University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagle Basketball Signs Brannon Hayes
4/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Golden Eagle Basketball Signs Brannon Hayes
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Southern Miss Head Coach James Green and his staff added junior college standout Brannon Hayes to the Golden Eagle basketball roster today, as the spring national signing period opened.
Hayes, from Port Arthur, Texas, signed originally with Texas Tech, left the Lubbock, Texas school after a coaching change there, and played last season at Lee College in Baytown, Texas, where the 6-9, 235-pound power forward averaged 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds a game.
"Brannon will bring both experience and add inside presence to our front line," said Green. "He's a versatile and skilled athlete who will mix well with the makeup and personality of our team. His athleticism will impact our team both offensively and defensively, and we feel fortunate to sign a player of his caliber."
Basketball wasn't Hayes' first interest until be broke his wrist playing ninth-grade football. That injury landed him on the basketball court where his play helped Thomas Jefferson High School to reach the state tournament his senior season. His outstanding play earned him team co-MVP honors, along with all-district, all-region and all-state accolades.
Green says he feels good about his team for next season. "We have players returning who gained a lot of experience last season, and that experience really won't start showing up until next season," he said. "We also will go from probably our least experienced team (2002-03), to what will be our most experienced team in awhile."
Hayes will join fall signing period signee Emanuel Willis of Mendenhall High School, along with guard Sam Richardson of Hinds AHS, who redshirted last season after suffering ligament damage to his thumb, and Jerekus Singleton of Clinton, who sat out last season as an academic non-qualifier.
Southern Miss lost only one senior off last year's team, Mario Myles, and will return eight players from last year's squad, including the top five scorers.
