Continuing to make Hay for North Cedar

STANWOOD -- The end is near, and Jordan Hay realizes that.

"Yeah, I think about it, but I try not to focus on it," he said. "I have no idea where I'm going to go to college, yet. But we've got to get back to state, too. That's my first goal. I need to focus on that."

No matter how things turn out in the next month, it's been one great basketball career for the 6-foot-6 senior. He has scored over 1,700 points, helping North Cedar to its first state tournament win last season.

The Knights finished fourth in Class 2A. They're 14-4 and leading the Cedar Valley Conference as they look for a repeat trip to Des Moines.

Two of the four losses have come to ranked teams in 3A (Davenport Assumption) and 4A (Cedar Rapids Jefferson), as head coach Scott Jackson scheduled up to prepare his team for the rigors of the postseason.

"I think at times there have been glimpses where we've looked really, really good," Jackson said Monday night after a five-point loss to Iowa City Regina. "Other times, I think we're kind of below average. I don't think we've peaked at all. Hopefully that'll come soon. We haven't tapped into what we can do, yet, and I don't know why that is. We just haven't."

"Right now, it seems like we're on a downslope," Hay agreed. "We've got to pick it up."

Despite being the focus of every opponent's defense, Hay still averages 22.6 points per game and 9.1 rebounds. Those numbers are ever so slightly down from his first-team all-state season of a year ago.

Hay can handle the ball, penetrate to the hoop and use his size for inside points. He's shooting 57 percent from the field but is concerned about his 61-percent numbers from the free-throw line.

"I think I'm a better player," Hay said. "My outside shooting has definitely gotten better. I need to work on my free throws, and I will. I played over the summer with the Iowa Barnstormers, shot jump shots all the time, and I think that helped."

Hay said he's cherishing playing with younger brother, Jacob, a sophomore. He's still wide open as far as colleges go, contemplating offers from Upper Iowa, Northwest Missouri State, some junior colleges and NAIA schools.

"Just find a school I like. That's it," he said. "As long as I like it there."

"He's said he doesn't want to go too far from home," Jackson said. "He's talking four hours max, so I don't know. That kind of limits him ... He just does a lot for us. From rebounding to scoring, just everything. He's an all-around player. Maybe we rely on him too much, try to find him too much at times. Other kids don't try and create. He's been the guy for us."

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