His Butler Bulldogs, a No. 5-seeded underdog, made an unprecedented run to the finals of the NCAA tournament and Hayward nearly netted his team the title with a desperation last-second shot as time expired.
A year later, Hayward admits he doesn't know much about the tournament that made him a cult idol.
"I haven't followed it as much as I wanted to, but I still stay in contact a lot with my guys at Butler, I saw what they have done, and I'm watching 'SportsCenter' and all that stuff," Hayward said.
Can't blame Hayward. He is in a whirlwind rookie season with the Utah Jazz and doesn't have a lot of spare time. But he is spending this March working with Subway restaurants, and promoting the No. 5 seeds in the tournament. If a five seed wins the national championship this year -- a feat that has never been done -- Hayward vows to buy the first 5,555 fans he sees on April 5 a footlong meatball-pepperoni sub. So while he might not feel comfortable picking a Final Four, he has been studying up on the five seeds.
"I'm definitely going to be rooting for my guys at Butler and I'm going to be rooting for those five seeds -- Arizona, West Virginia, Vanderbilt and Kansas State," Hayward said. "I really like Kansas State as a five seed. They're long and athletic and experienced from last year. They've got a guard in Jacob Pullen that can win games for you down the stretch. So, I like them a lot as a five seed."
Hayward also has been in contact with his former teammates from Butler, which plays Old Dominion in the first round Thursday. He spoke with them after they beat UW-Milwaukee in the Horizon League tournament finals and had planned on getting a scouting report on Thursday's game. Hayward wasn't on the team in 2007, the last time Butler and Old Dominion met in the first round, but he said he remembers pulling into an Applebee's to watch the end of the game after hearing it on the radio.
He probably won't have to go to such measures Thursday. The Utah Jazz are off until Sunday, giving him ample time to follow his Bulldogs, who he believes are capable of another strong run.
"I think any team, if they get it going and they get that momentum, can make a run deep into the tournament," Hayward said. "This Butler team, I think, was trying to find themselves early in the season and I know they struggled a little bit, but they've been playing a lot better of late."
As for filling out a bracket, Hayward said he might enter into a pool with his Utah teammates, but that he hasn't don't enough studying to feel confident about his picks. Besides, he's just looking forward to sitting back and being a fan for awhile.
"I might just sit back and watch as a fan. Just relax and watch it," Hayward said. "It will be fun to watch as a fan again [like in 2007] and not be so involved with the team."
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