The NBA story of Hayward, Butler's NCAA hero, just starting

He was a success story in a previous life, before the NCAA tournament and the improbable, heart-warming run that led back to where it all began, to the championship game in his hometown and the shot that nearly became The Shot.

Now that everything has changed, now that a couple months have tipped his world joyously upside down, success story doesn't cut it. This is a fairy-tale life, really. A fable.

Gordon Hayward wanted to quit basketball as a high school sophomore in Indiana. Had the speech all ready for his coach. Practiced it in the shower and everything. Went to Butler, a relatively unknown player headed to a school relatively unknown outside the Midwest. Became the Horizon League Player of the Year in 2009-10, led the Bulldogs' improbable run through the NCAA tournament to the championship game, nearly hit the shot at the buzzer. His world hasn't stopped spinning since.

Come late May 2010, he's a month away from being a first-round pick in the NBA Draft. That's a projection nothing short of surreal to Hayward, as much as to anyone. But according to several NBA executives, Hayward is a possibility for the end of the lottery, with one general manager saying Hayward could touch the top 10.

Just don't say that too loud. You might wake him from the dream.

"It's been hectic. Crazy," he said. "Trying to be just a college student is hard. Without playing basketball, without playing a sport. It's hard being a college student when you have all that time you're trying to manage. And then the fact that we went so far in the tournament and had such a great run. Then the turnaround was really quick with the May 8 deadline to decide what I wanted to do [about entering the Draft], kind of a life decision. And then school was over and you're taking finals, and finals are always hectic. You have to make that decision at the same time. It was crazy, but it was fun. You only get to do it once in your life, so I kind of embraced it."

Gordon Hayward

Collegiate Images

Hayward has gone from not even thinking about the NBA at the start of the season to hearing about how various personnel departments love his solid game. Executives, their jobs and reputations annually on the line in June, want dependable and will sometimes choose that over potential stardom.

Hayward does a lot of things well without dominating any one area, is tougher than he looks at 6-feet-8 and 210 pounds, and probably more athletic. He can shoot, despite dropping from 44.8 percent behind the arc as a freshman to a curious 29.4 last season as a sophomore. He can handle and pass, will go to the boards and makes smart plays. Teams drafting in the teens would love a player who, though he may not have the look of stardom, is easy to envision having a long successful career with the ability to become an important contributor on a good team.

He's low risk like that. Butler knows all about it, of course. Or, rather, Butler opponents do. The Bulldogs went 33-5 and were a fifth seed in the tournament. Hayward was the team's best player, drawing an expanding spotlight the longer the postseason lasted, portrayed as the big man on the little-known team from Indianapolis playing in the national championship game in Indianapolis.

Hayward and Butler came very close to an historic moment in college basketball history -- sports history, really -- when his last-second half-court runner against Duke in the title game went from desperation heave to not so desperate after all. It closed in on the rim, a title in the balance.

But it was a fraction too hard, going backboard, rim and, ultimately, court. Hayward was a hero anyway, a player who decided to stick with basketball rather than quit in high school, a guy who sparkled in the tournament and couldn't bear to look in the stands at the Chicago pre-Draft camp because he didn't want to be shaken by the recognizable executives staring back.

"It was very tough," he said when asked about leaving the Bulldogs with that last shot. "I've gotten that question a lot. It was really tough just because Butler was such a great place to be at. The people there are just phenomenal. They treat you the right way. It's like a family atmosphere, and I'm leaving not only my teammates but I'm kind of leaving my best friends. I hang out with them and room with them 24/7. It was sad to leave them and hard for sure, but the opportunity to realize a dream and play in the NBA was there. I decided to take that."

The fable continues at the next level, A couple months have changed everything. The next couple will change them even more.

Scott Howard-Cooper has covered the NBA since 1988. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

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