Jeremy Hayes

Jeremy Hays is the son of Ronnie and Sharon Hays of Boaz. He is considered to be the best boys basketball player to play at Boaz High School and one of the most prolific players in Marshall County history. “Stick,” as he was called because of his tall, slender build, began his basketball career on the courts of the Boaz Recreation Center, playing league and travel ball.

Once in high school, it didn’t take long for opponents to know who he was, as he became a three-year starter for the Pirates. During those three years, Boaz had a record of 74-18, and the Pirates went to the AHSAA State Final Four his senior year. During Jeremy’s sophomore season, Boaz claimed the Marshall County and Class 5A, Area 13 titles. Hays was named to the All-Marshall County Tournament Team, the All-Area team and the All-Marshall County Team for the season. During Stick’s junior year, he led Boaz to a 21-6 record, averaging 23 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks per game. In a loss to Arab in the Marshall County Tournament, Hays tallied 31 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots and was chosen to the All-Marshall County Tournament Team. Hays was also chosen to the All-Marshall County Team for the season and was named Marshall County’s Offensive Co-Player of the Year and Honorable Mention All-State.

As a senior, Hays was ranked as No. 3 on the Birmingham News Preseason “Super Seniors” prospect list and signed a full scholarship with the University of Alabama on November 8, 1995. The Pirates won 15 of their first 17 contests and moved to the top spot in the Class 5A state rankings on January 4, 1996, after beating the previous No. 1-ranked Albertville Aggies. Boaz won the Class 5A, Area 12 Tournament and advanced to Jacksonville State University, where they won the Northeast Regional Tournament, beating archrival Albertville in the finals. Hays was named the MVP of the regional tournament, averaging 29 points and 17 rebounds. He was named to the Class 5A Final Four All-Tournament Team, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the Pirates’ semifinal loss to B.C. Rain. For his senior season, Jeremy averaged 23 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks per game. Other honors in his senior season included All-Marshall County Tournament Team, All-Marshall County for the season and Marshall County Co-Player of the Year, Class 5A Player of the Year, The Birmingham News “Super Five” All-State Team, the USA Today Honorable Mention High School All-American, and playing in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game. On January 14, 1997, Jeremy became the first and only BHS male athlete to have his jersey retired.

Jeremy went on to an outstanding career at the University of Alabama. As a freshman he played in 31 games, scored four points and grabbed 2.8 boards per outing and had 31 blocks for the season, which ranked ninth in the Southeastern Conference. He scored a season-high 16 points at LSU. As a sophomore, he started 28 games, averaged 9.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots per game. He had four double-doubles, including a career high 26 points and 10 rebounds versus Florida and 16 points and 18 rebounds against Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament. His best overall game was against Auburn on Feb. 4, 1998, when he recorded 14 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks and six steals. His free throw percentage of 71% (58 of 82) ranked fourth in the SEC. Jeremy was named Academic All-SEC. As a junior, “Stick” started 31 games and averaged 12 points and 8.4 rebounds. He led all players in rebounds against SEC opponents. His season highs were 24 points at Arkansas and 17 rebounds against South Alabama. Jeremy recorded 12 double-doubles, including 10 against SEC opponents, and was named to the Associated Press 3^rd Team All-SEC and Academic All-SEC for the second straight year. He also was named to the SEC Good Works Team for leadership off the court and was the Jefferson Pilot television network’s Scholar Athlete of the day during the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.

Hays started the first four games of his senior year, but suffered an ACL injury against LaSalle University in the fourth game and was lost for the season. In that LaSalle game, Jeremy was having a career game with 26 points in 20 minutes of play when the injury occurred. Although he had the serious injury, he was still named Academic All-SEC for the third straight season and to the SEC Good Works Team for the second time. He was granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA and came back as a fifth-year senior, playing in the first five games. However, Jeremy retired in early December 2000 after a benign tumor attached to his right tibia caused him too much pain to continue playing. He averaged 12 minutes, 4.4 points and three rebounds and was named to the Academic All-SEC team for the fourth time.

Jeremy graduated from the University of Alabama in 2000 with a degree in business and today is a successful insurance salesman in Boaz. He is married to the former Dina Springfield and serves as a deacon at Mount Vernon Baptist Church and program director for Mount Vernon’s Upwards Basketball Program. He is president of the Marshall County Chapter of the Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.