Nigel Hayes showing NBA teams his full self

CHICAGO — With Nigel Hayes, there's always two stories to tell.

On Thursday at the NBA draft combine, the first questions were understandably about basketball. One of a handful of players making a second successive trip to the combine, Hayes tried to demonstrate to NBA teams that he had taken their feedback last year and turned it into noticeable on-court gains, especially when it came to improving his athleticism.

Playing in his first five-on-five contest since Wisconsin's season ended to Florida in the Sweet 16 on March 24, Hayes admitted having some rust. He scored five points on 2-of-5 shooting while adding four rebounds and three blocks in 26 1/2 minutes during the final scrimmage of the day.

Afterward, though, he performed well during his strength and agility drills. Hayes recorded his best finish in the shuttle run, clocking in at 2.94 seconds — one of a small group of players under 3 seconds.

"I know I've gotten better," Hayes said. "First and foremost I'm a winner, so any team could definitely use a winner. My versatility and then my IQ as a basketball player, I think those are things that any team would want to have."

It's been a long road for the "little skinny kid running around with his jersey falling off" during high school games in Toledo, Ohio. During his career at Wisconsin, Hayes played in two Final Fours and led the Badgers to the Sweet 16 in each of his four years while consistently putting up strong numbers.

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He might have been able to go higher in the draft — he's a projected second-round pick at best — if he left Wisconsin after his sophomore season, but it's a decision he says he's happy with.

"Just got more mature basketball-wise, as a person, an individual — I got to graduate," Hayes said of his decision to stay all four years. "For me it really doesn't matter where you get drafted at. ... There's a lot of hype around it, it does mean a lot, but it only tells you what you're going to get paid the first three years. It doesn't tell you how good you're going to be or your upside. All I have to do is just keep working on my game and let my work speak for itself."

Of course, there's another side to Hayes, one that he recently wrote about in a piece for The Player's Tribune entitled "Don't Just Shut Up and Play." He's a basketball player, sure, but he's also an individual who has feelings and responses to the world around him — and he's unafraid of sharing what's on his mind, especially when it comes to racial justice and college athletes deserving to be paid.

Regarding college athletes, Hayes memorably was filmed holding up a sign about being a "broke college athlete" during a broadcast of ESPN's College GameDay in October.

When teams are interviewing players at the combine and at workouts, they never just ask players about their basketball skills or experience. They know they're drafting people with other interests, hobbies and habits that come from eclectic family situations. They've already had off-court questions for Hayes, who has not been shy when sharing his stances both in person and on Twitter.

"I was asked today, 'If something presented itself would I take a stand on it?' " Hayes said. "Obviously I said, 'Yeah, I will.' Especially if it affects me as a man, as a person, especially as a black man ... for instance with Colin Kaepernick. It's just something that you have to stand up for. No amount of money should be able to buy your pride, not as a person, as a man, as a black person."

Over the past few years, athletes from many sports have made headlines with their responses to social injustices. During that time, the NBA has gained a reputation for being supportive of that type of speech and public involvement. On Thursday, Hayes experienced that supportive culture first-hand.

"It's been a resounding (response) — in a good way that people appreciate what I do," Hayes said when asked how teams have responded to him in interviews. "A lot of guys on the other side of the table from me like to see how I'm an intelligent person, a person of good character, who speaks up, stands for things."

Hayes tried to volunteer and put his money where his mouth was during college, but admitted he had limited means of doing so. He hopes that with a higher earning potential at the professional level he can combine his love and talent with basketball to improving the lives of others.

And he's not going to change who he is — an intellectual goofball who bounces between professing his love for stenographers and engaging in debates about race and discrimination in this country. In his mind, if his personality costs him opportunities to play for certain teams or getting certain endorsements, so be it.

"I haven't really said anything that's off the wall," Hayes said. "I've said black people should be treated better, fairly, equal and (student) athletes who make billions of dollars (for institutions and companies) should be paid. If you disagree with one of those two things, I think that says more about you than it does about me."