Haywood Has Great Upside
Oklahoma has prospects overlooked each year on the hardwood. This year Mustang 2016 Shooting Guard Curtis Haywood is going unnoticed by many. The road for Haywood has not always been the easiest. He sat out his sophomore season at Mustang due…
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Continue ReadingOklahoma has prospects overlooked each year on the hardwood. This year Mustang 2016 Shooting Guard Curtis Haywood is going unnoticed by many.
The road for Haywood has not always been the easiest. He sat out his sophomore season at Mustang due to OSSAA rules. Heading into the summer of his junior year Haywood broke his foot, keeping him out of grassroots action.
Many colleges did not have the chance to see Haywood with him setting out the summer of his junior year. It was a hard time for him.
“It was terrible not getting to play varsity during school ball and then breaking my foot right before summer ball,” Haywood said. “Having to sit out motivated me. It gave me time to get a little stronger and work on some things I could not do before I broke my foot.”
When Haywood returned to the court for his junior season at Mustang he had a new determination. He thrived playing under the Broncos Head Coach Terry Long. Haywood was outstanding defensively, taking his opponent out of the game each night.
As his junior season progressed Haywood continued to improve offensively. Haywood developed a nice jumper from behind the arc. Mustang finished the 2014-2015 year on top of Class 6A with an unblemished record. Haywood was instrumental in the Broncos road to the Class 6A State Championship.
This summer Haywood finally got his chance to play in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League after being out with injury the summer before. He did not disappoint performing at a high level in the EYBL.
Haywood started to pick up interest from several Division I programs. He averaged 12.7 points per game on 40% shooting from the field and shot 33% from behind the arc.
“This summer was a great experience I loved it all,” Haywood said. “The atmosphere was crazy. To get the gear as you progress was pretty cool and getting to play against the best in the nation was great.”
Haywood is receiving heavy interest from Western Kentucky and Fresno State. He is undecided at this point in his recruitment.
Haywood is a very versatile player on the wing. The new confidence Haywood has from this summer playing in the Nike EYBL makes him even better.
The upside of Haywood is tremendous. The Division I program that lands Haywood will not be disappointed. Look for Haywood to shine this season at Mustang playing alongside Iowa State commit Jakolby Long. The Broncos will enter as the favorite to repeat as Class 6A Champions.