I've seen Hayden play probably 20 times or so over the last two years. He is a post player, not a stretch 4. Maybe more of a center. He might get taller yet.
He improved a lot from his freshman to sophomore years. This past season, he averaged 13.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.1 turnovers per game. He shot 55.6 percent without attempting any 3-pointers. He was a 52.8 percent free throw shooter, so that needs to improve (and it did from his freshman year when he was just over 40 percent).
Carey is a small school. It actually was the smallest in Division III this past year, and they would have liked to have been in Division IV but still won the district which had some good teams. They couldn't hang with Africentric in the regional semifinal.
Hayden went from a role player as a starter as a freshman to being the leading scorer this past year, even though almost all of the team from the year before returned. The Blue Devils had a couple of good senior guards who will be playing Division II sports (one football, one baseball) next year. As a freshman, Stone averaged 6.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks and shot 53.0 percent. He really improved his footwork and touch around the basket from his freshman to sophomore years. Many of the players around him this past year were seniors, so it will be interesting to see what he does when he will be undoubtedly the main focus on offense.
I think he's a good athlete and has been working to get better. He's not a big jumper or real fast but he does OK in those areas. He's more fundamental than flashy for sure. He also is a tight end on the football team. He has yet to excel in football but I think he will.
I saw him post on Twitter just a few days earlier that Stony Brook gave him his first Division I offer. Ohio is his second. He'll get more. I'd like for him to be a Bobcat but I'm probably a little biased having gotten to know him a little bit the last couple years.
Thanks for the update, UpSan. What's the D3/D4 competition like up in that part of the state? Do they play any bigger schools out of conference?