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Ramping up the intensity during the second half of the season, freshman guard Colin Hayes pushed the pace and earned two postseason honors, being named to the Region IX All-Tournament team as well as …
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Ramping up the intensity during the second half of the season, freshman guard Colin Hayes pushed the pace and earned two postseason honors, being named to the Region IX All-Tournament team as well as second team All-Region after a strong campaign.
Early on in his first season as a Trapper, Hayes was slowed down by an injury to his hand just three weeks into practice, which slowed down the transition process to the collegiate level after moving to Powell from Fort Collins, Colorado.
“That definitely set me back a while. Working back into everything was hard but coach (Andy) Ward really helped me through the process and got me back to where I needed to be,” Hayes said.
Over the first month of the season Hayes came off the bench, averaging 4.3 points a game before starting to see his role expand in December.
In the second month of action Hayes started working his way into a starting role, averaging 13.2 points a game before truly making his mark in January once Region IX play began.
By the end of the conference season Hayes’ per game scoring average was up to 15.6 points per game, but he averaged nearly 22 a game during Region IX play.
On top of that, Hayes shot 50.6% from the field in conference play, 48.1% from 3-point range and 82.9% from the free throw line.
That included a career high 42 points in late February in a home game against Casper College.
“I just went out there and played my game,” Hayes said.
He also added in an average of 5.5 rebounds a game only committing 17 turnovers.
Hayes ended up being named to the Region IX All-Tournament team after scoring 23 points against Western Nebraska in the quarterfinal matchup.
“Personally it felt very nice but I couldn’t have done it without coach Ward or any of my teammates,” Hayes said. “At the start of the year I wasn’t playing well at all, towards the end they really picked me up.”
Hoping to take that next step, Hayes said there are definitely ways he feels he can improve heading into his sophomore season.
“There are definitely things I want to work on,” Hayes said. “I want to get bigger, physically get stronger and bulk up a little bit. I want to work on my ball-handling so I can play all five positions on the court.”
He added that he was grateful for all of his teammates and coaches, and is excited for next season.
