Then & Now: Carl Hayes

Then & Now: Carl Hayes

Compiled By Dave Brandon

(Photo Courtesy NU Media Relations)

Carl

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">