June 29, 2010
Haysbert wise beyond years
It’s not too often that a high school senior can see beyond the next four or five years, let alone four to five hours. It’s ever rarer that a teenager acts upon this distant vision. That’s why Connor Haysbert is different than most.
Haysbert will be big for Dominican
Haysbert has charted the course for his near term future -- he’s departing Center High in Antelope and the E-Times Hoops Academy club team as a brand new member of the Dominican University (San Rafael) basketball squad. After earning most valuable player honors in the Capital Valley Conference, Haysbert weighed his options, with a heavy emphasis on academics, and heading about a 100 miles south became the plan.
"I chose Dominican because I can get a good education there," Haysbert explained. "My family is big on education. It’s a smaller school with the right atmosphere for me because I want to have relationships with my professors." Dominican has a faculty-to-student ratio of 11:1.
He is planning to major in biological science, with possibly a pre-med emphasis. Becoming a doctor might be in the future and another option is the sports medicine as a trainer.
But the road to Dominican wasn’t always smooth.
"The night I verbaled, it was one of the greatest reliefs in my life," Haysbert related. "A burden had been lifted off my shoulders. There are certainly much bigger problems in the world but making this decision ended months of stress."
His advice to younger players in or soon to experience the recruitment process? "The first thing is to know what you want. Not only with basketball but educationally which is really what you’re going to college for. Another big thing is not to close any door. Don’t say no to anybody until you make the choice."
Being in Marin County also means his family and relatives can attend home games. "Dominican is about two hours from home," according to Haysbert, who added, "my grandparents live in San Jose, so that’s convenient, and my father lives in Hawaii."
The latter situation comes into play because four members of the D-2 Pacific West Conference are located in the islands: BYU-Hawaii, Chaminade, Hawai'i Hilo, Hawai'i Pacific.
The remaining schools are Dixie State (Utah), Grand Canyon (Arizona), Notre Dame de Namur (Belmont) and Academy of Art (San Francisco)
Bret Tovani, a legend at San Rafael High for over three decades, heads the Dominican basketball program. He calls Haysbert “an impact player” and expects major help to be provided on the boards -- the Penguins were out-rebounded by eight a game on average last season.
Wanting to honor those who helped him get to where he is today, Haysbert said, "My mom deserves recognition for all her support -- she drove us everywhere we needed to go, came up with money that was necessary and really sacrificed for us."
He added, "[E-Time Hoops Academy] Coach Ernest Taubodo has been working with me since the fourth grade and is a mentor off the court, and I also want to thank all my supporters at Center High."
Here’s Taubodo on his protégé: "Connor Haysbert has done everything necessary to achieve his goal to compete at the next level. He led his high school basketball team both vocally and by example. He graduated from Center High School with a 3.6 GPA. He scored a 1900 achievement on his SATs. Connor also put in countless hours at the stadium stairs, the weight room and gym in order to gain the necessary advantages to compete and be successful. He also takes the time to attend church to worship and believe in something bigger then himself. Lastly, Connor has taken the time to mentor to younger players. I’m very proud of the young man he has become. Connor will be successful in life and a very good person in society."
Haysbert will be joining these northern California basketballers already on the team: Kellis Love, Xander McNally, Fox Mulholland, Brett Poncia and Alex Ward.