Three years into his college career, Bradley Hayes was every bit the project that he was when he arrived at Georgetown. Among nearly 200 scholarship basketball athletes at Georgetown with three or more years on the varsity over the last 70 years, he ranked in the bottom three in points scored, with only Lonnie Duren (1976-80) and Vladimir Bosanac (1990-93) trailing him.

Overcoming long odds is at the heart of the Bradley Hayes story. Growing up in Jacksonville, FL, Hayes entered high school at a mere 6-2 and proceeded to grow ten inches in three years, leading to a variety of injuries that limited his basketball development. Hayes was literally growing into his frame, and by his senior season at Sandalwood HS he scored 13 points and averaged 12 rebounds a game. Hayes chose Georgetown over interest from Georgia and Connecticut, but his would be a long climb up the depth chart.

Hayes appeared in only nine games as a freshman, failing to score--he sat alongside fellow freshman brandon Bolden, who also failed to score a basket that year. While Bolden transferred to Kansas State, Hayes stayed on course. Sophomore year wasn't much better, with 14 points in 16 games, and six of them coming in just two games. Hayes rededicated himself to learning the game and putting in the time in the weight room and in practices for when he was called upon. By junior season, Hayes was still a fixture on the bench: eight points in 15 games. On March 19, 2015, Bradley Hayes arrived.

The opening round of the 2015 NCAA's put Georgetown in an awkward position. Its poor showing in past tournaments had led the #4-seeded Hoyas to be a universal pick for an early exit--the coach at #13 seed Eastern Washington had publicly predicted a win against Georgetown, and with nine minutes remaining in the first half, Eastern Washington was on their way to following script where schools like Ohio, Virginia Commonwealth, and Florida Gulf Coast had embarrassed its share of John Thompson III-coached teams. The Hoyas had just given up back to back threes to trail 21-15 when Hayes entered the game and helped steady the Hoyas at a critical point of the game. An offensive rebound and a put-in, followed by a rebound and short jumper closed the gap to 24-19. After EWU let loose with another three, 24-20, Hayes answered with a third basket (surpassing his career high). An assist followed, then two free throws that gave Georgetown a 31-30 lead. Georgetown then ended the half on a 13-4 run, and Hayes delivered.

"That's what this time of year is about," said coach John Thompson III in post-game remarks. "What B.J. did today is unbelievable. That's what this tournament is about, stories like that. B.J. articulated it best. We tell them to be ready, be ready. He was ready."

With the departure of Josh Smith in the starting lineup, Hayes was tabbed to start at center his senior year. He shocked the stat sheet with a 19 point, 12 rebound effort in the season opener, and became a consistent inside presence for the Hoyas, with a old-school hook shot that seemed untouchable by opponents. Hayes started every game until a hand injury suffered in practice on Feb. 11 took him out of the lineup, and surgery followed. The injury was believed to have ended his career, until word was announced that Georgetown had acquired a one year medial hardship waiver for Hayes to play in 2016-17.

Hayes returned for a fifth season, although under terms of the waiver he missed the first four games of the season. Hayes averaged 4.1 points as a fifth year senior, starting just 11 games. Hayes' season high was a 10 point, seven rebound game early in the season versus Coppin State, but was often shut out in games late in the season.