KING COTTON 2024: Hayes, Pickett give UAPB fans preview of future

The Pine Bluff Convention Center has been sort of a holiday getaway for Jai’Chaunn Hayes.

With his father, Josh, pacing the sideline, Hayes has starred in King Cotton each year since he was a freshman at White Hall. Now as a Hot Springs senior, Hayes has achieved the rare feat of playing in the prestigious high school boys basketball event for four years.

Hayes reintroduced himself to Jefferson County with 22 points, 5 assists and 7 rebounds in Hot Springs’ 75-70 win over Xavier Academy of Houston on Friday. It was just the second win for Hayes and his dad at King Cotton, as the two helped White Hall beat Huntsville, Ala., Grissom 65-64 two years earlier to the day. “Jai” Hayes scored 30 points in that game, including the winning basket with 26 seconds left.

“This year, it was all about coming together and getting a win,” the 6-foot-8 guard said Friday. “We brought the energy – a 1 o’clock game, early game – but it’s just the bright lights. I’m just used to it right now. I’m back home a little bit, so it was a great win.”

Hayes has also returned as a University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff signee, along with Benton guard Harrison Pickett. Hayes chose the Golden Lions over offers from five Southeastern Conference programs including the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Pickett scored 10 points against eventual King Cotton finalist Bishop Ireton (Alexandria, Va.) on Friday and returned for a 20-point output against Westminster Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) on Saturday, but the Panthers have come up short both times.

“He’s a guy who comes in before and stays after (practice), the first one to show up and the last one to leave,” Benton Coach Dexter Hendrix said. “I think that mentality has definitely led to some success for him.”

Benton (9-3), which lost to Pine Bluff in last season’s 5A state championship game, will close out its King Cotton run at 1 p.m. Monday against Waxahachie, Texas, to begin final-day action. The Panthers have been shorthanded by three players due to injuries, Hendrix said, but the coach was proud of the Panthers’ efforts on the King Cotton stage.

The runner-up finish has not easily been forgotten in the Panthers’ locker room.

“We want to go back and win, so we’ve got a lot of motivation,” Pickett said. “We’ll have to play for it. My team carries that every day in practice.”

Pickett, who transferred from Little Rock Parkview, overcame a patellar tendon injury in his left knee before making his Benton debut last season. UAPB was his only Division I offer.

“It was tough dealing with injuries and being away from the game I love,” Pickett said. “Once I got back, it showed me how blessed I am to play this game.”

Hot Springs (8-6) has closed its King Cotton stay after a loss to Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School (Atlanta) in which Hayes was held to 6 points Saturday.

Jai and Josh Hayes moved within the 5A-South Conference, where Pine Bluff, White Hall and Benton play, to Hot Springs during the offseason and are successful so far in their turnaround attempt with the Trojans, a two-time state championship program in the 1990s who stumbled to an 11-15 record last season. Although they never posted a winning record at White Hall, they helped the Bulldogs end an eight-year playoff drought with last year’s state tournament appearance.

Josh Hayes said his son’s mental approach to basketball has grown over the years.

“I’m trying to set a good example for everyone else, be a leader and give them tools that I wanted somebody to give me when I was younger,” Jai said. “Just leadership and bringing energy every day, being consistent.”

Hot Springs junior guard Jaeir Hardwell, who had 20 points and 8 rebounds against Xavier, has known the Hayes family since his second-grade year, when Josh began to train him.

“Jai is a natural-born leader, a Division One player,” Hardwell said. “So he brings that energy and leadership most of us guys need. It’s been a great time having him here.”

Jai Hayes’ play has helped put a target on the Trojans’ backs, Hardwell said.

“We get teams’ best games,” he added. “We’d watch film, and they’re looking mediocre, and they come out against us, and then, boom! It’s like a switch. It’s because there’s a target on our backs.”

Jai also had to recover from surgery on a swollen right knee over the summer. His father said Jai looks healthier on the court and is moving better.

“I’ve got five new starters,” Josh said. “They’re starting to figure each other. They’re starting to jell and trust and play for one another right now.”

Soon, Hayes and Pickett will play for each other inside H.O. Clemmons Arena. Pickett said he was excited when he learned he and Hayes, his former AAU teammate in middle school, would join forces.

“When they signed earlier this fall, that was cool to see,” Hendrix said. “I know (UAPB) Coach (Solomon) Bozeman has got to be excited about that. I can’t wait to watch those guys play together.”