38 // VARSITY March 27, 2014
knocked down a tree when he was 6. "It was unexpected,"
said Anderson, smiling and shaking his head at the absur-
dity of it all. "Like everyone saw on that video, he's funny
and he's relaxed. But, at the same time, he knows how to
work hard."
That's the most vital element in their makeup. Beyond
providing comic relief, Dekker and Hayes are very good
players. "It's nice to have people like Sam and Nigel to
joke around with," Kaminsky said. "They have that joking
around mentality. But when they need to be serious they
both can be."
Kaminsky had a flashback to the first time that he saw
Hayes in action. "Obviously, he's a big kid and he sticks
out when you see him," he said. "And when you get on the
court with him, he's got kind of that brute mentality. Some
kids are tentative when they come in here. He wasn't one
of them."
Hayes made the same first impression with Brust. "He
does a great job of being a post presence," he said. "When
we put the ball down low to Nigel, we know that he's
either going to get fouled, score or find somebody for a
basket. So a lot of good things happen when he gets his
touches."
Although it might appear that Hayes is an open book,
he is not. There are some things that people don't know
about him. On road trips, for instance, he will call ahead to
the hotel where the team is staying and inquire about any
schools in the area that might open up their gym to him.
"Usually they're very helpful and willing," said Hayes,
who just likes to spend extra time working on his shoot-
ing. Freshman guard Jordan Hill has been his workout
partner. The night before the Indiana game, they got on
a local court and put up some extra shots after the team
practice at Assembly Hall.
Hayes got the idea from UW assistant coach Lamont
Paris, who spiked his interest by relating how Dirk Nowit-
zki and Jason Terry have done the same thing. More often
than not, though, Hayes has been rebuffed in his effort to
find an open gym. That was the case last week in Milwau-
kee.
Undaunted, Hayes will try again in Anaheim. "Since
we're in California," he said, "and it's Jordan Hill's home
(Hill is from Pasadena), he and I will probably find a high
school to shoot in and take care of that. We try to push
each other to get better so when we're called on to go in,
we can help the team."
Hayes' serious side emerges whenever the conversation
gets around to team achievement. "Like I've been saying
all year, I just try to go out there and do what is needed or
MESSIN' WITH SAM
