For Moeller basketball's Jaxson Hayes and Loveland's Jillian Hayes, mama shoots best

The mother of two of the area's best high school basketball players can be seen in various prep gyms on any given night and at Paul Brown Stadium some Sundays.  Jaxson Hayes, Moeller's starting center, and Jillian Hayes, top scorer of the Loveland girls team, are her offspring.

She is also is the mother to younger sons Jewett and Jonah, who surely haven't wandered far in life without a ball in their hands. Her husband is Jonathan Hayes, tight ends coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and a former player at that position for the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers.

Oldest son Jaxson, who grew from his mom's size (5-foot-11) to a 6-11 senior, was arguably the most sought-after basketball player locally of the early signees. After signing with Texas, many made the assumption the athletic genes came from Dad.

Hold the DNA right there.

Let the numbers do the talking

The legend of Kristi (Kinne) Hayes starts in north central Iowa. From the second grade until the sixth grade, she practiced basketball skills on Saturday mornings. As she blossomed as a competitor, she was able to start for her Jefferson-Scranton High School team. (Note: during her high school years of 1987-1991, Iowa girls played 6-on-6 basketball).   

Regardless of the number of sneakers on the floor, Kristi Kinne was a four-year starter who finished with 3,406 points over four years. According to available reports, that equated to a 52-point per game scoring average her senior season.

"I never met a shot I didn't like," Hayes said grinning before attending a recent Loveland game. "I averaged 20 my freshman year so my goal was to increase that by 10 every year. Layups were my go-to, but I could shoot threes, elbow shots and I got fouled a lot."

If you want to let that sink in, Kristi usually had more than what her daughter averages as a sophomore at Loveland (16 per game) by halftime and Jillian has led the Eastern Cincinnati Conference most of the season. A good high school player, boy or girl, would likely need two games to reach 52. Now a reliable scorer at Moeller, Jaxson Hayes needed five games to reach 50. Even in Wilt Chamberlain's fabled NBA season of 1962 when he scored 100 once, he averaged 50.4. Often girls high school games feature scores of less than 50.

On to bigger arenas

For an undersized post player from Iowa or the next NBA legend, 50 or more points is a monumental achievement. It was good enough to get her a scholarship to play at Drake University. Scouts had come to watch an older teammate in the state tournament and became enamored with Kristi's ability to deposit the pumpkin into the cylinder.

Against Division I talent in the Missouri Valley Conference, her astronomical averages dropped, but she was still able to rack up more than 1,500 career points.

"I was recruited as a small forward, but out of necessity I played center," Hayes said. "I went up against 6-4 and 6-5 girls but I was a lot quicker. Our offense would pull me out and I would drive on a lot of the post players."

She was Freshman of the Year at Drake, then MVP of the conference as a senior when they made the NCAA tournament. After an attempt to work in physical therapy, the hardwood beckoned again and then-Kristi Kinne went to Southern Illinois for a master's degree and to start coaching. From there, she moved closer to home to Iowa to coach.  It was there she met Jonathan Hayes.

Curveballs, coachingand a cure

When Hayes got a coaching job with Oklahoma, she went from the Hawkeyes to the Sooners staff prior to starting a family.

The move to parenting wasn't without one of life's roadblocks. Prior to getting on the coaching carousel, she noticed a growth on her abdomen while wrapping up her Drake playing career.

"I ignored it because we were getting ready for the NCAA tournament," Hayes said. "I waited 'til the end of our season and then found out it was ovarian cancer, stage three ovarian cancer, a very rare form. They ended up taking one ovary and I did chemotherapy for the summer."

In typical competitor fashion, an initial bleak outlook turned into a personal triumph.

"It ended up a full recovery," Hayes said. "Four kids later, (I'm) really blessed."

Not to discount the toughness of Jonathan Hayes and the pounding of the NFL, but his spouse is hardly a pushover. Once the current Hayes dynasty began in Oklahoma, Kristi eventually stepped aside from coaching (though she's occasionally strapped on the whistle when asked).

"We wanted one parent to at least know the kids' names," Hayes said laughing.

The result has thus far been productive with Jaxson being recruited by Shaka Smart at Texas and Jillian turning heads in both basketball and volleyball. Jewett and Jonah are in the sixth and fifth grades, respectively in the Loveland district.

The children have accompanied their father to Bengal affairs and Kristi still can give life lessons on the basketball court when one of the kids needs humbling.

"Jaxson's never beaten me one-on-one, but I stopped playing him four or five years ago," Hayes said. "Jillian would be a toss-up. She's got me in height, but I still think I could hold my own, maybe for another year. I'm very physical!"

Enjoying life in the bleachers

Both Jonathan and Kristi Hayes were beaming when Jaxson made his signing announcement at Moeller in late September.  Others will likely follow.  If anything, their mother has shown them great determination and strength to overcome life's often circuitous route.

"It's fun to watch them because I know what having some success does for you," Hayes said. "I think confidence is one of the most important things you can pass along to kids. Me and my husband have had our own careers, so we allow them to have their own careers in what they choose to do. It's fun to see them succeed at what they love to do."

With that, Kristi Hayes grins and nods. The swagger 52 points per game brings never leaves.