High Riser
Record-setting season propels Marquez Haynes into the national basketball spotlight
Guard Marquez Haynes isn鈥檛 supposed to be the basketball player who was third in the nation in scoring last season, whose spectacular dunks have 20,000 YouTube hits, who鈥檚 editor-in-chief of the UT Arlington record book. He鈥檚 not supposed to be someone Magic Johnson has heard of (Magic Johnson!).
He鈥檚 not supposed to be any of those things, because Marquez Haynes 鈥渁in鈥檛 supposed to be nothing.鈥� At least that鈥檚 what his mother was聽told.
Marquez was just a kid when someone predicted to Angela Haynes that her children would never pan out. She won鈥檛 say who it was, but it doesn鈥檛 matter to Marquez. He has heard doubts from everywhere and everyone, and he blows past them like they鈥檙e flat-footed defenders.
鈥�My teachers told me, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e probably not going to play professional basketball,鈥� and I鈥檓 in class saying, 鈥業鈥檓 different!鈥� And they鈥檙e telling me that I鈥檓 not. I鈥檓 not sure how many of them even know what I鈥檓 doing now. But it would be interesting to talk to聽them.鈥�
The Haynes legend took flight in summer 2009 when video of him jumping over 6-foot-3 Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams for a jaw-dropping dunk during a charity basketball game became an Internet favorite. Next came the greatest individual basketball season in UT Arlington history, during which he led the nation in scoring for a time before finishing third with 22.6 points per聽game.
He broke the University鈥檚 25-year record for points in a season (678) and became only the second Maverick with 1,000 points in a two-year span. He was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and honorable mention All-American, and he participated in the NCAA鈥檚 slam dunk contest during the Final聽Four.
He wasn鈥檛 bad off the court, either. He got face time with Magic Johnson last spring when the NBA legend spoke on campus, and he was surprised to learn that Johnson knew who he was. Word spreads quickly when a player can score like Haynes.
He earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in in May and is playing professionally in France.
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