Texas forward Jaxson Hayes suffers knee injury vs. Kansas
The Texas Longhorns lost to Kansas in the Big 12 tournament Thursday night, and freshman forward Jaxson Hayes suffered what could be a serious knee injury.
The Texas Longhorns are firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble, with the sixth-toughest schedule in the country by at least one metric offering some leeway for their 16-16 record (8-10 mark in the Big 12 during the regular season). A loss to the Kansas Jayhawks in the conference tournament quarterfinals Thursday night put a damper on any Selection Sunday optimism, and freshman forward Jaxson Hayes also suffered a left knee injury late in the game.
Longhorns’ head coach Shaka Smart said Hayes will be evaluated further, acknowledging the Big 12 Freshman of the Year was “in some pain” with the obvious sentiment that hopefully, the injury is not extremely serious. Hayes was helped off the floor with less than two minutes to go and was unable to put any weight on his injured leg.
Hayes battled foul trouble early on Thursday night and finished with just two points and two rebounds in 14 minutes of action. He entered the game averaging 10.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season, which are not mind-blowing numbers. But the 6-foot-11 freshman is a higher level NBA prospect than casual fans may realize.
Much has been made of Zion Williamson continuing to play for Duke after his knee injury, with the presumption he has nothing to gain as the likely No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft. Analyst Trevor Magnotti has Hayes ranked as the No. 9 prospect in this year’s draft class on his latest Big Board, so as the Longhorns approach the postseason he’ll be facing a comparable decision to shut it down.
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If Texas lands in the NIT and there’s anything to his injury, as to include any risk of something worse if he plays, Hayes has probably taken the floor for the last time in burnt orange and white.