37
an Ohio State freshman. "As a team, we lost games
that we shouldn't have lost and we didn't win as
many games or tournaments as we should have.
"Still today, after every game, he will send me a
10-word text and in those 10 words there will be
three books of knowledge and information that I
can use to get better, so that I can be the player that
he knows I can be and that I should be. He's a man of
few words, but they're powerful words.
"It's up to me to listen and heed all the advice
I'm getting and put it into action," said Hayes, who
doesn't see himself as a first-year player in the Big
Ten. "Coach Ryan doesn't treat me like a freshman,
he doesn't baby me. He gets on me just as hard as he
would Ben Brust, a senior."
Hayes fielded some calls after his Feb. 4 postgame
interview with Big Ten Network's Shon Morris fol-
lowing Wisconsin's win at Illinois. When Morris
asked about the quick spin move that he had used to
score on, Hayes identified it as the "Chocolate Tor-
nado" popularized by Shaquille O'Neal.
"I called it incorrectly," Hayes admitted. "Through
more research and people letting me know, it's actu-
ally called the 'Black Tornado.' But since I misnamed
it and ruined Shaq's move, I just guess I'll take that
as my little knockoff on the move and hopefully I can
bring back some of its greatness."
Hayes used to get into arguments with a high
school teammate on who was the greatest center of
all-time. "He'd say Hakeem Olajuwon was the best
post player to ever touch a basketball," he said. "He
could argue for days that he was better than Shaq
and Bill Russell and all the other greats."
"HE'S VERY SMART, VERY ATTENTIVE,"
RYAN SAID OF HAYES. "A LOT OF TIMES,
HE'S PLAYING CHESS WHILE THE OTH-
ER GUYS ARE PLAYING CHECKERS. IT'S
JUST THE WAY HE IS."
STEVE
GOTTER
