- published: 19 Jan 2016
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Gordon Daniel Hayward (born March 23, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball at Butler University in Indianapolis for two seasons before leaving for the NBA. Hayward emerged as a superstar in his sophomore (second) year, leading his team to a runner-up finish in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. He was selected by the Utah Jazz with the ninth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.
Hayward's unusual skill set—Pat Forde, then of ESPN.com, called him "The guy who learned how to play like a guard but now has the size of a power forward"—was largely the result of his father's misconception about his future growth.
His father, Gordon Scott Hayward, is 5'10" (1.78 m), as is his mother Jody. Believing that their son was destined to be average sized, his father, according to Forde, "continually pushed his son to develop a guard's skill set." The younger Hayward's first appearance in the sports pages was not in basketball but in tennis; he and his twin sister Heather were featured in a regional edition of the Indianapolis Star when they played mixed doubles together at the Indiana State Open in 2005. Heather had already played #1 singles for their high school team, and Gordon Daniel would follow in his sister's footsteps the next year; at the time, they hoped to attend their parents' alma mater of Purdue University. Although Gordon's first love was basketball, he would later recall, "I looked at the future and figured playing basketball in college wasn't realistic." In fact, as a 5'11" (1.80 m) freshman, he seriously considered quitting basketball entirely to focus on tennis; his mother persuaded him to stay with the sport one more year.
Passin’ down this garden road
I’ve passed it many times
Beauty flashing in the air
Garden’s many vines
Today I see the answer that I was wrong
Oh man, my questions on this garden road
One day this path will be free
And this garden road is for you and me
Nothing seems to pass my grip
And my every thought
Judging by my memory
Has me by some hold
Answers to the questions I must know
Most of them are questions of this garden road
One day this spell will be free
And this garden road is for you and me
Passin’ down this garden road
I’ve passed it many times
Beauty flashing in the air
But I’m really fine
You see, I see the answer, I must know
Oh man, my questions of this garden road
One day this path will be free