Butch Hays

Butch Hays

Personal information
Born	(1962-09-16) 16 September 1962 Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Nationality	American / Australian
Listed height	193 cm (6 ft 4 in)
Listed weight	89 kg (196 lb)
Career information
High school	St. Bernard (Los Angeles, California)
College	California (1980–1984)
NBA draft	1984: 7th round, 141st overall pick
Selected by the Chicago Bulls
Playing career	1984–2012
Position	Point guard
Number	11
Career history
1985–1987	Birmingham Bullets
1987–1988	Dijon
1988–1989	Glasgow Rangers
1989–1990	San Jose Jammers
1991–1992	Adelaide 36ers
1993–1994	Illawarra Hawks
1995–1997	Newcastle Falcons
1998	North Melbourne Giants
1999–2000	Newcastle Falcons
2003	Canberra Cannons
2005–2015	Maitland Mustangs
Career highlights and awards
3× All-NBL Second Team (1991, 1993, 1995) 3× All-NBL Third Team (1992, 1994, 1996) BBL All-Star (1988) Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year (1984)
Stats at Basketball Reference

William "Butch" Hays (born 16 September 1962) is an American-Australian former professional basketball player who played most of his career in Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) from 1991 to 2003.

Early life

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Hays grew up in South Central L.A. on West 75th Street in an area known for its street gangs and where he was located was directly between two of the gangs, the Bloods and Crips. As a youth he played athletics, American football and baseball, but was introduced to basketball by a neighbour when he was 12 years old, but it wasn't until he was in high school that he started receiving some coaching.

Until high school, Hays and his friends would play street pick up games.

Several times we'd be playing pick up ball and if somebody didn't like a call that's made or they didn't like losing, they would pull out a gun. We would all scatter and jump over fences and under cars. But the street ball made you tough and made you play every shot. If you are playing pick up ball and you lose you may not get on the court again that day or it might take two or three hours before your turn comes up. So it was all about making the best of a moment and if your team was on the court you are playing to win.

School / college career

Butch Hays earned All-American honours while at St. Bernard High School and was awarded a scholarship with the University of California, Berkeley. After four years with the Golden Bears under the coaching of Dick Kuchen, Hays graduated as the Golden Bears' all-time leader in assists, though this record has since fallen to former teammate Kevin Johnson and, later, Jason Kidd.

Professional career

1984 NBA draft

After graduating from Cal Berkeley, Hays, a 193-centimetre (6 ft 4 in) point guard, nominated for the 1984 NBA draft and was a seventh round pick of the Chicago Bulls who that year also drafted a player from North Carolina named Michael Jordan. As draftees, Hays and Jordan roomed together and actually lived together before Hays was released from his contract.

CBA

Hays landed in the Continental Basketball Association where in 1988 he signed with new team, the San Jose Jammers.

NBL

After two years with the Jammers, Hays was then signed for two years as an import player by the Adelaide 36ers in Australia's National Basketball League as the teams replacement for long time point guard Al Green. Hays had an immediate impact with the 36ers in 1991 who in 1990 had missed the NBL playoffs for the first time since 1983. Showing his class and skill, Hays averaged 24.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 9 assists as he helped the 36ers back to the playoffs where they would ultimately be beaten 2–0 in the Semi-finals by their nemesis, the defending and eventual champion Perth Wildcats. In his first NBL game for the 36ers against the Illawarra Hawks on 12 April at Adelaide's then home court, the 3,000 seat Apollo Stadium, Hays scored 36 points which as of 2020–21 remains the 36ers club record for points scored in a debut game. In that game he also had 8 rebounds, 11 assists and 6 steals making him an instant favourite among the 36ers fans. During his first year with the 36ers, Hays also set the still standing club record for assists in a single game in the second of the Quarter finals against the Melbourne Tigers, dishing out 17 to help Adelaide to a 132–96 win.

1992 saw the 36ers move into the 8,000-seat Clipsal Powerhouse, but also saw Hays' numbers dip slightly to 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists and the 36ers missed the NBL playoffs. At the end of the year, the 36ers signed veteran Australian Boomers point guard and local Adelaide product Phil Smyth. This, combined with the continued development of local guard Brett Maher, saw the then-30-year-old Hays unwanted by the club and he signed with another NBL team, the perennially struggling Illawarra Hawks for two years.

Hays helped the Hawks to the quarter-finals in 1993 and 1994 before signing with his 3rd NBL team, the Newcastle Falcons from 1995. He would spend 3 seasons in Newcastle, helping the Falcons to the playoffs in 1995, but missing the finals in 1996 and 1997.

In 1998, Hays signed to play for the North Melbourne Giants, though his stint with his 4th NBL club only lasted 8 games before leaving the club. Unfortunately, due to the NBL's rules at the time he was unable to sign with another club and was forced to sit out the remainder of the season. He then returned to the Falcons for 1998–99 NBL season before retiring at the end of the year. He then began to play with the Maitland Mustangs in the New South Wales-based Waratah League.

During the 2002–03 NBL season, Hays suited up for four games for the NBL's Canberra Cannons before retiring (for the final time) from the NBL at the age of 41. He then returned to the Mustangs where he would play until calling time on his career at the age of 50 in 2012.

Butch Hays played 232 NBL games, averaging 18.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game.

Honours and Accolades

Butch Hays finished his college basketball career in 1984 as the California Golden Bears all-time assists leader.

In 2015, former Adelaide 36ers teammate and NBL legend Mark Davis called Hays one of the smartest point guards he played with in his 17-year professional career.

During his career, Hays was known for his knee-high socks.

Current

Butch Hays currently lives in Newcastle, Australia. He had two children; daughter Roberta born in 1989 and son Griffin born in 1992. On 6 May 2010, Hays' 18-year-old son Griffin was killed in an accident on a Newcastle rail line.

Butch continues to play basketball in the Newcastle Premier League for local team the Hustlers, playing with fellow imports Terrell Turner and Waratah League MVP Mitch Rueter along with other ex-Waratah League, Newcastle Hunters and representative players.

He is now the CEO at SNAP Programs, which is a non-for-profit organisation that assists other organisations and families, in supporting both, young people and people with a disability, through a variety of different programs.

Butch also commentates for the Newcastle Falcons & Maitland Mustangs games on NBL1 broadcasts & live streams, and is regularly seen courtside at Sydney Kings games.

Butch was a key contributor in Argentina in 2023 to the Australian 60+ Bronze medal winning team at the World Maxibasketball Championships.

NBL career stats

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1991	Adelaide 36ers	30	30	42.4	.542	.551	.821	4.5	9.0	2.0	0.3	24.6
1992	Adelaide 36ers	24	24	41.4	.506	.419	.773	4.6	6.6	2.2	0.5	21.6
1993	Illawarra Hawks	28	28	45.6	.483	.309	.774	4.5	6.2	2.3	0.0	18.3
1994	Illawarra Hawks	28	28	45.6	.519	.456	.770	5.3	5.4	2.1	0.2	21.0
1995	Newcastle Falcons	29	29	44.7	.472	.422	.778	5.6	7.1	1.5	0.5	20.2
1996	Newcastle Falcons	26	26	45.1	.456	.381	.839	5.5	6.0	1.3	0.6	18.7
1997	Newcastle Falcons	30	30	42.9	.473	.366	.781	4.2	5.1	1.4	0.1	17.8
1998	North Melbourne Giants	8	8	37.1	.466	.286	.688	2.9	3.4	0.9	0.1	8.9
1998–99	Newcastle Falcons	25	25	28.8	.459	.337	.758	2.3	3.3	0.7	0.2	10.8
2002–03	Canberra Cannons	4	0	11.4	.250	.200	.600	1.0	1.8	0.8	0.0	2.0
Career		232	228	41.6	.491	.392	.790	4.5	6.0	1.6	0.3	18.6

External links

• butchhays.com
• Adelaide 36ers - TITLE TOWN (1990s)