Prospect Profile: Hayden Doyle
Watching Wisconsin Playground Club 16U score the ball is similar to watching a pitcher unpack every nook-and-cranny from his arsenal and throw a perfect game. Hayden Doyle was often the one leading the offense from beyond the arc. His game…
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Continue ReadingWatching Wisconsin Playground Club 16U score the ball is similar to watching a pitcher unpack every nook-and-cranny from his arsenal and throw a perfect game. Hayden Doyle was often the one leading the offense from beyond the arc.
His game doubles-down on smooth perimeter scoring. There were games that Doyle shot at a hoop seemingly ten feet wide. In those moments he’d jog down the floor, corral a pass on the wing, wind-up a trey and bury it. Then he’d replicate that on the next possession, only with a deeper three and growing confidence. He can, at any moment, find himself in the zone. “If I see one go in and I’m getting to my spots I can get hot. I just tried to score in bunches when we needed it because at the end of the day I just wanted to win,” Doyle told me in an interview.
Doyle’s hot shooting performance was strung out like an accordion. In June through July, Doyle established himself as a knock-down shooter, and the stretch ultimately wedded him with the hoops program at Michigan Tech. “Michigan Tech has been talking to me since June and we have a really good relationship,” Doyle said when asked about which schools he thought are “serious” about him as a prospect. “I went up on a visit and they offered which meant a lot knowing that they believed in me and thought I could be a great player in their system.”
This summer complimented his sophomore coupe at Brookfield East. Doyle averaged 9.4 points per game there, and next season he’ll be the third-best returning scorer on the roster, but that’s going by last year’s stats. His improvements this summer suggest a future that invites 20 point games and a leading role on the roster.
But that’s not Doyle’s only system or sport for that matter. Playground and Brookfield East hoops he’s thrived in, as well as on the turf.
As a sophomore, Doyle played defensive back on the varsity football squad. He snagged four interceptions and 33 total tackles, but success or not, football will always be secondary to him. Doyle told me, “I want to play basketball in college. I really like football and will play throughout high school, but I love basketball and will have my best opportunities playing it at the next level.”
The sport also has its benefits on the hardwood, a product of the extra conditioning done in the sport. Doyle can stop on a dime in the mid-range, and his shiftiness and ability to smoothly stop, start, and jab draws from the skills he picked up as a DB.
When asked about what sets him apart, aside from being a deadeye shooter and one of a select few from the 2021 class to already have received a college offer, Doyle told me, “My leadership on the court and always playing hard and competing. Also working really hard on my craft.” Doyle expanded on the latter, saying that he lifted five times and shot four or five times a week in addition to summer leagues, practices, and mandatory team workouts.
Overall, Doyle thrives in a score-first system with Wisconsin Playground, a program he raved about. He’s a player who, as a mid-range savant with unbreaking three-point rhythm, has denoted a popular standout on the Prep Hoops Circuit. Look for him to continue mounting the 2021 rankings as he develops into an elite talent and sought-after college player.