For Hayes brothers, Georgia State-UGA exhibition a full-circle moment
Georgia State coach Jonas Hayes always has had a deep connection to the University of Georgia. On Wednesday, he will take another step in the journey when his team hosts the Bulldogs in an exhibition.
The Panthers and Bulldogs will meet at 7 p.m. in the CareSource Invitational. It will be the second time the Bulldogs have played at GSU and their first visit to the Convocation Center since it opened in 2022.
And Hayes can hardly wait.
“I’ve been trying to get them on the schedule for a long time because I’ve got a lot of respect for the university, as you know, and I’ve got a lot of respect for (UGA coach) Mike White,” Hayes said. “I think he does a phenomenal job.”
Hayes and twin brother Jarvis share connections to UGA that go back to their days at Douglass High School in Atlanta. The brothers played one season at Western Carolina before transferring to Georgia, where they finished their college careers.
Jarvis Hayes spent seven seasons in the NBA and was a first-round draft choice. Jonas Hayes graduated and became an assistant coach at Morehouse, South Carolina State and Belmont Abbey before landing at Georgia in 2012. He stayed there until Mark Fox was dismissed in 2018 and went to Xavier, where he led the team to the NIT champion as an interim coach in 2022.
A month later Jonas Hayes was named head coach at Georgia State and soon added his brother to the staff as an assistant.
The exhibition opportunity brings the Hayes brothers almost full circle back to their roots at UGA.
“It’s going to be a competition, a very competitive atmosphere,” Jonas Hayes said. “But that’s deep-seated love for that university and that coaching staff. For them to come down to our spot is massive. And we’re doing it for an opportunity to bring awareness for mental health.”
The exhibition will benefit a mental health initiative sponsored by CareSource, a nonprofit managed-care organization. The effort began in 2023 to support adolescent and young adult mental health and suicide prevention initiatives.
The contest with UGA also will give Jonas Hayes a better idea about where his team stands. The Panthers have another exhibition at Morehouse on Oct. 24 before opening the season Nov. 3 at Eastern Michigan in the Sun Belt-MAC Challenge.
“I’m cautiously optimistic, as I always am,” Jonas Hayes said. “I think the people we have in our locker room are really good, good people. I’m excited about the people I have in our locker room.”
The Panthers already are ahead of where they were last year, when only one starter returned. GSU has a solid foundation with guards Jelani Hamilton and Malachi Brown, who both started last season, and 6-foot-9 forward Clash Peters, who came off the bench a year ago. They also should be helped by Trey Scott III, the son of Georgia Tech great Dennis Scott, a 6-foot-11 forward who is healthy after missing his entire freshman season.
About the Author
Stan Awtrey has been covering sports for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1977. He currently writes about high school sports, Georgia State University athletics and golf.
