NEW ORLEANS – For Jonas Hayes, being named head men’s basketball coach at Georgia State in April 2022 exceeded even his wildest expectations.
Hayes is a native of Atlanta, growing up fewer than 10 miles from his current office. He starred at Douglass High School and led his team to the semifinals of the Class 4A State Championship in 1999.
He went on to play three seasons for the University of Georgia, helping the Bulldogs reach the NCAA Tournament in 2002 and the NIT in 2004. He was later an assistant coach at his alma mater. Hayes spent the last four years as an assistant coach and then interim head coach at Xavier, leading the Musketeers to the 2022 NIT Championship.
“If you would have told me 10 years ago that I could script my career and script it best-case scenario, I don’t think I would have come up with a situation like I have now,” Hayes said. “It’s not lost on me how blessed I am; how fortunate I am to be at home. Born and raised a stone’s throw from our arena.”
He realized he wanted to be a coach during his sophomore year in college when his head coach Jim Harrick allowed him to go back home during the summer and help coach his high school team at Douglass.
“I felt then that my words mattered and I could make a difference using basketball,” Hayes said. “Coming from an inner-city neighborhood where all people have a lot of times is basketball, I thought the idea of pouring into other people, trying to make an impact in their lives using the game of basketball was huge. I figured that out at an early age – I was 20 years old. That’s where I got the itch and I’m still itching right now.”
If any of his players were to show interest in following in his footsteps, Hayes would emphatically recommend coaching as a career choice.
“There is nothing more satisfying than knowing that you made a difference in somebody’s life,” he said. “If you have guys that want to pour into other people using the game of basketball, I would absolutely encourage it.”
Hayes inherits a Georgia State program with a tradition of success. The Panthers have made four NCAA Tournament appearances since 2015, winning Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championships in each of those seasons. Last season, Georgia State won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Though the Panthers have lost a significant amount of their production and experience from a year ago, including Sun Belt Tournament MVP Corey Allen, Hayes understands that the expectations never change.
“I tell our guys this all the time – the standard is the standard, regardless of what our roster looks like,” Hayes said. “We did lose a substantial amount of our productivity, but what that provides is an opportunity for someone else to step in and step up. I don’t look at it as pressure.”
Evan Johnson, a third-year player who has seen action in 48 career games for the Panthers, is one of the returnees who has taken on a leadership role under Hayes’ direction.
“I couldn’t ask for a better situation,” Johnson said. “Coach Hayes has been great. He has brought in a great coaching staff. Just the energy and positivity he brings every day is great.”
New for Georgia State this year will be the opening of the GSU Convocation Center, a brand-new 7,300-seat arena that sits just north of Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta.
“The new facility is off the charts,” Johnson said. “It’s huge, it’s nice, it’s clean and it’s fresh. It’s just a fresh start to start with a new coaching staff and a new team.”
Hayes understands the importance of the new facility, at which the Panthers will play 19 home games during the 2022-23 campaign.
“Opening up a new building this year speaks to the support that we have from our President and from our Athletics Director,” Hayes said. “I’m excited to be placed in that position. There’s a certain level of thankfulness that I have in that. Growing up in Atlanta, we always thought and dreamed ‘What if Georgia State had a new arena?’ It’s not lost on me how fortunate I am that I’m the caretaker of this program going forward and opening up a new building.”
It all begins for Hayes and Georgia State on Monday, November 7 when the Panthers play host to Coastal Georgia at the GSU Convocation Center.
While Hayes may not have been able to envision being the head coach for his hometown school, his hard work and determination led him to this point.
“This was nowhere near the top of my list in terms of what I thought was possible,” Hayes said. “I had the mindset of keeping one foot in front of the other, and this is the result.”