BIO: Born in Los Angeles, Hays grew up in South Central L.A. on West 57th Street in a 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.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Butch Hays made his NBL debut with the Adelaide 36ers at 28 years of age. He scored 36 points in his first game.

Despite Adelaide having their worst season ever in 1990, head coach Don Shipway was able to avoid being fired and looked to rebuild around the squad’s young talent. He began with replacing 37-year-old club legend Al Green with 29 year old, former NBA player Butch Hays as the team’s import point guard, signing him to a two year deal. The 36ers also added 19-year-old Adelaide product Brett Wheeler, who at 208 cm provided the extra size the team needed to support Bradtke.

Butch Hays (24.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 9.0 assists) and Mark Davis (23.0 points and 14.7 rebounds) would lead the team, returning the 36ers to the playoffs. Finishing in fourth place (16-10) during the regular season, Adelaide faced off against Melbourne in the elimination finals. Adelaide would defeat Melbourne (2-0) to reach the semi finals only to then be eliminated by the defending and eventual champions Perth (0-2).

1992
Adelaide had played at the Apollo Stadium since the team’s inception in 1982, but by the early 1990s, ticket demand was far too great to remain there, and the team moved into the 8,000 seat Clipsal Powerhouse prior to the 1992 season. During the off-season, the team was able to retain import point guard Butch Hays and captain Mark Davis but saw local favourite and former captain Darryl Pearce sign with the North Melbourne Giants.

The venue quickly became a fortress for the 36ers, with every game played in front of a sell-out crowd. The increased fan support saw Adelaide open the year with a 106-84 victory over the North Melbourne Giants. After this initial success, however, the team failed to win again across their next seven games, including losses to perennial easy beats like Hobart and Newcastle.

The 36ers would then face a major hurdle after the league’s mid-season break to accommodate the Barcelona Olympics. After the Boomers finished the tournament in fourth place, Bradtke returned with the announcement that he had accepted a lucrative deal (reportedly worth $200,000) to finish the season playing for Spanish team Juver Murcia. In his 17 games prior to the break, Bradtke had clearly become the best local big man in the competition. In his last game wearing a 36ers jersey, he scored a career-high 43 points, grabbed 25 boards against Geelong at home and averaged 20.1 points, 14.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists for the season.

The 36ers, although never looking like a playoff team, were never able to fill the gap left by Bradtke and limped home to a 11-13 record, finishing in the ninth spot.

Davis (23.5 points, 14.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks) again led the team with his spectacular all-around game, with Hays also contributing 21.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game.

Despite the disappointing season, two positives came from this season. The first was the rookie debuts of local teenagers Brett Maher (2.2 points in 8 minutes per game), who went on to play a record 525 games for the 36ers, and 18-year-old Paul Rogers, who appeared in five games but later became a big part of the 36ers and the Australian national team. Mark Davis also played his last season as a import, obtaining his Australian citizenship this year and qualifying as a local player until his retirement.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS
1993
The 1993 season saw Hays average 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 6.2 assists and play a key role in helping the Hawks to a sixth place finish in the regular season with a 15-11 record.

1994
During the 1994 season, Hays averaged 21 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 5.4 assists and helped the Hawks finish the regular season in a tenth place (13-13).

NEWCASTLE FALCONS
1993
During the 1995 season, Hays averaged 20.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 7.1 assists and was a part of the Falcons squad which finished in eighth place with a record of 17-9.

1996
In 1996, Hays averaged 18.7 points and 5.5 rebounds, and 6 assists, and helped guide the Falcons to a ninth place finish in the regular season (11-15).

1997
In 1997, Hays averaged 17.8 points and 4.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, as the Falcons finished in tenth place (12-18).

NORTH MELBOURNE GIANTS
1998
With the Giants again facing financial difficulties, the team struggled to remain competitive in 1998 and after finishing the season with a record of 9 wins and 21 losses, North Melbourne merged with the South East Melbourne Magic. Hays would average 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists during the North Melbourne Giants’ last season.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS
1998/99
Entering the 1998/99 season, the Falcons were in dire financial trouble, but on the brink of the season starting, they secured funds from a group of investors from Albury. As a result, the Falcons were able to retain local talent Ben Melmeth, Terry Johnson and import Todd Mundt but were forced to build the rest of the team on a shoestring budget. Somewhat luckily, Newcastle benefitted from the merger of South East Melbourne and North Melbourne, which saw Pat Reidy and import Butch Hays both former Giants players, without a team. With few NBL team’s having any space on their rosters at this stage, the Falcons were able to sign both at budget prices. Dean Brogan (via Adelaide), Rod Johnson (via Canberra) and legendary shot blocker Willie Simmons was lured out of retirement to play another season.

While obvious favourites to finish on the bottom of the ladder, the Falcons surprised everyone by winning five of their first six games.

Shortly after, reports of players not being paid their salaries surfaced, and the focus, motivation and production among the players began to wane. Mundt exited the team as a result of not getting paid on time and was replaced with Simmons (14.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.2 steals) who after a season playing with Sydney was sitting at home after being unable to find another new deal.

The remainder of the season then saw Newcastle record three wins from their next nineteen games before finally beating Perth (113–111) in their final game of the year.

Pat Reidy (17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 steals) led the team in scoring, Ben Melmeth (17.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals) led the team in rebounds while Terry Johnson (14.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.1 steals) delivered his best season at the point guard position and his brother Rod Johnson (11.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists) rounded out the team’s leading scorers.

After narrowly surviving the season before, this would prove to be the death knell for Newcastle, with the league stepping in to address their financial situation and its result being the removal of their NBL licence and the Falcons being forced out of the league.

CANBERRA CANNONS
2002/03
Although Canberra entered 2002 struggling to stay afloat financially, the team added imports Mike Chappell (via Wollongong) and Reginald Poole (via Europe) to the roster and hoped a competitive team would draw enough fans to cover their costs.

With Chappell (21.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) leading the team in scoring, alongside Dave Thomas (18.2 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.4 steals), CJ Bruton (15.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.1 steals) and Poole (14.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.7 steals, and 2.2 blocks) the Cannons started the season on fire. The part of the plan that involved building a successful team worked with Canberra winning seven of their first nine games, but by December, Cannon’s ownership couldn’t afford to keep paying the bills, and the team was forced into voluntary administration just three months into the season. Back-up big man Pero Vasiljevic (5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) and Thomas, who had both just signed two-year deals with the Cannons, exited the club to find alternative employment. A few games later, Bruton and Chappell both requested their release and signed elsewhere also.

Veterans Matthew Shanahan (14.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists) and Willie Simmons (6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks) were added mid-season to help cover the loss of their starting lineup but it wasn’t nearly enough.

In a combined attempt to raise enough money to keep the team in the league and add a few bodies to the roster, a number of NBL legends made cameo appearances with Cannons throughout the last half of the season. 41-year-old Butch Hays suited up for four games for the Cannons, and Perth Wildcats’ legend James Crawford also came out of retirement for one game. The Cannons season ended with the club going 4-17 across their remaining games, and at the end of 2003, Canberra’s licence was moved to Newcastle, where it operated as the Hunter Pirates.