It's been twenty-seven years since a Butler Bulldog was chosen in the NBA Draft. That's until tonight when the Utah Jazz selected 6'9 sophomore forward Gordon Hayward with the ninth pick overall in the first round. The last Butler player picked in the NBA Draft was Lynn Mitchem in the ninth round in 1983 by the Indiana Pacers.
Hayward was named the 2009-10 Horizon League Player of the Year. Number 20 emerged on the national scene while leading his Bulldogs to the championship game against Duke this past April. A year prior, the Brownsburg (IN) native was honored with the 2008-09 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year award. After a fabulous two-year stint as a member of the Bulldogs one must wonder why was he so lightly recruited in high school? Gordon received offers only from IUPUI, Purdue and Butler.
On February 11, 2010, Hayward wreaked havoc on Youngstown State at the Beeghly Center. YSU led by as many as eight points with just under three minutes to play in the first half. Butler opened it up in the second, however, as they received major contributions from Hayward enroute to a 68-57 victory. Hayward finished with 22 points, 17 rebounds, and shot 8-9 from the charity stripe. In four career games against the Penguins, the future NBA draftee scored an average of 12.5 points, hauled down 7.3 caroms and dished out 2.3 assists. Over the last two seasons, Butler outscored YSU by an average of 79 (78.8) to 62 (61.5).
This past season, Utah finished with a 53-29 record (2nd in the Western Conference's Northwest Division). The Jazz are coached by longtime head coach Jerry Sloan.
