Washington, D.C. — Among the familiar faces hanging out in the Georgia fans section Thursday morning was Jarvis Hayes, a former star for the Bulldogs.

Hayes, who now plays for the Detroit Pistons, has a game here on Sunday against the Washington Wizards and decided to fly in Wednesday night to see his old team.

"The NBA finals is a great event, but there is nothing like the NCAA tournament," said Hayes, who is averaging slightly less than 16 minutes a game for the Pistons. "It is just great to see everybody and to get a chance to pull for the Dawgs."

Hayes, you'll recall, was the leading scorer on the 2003 Georgia team that suffered a self-imposed ban on postseason play because of rules infractions committed by coach Jim Harrick and his staff.

Hayes said he was very impressed with what this Georgia team did to get to Washington and its first NCAA tournament since 2002. Hayes was the leading scorer on that team as well.

"Incredible," he said of Georgia's run to the SEC Tournament championship. "Just incredible."