. There was no way I was

    going to offset him and start in front of him, so that

    injury kept me in Lincoln. But we were young and it was

    a developmental year.

    HHC: What did

    you do that summer to prepare for the magical year that

    would be 1990-1991?

    CH: That

    off-season, I went to the Big 8 All-Star team, and I got

    a little experience there playing with that team. Then I

    came back to Chicago and played summer ball with Tim

    Hardaway and some other guys, and I think the other guys

    stayed back in Nebraska. And when we got back it was

    good, because we had the talent but and began to gel

    together.

    HHC: 1990-1991 was probably the best

    basketball season in the history of Nebraska, as you

    guys won 26 games, made the NCAA tournament, and

    finished the year in the top ten of some polls. What

    do you remember about that season, and what individual

    games and moments stick out?

    CH: You know what, the 90-91 season was

    like… Well, even the year before, we had the talent, but

    we didn’t successfully do what we needed to do to win

    until 1990-1991. And, what we did that was necessary was

    just blocking him (Danny Nee) out and playing as a team.

    We

    blocked him out because we didn’t think he knew what he

    was doing. And I think the first few games, we were over

    in San Juan, and we beat Illinois and another good team

    (Saint Louis) before losing to Murray State. Then, we

    came home and beat Michigan State, and right then we

    knew, “Hey, this might be an okay season.”

    We had

    the talent, and we just started to play together and

    blocking out Danny Nee, because I don’t think he knew

    what he was doing. It was Coach Bargen who was the head

    guy. He knew his X’s and O’s, but since Danny was the

    head coach, you had to listen to him a little, too.

    HHC: What did it mean to you starting that year

    with high school teammate Clifford Scales?

    CH: It meant a

    lot because he was a big part of me coming to Nebraska.

    It was like a dream come true being with him, and he was

    a good friend. Plus, his parents were close to my

    parents, so it was like one big family back together. It

    eased my pain as I sat out my first year and he really

    helped me out.

    HHC: 1991-1992 is often a forgotten year

    in Husker Hoops history, as you guys made a second

    straight NCAA Tournament trip and won 19 games. What

    do you remember most about your senior season?

    CH: That was a terrible year for me, because

    Danny and I really didn’t see eye to eye. And, I was so

    focused my junior year when we blocked Danny Nee out and

    played as a team, and we had Rich King, Cliff Scales,

    and all those guys, who helped us block him out.

    So my

    senior year, I tried to tell the young guys the same

    thing (to block him out), but they were so young and

    they wouldn’t listen to me, and it was like, “Danny Nee,

    Danny Nee, Danny Nee”. So, I was like the guy by myself,

    and it was a terrible year for us.

    HHC: We ask every player that played under Danny

    Nee for a classic story or two, since he was such a

    character. Tell us a couple classics.

    CH: (Laughs). The classic Danny Nee story is

    when one of my teammates basically got kicked off the

    team for what rumors were going around. It’s a classic

    story, although I don’t want to put the name in there

    because that guy and me are still pretty cool. But, he

    ended up basically getting kicked off the team for that.

    So if anyone reads this story, they’ll know what I’m

    talking about. And if Danny reads it, he’ll know what

    I’m talking about. That’s a real classic story, and I

    could deeper in it, but I better leave it alone

    (Laughs).

    HHC: What

    do you remember most about your times at Nebraska, both

    on and off the court, and when was the last time you

    were in Lincoln?

    CH: Last year

    I was in Lincoln passing through to see an old friend of

    mine by the name of (Henry) T. Buchanan. I pass through

    every year because I play in the Hastings tournament

    each summer. So I saw T. and Ray Richardson.

    As far

    as my favorite off and on the court memories, I’ll start

    with off the court. That was a great time because I got

    to meet a lot of friends who I’m still cool with today.

    I think my sophomore or junior year, that’s when I had

    my first child, so that was a great experience for me,

    along with going to school, so I was trying to put

    everything into one.

    Favorite

    moment on the court was when I dunked on Doug Smith (of

    Missouri) my sophomore year. He tried to take a charge

    and I went right over him and dunked on him, and I think

    they had a few pictures of that in the paper and

    everything. So, if somebody down there still has that,

    can you send it to me? (Laughs)

    A bad

    moment on the court was looking at Danny Nee in his

    face. I know I shouldn’t have that hatred towards

    anybody, but it’s the things he did to me that just

    weren’t right. And not just to me, but others, too.

    HHC: (Laughs).

    Tell us how you really feel! Hey, how did you get the

    nickname “Sco”?

    CH: It was a

    guy from when I was maybe 9 or 10 years old who gave it

    to me. And it was a guy who used to say, “The little boy

    can score”. And he kept saying it so much, and somebody

    thought he said “sco.” So one day we had a game, and he

    was like “sco, sco”. So then it just stuck with me from

    then and on.

    HHC: We

    understand that you played some professional basketball

    after your times in Lincoln. Walk us through your career

    stops, and talk about some of your favorite memories of

    that.

    CH: Dapreis Owens and I went over to Turkey. It

    was like a package deal, and we went there for like a

    half of year. It wasn’t what it put out to be. They

    didn’t pay our money on time, and just a lot of other

    hogwash.

    So, I

    came back and started working. I had a few tryouts with

    the Chicago Bulls because I was playing in the local

    tournaments and going to Vegas to play in national

    tournaments, and I got to tryout with them in Elton

    Brand’s rookie year. And they sent me to the CBA, but I

    didn’t play there. And then I also got a tryout with the

    Milwaukee Bucks Ray Allen’s first year, and they tried

    to send me to Fort Wayne, and I think I practiced a week

    there but didn’t like it because the money wasn’t right.

    So since I didn’t make the big leagues, I hung ‘em up.

    HHC: And where will we find Carl Hayes

    today, and what is he doing?

    CH: Right now, I’m a broker. When I left school,

    I worked for my father, who owned a construction

    company. And I started helping him with that, as far as

    payroll and the books. And then I started getting into

    the real estate, and did a lot of things like that. So,

    I’ve been in the real estate game the last four or five

    years.

    HHC: Carl,

    thanks a lot for taking the time to join us, and are you

    cool with taking e-mails from our readers at

    [email protected] ?

    CH: Yeah, most definitely.

    HHC: Awesome.

    Thanks a lot for joining us, and anything else you’d

    like to add?

    CH: Yeah. Tell

    all the guys who read this from my years at Nebraska,

    like Tony Farmer, Beau Reid, and the coaches, like Gary

    Bargen, Jeff Smith, Lynn Mitchem, and even Beau Reid’s

    father, that I miss them.

    And, I’d

    love to get back in touch.<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">




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