Mississippi College Senior Donnie Haywood Pushes for Pro Hoops Career

Donnie Haywood

A former basketball standout for the Mississippi College Choctaws, Donnie Haywood refuses to walk away from his dream of making it in the pro ranks.

An American Southwest Conference All-Conference selection as an MC senior in 2009-2010, the 23-year-old senior from Monroe, La., has his sights on joining Thailand’s pro basketball league.

This past year, Haywood didn’t make the cut when he tried out for the Austin, Texas team in the NBA’s Developmental League, but he refuses to give up on his quest.

“I have a passion for it,” Haywood says of basketball after another invigorating summer workout at the Alumni Pool on the Clinton campus. “I believe I have a lot of talent on and off the court. I have the work ethic to get there.”

Wearing No. 34 for the Choctaws, Haywood played guard for MC for one season in 2009-2010 and led the team with 13.5 points per game average. Haywood scored in double figures during 16 games. The Choctaws finished the season 19-7 and earned a trip to the American Southwest Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the East Division. He was twice named ASC East Division Player of the Week.

With the NBA facing the prospects of a lockout for the upcoming 2011-2012 season, there’s nothing stopping pro basketball in places like Europe and Asia.

Haywood, who attended a pro tryout camp in early July in Boston, is doing his best to get noticed by leading basketball scouts and coaches.

The 6’ 3” 190-pounder believes his best shot is in Thailand. The country’s pro league recently received a lift in early June when the Thailand Slammers hired former New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets player Michael Ray Richardson to coach the team.

Haywood, who was a hoops star at Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia before coming to MC, is giving his dream a deadline later this summer.

Six credits shy of earning his MC degree in psychology, Haywood says he plans to return to classes on the Clinton campus in late August if he isn’t signed by a pro team in Thailand.

If a pro league fails to work out, Haywood will explore other options following graduation from the Christian university. “I want to coach at a college,” he said. “I feel  I can help others.”

Friends at Mississippi College say Donnie’s dream really isn’t far-fetched.

MC senior Jarvis Holloway, 23, of Holly Springs, an outside linebacker on the Choctaws football team, has known Haywood since their days as Northwest students.

“That guy is not just talking,” Holloway said. “I would not be surprised if he makes the pro level. He’s a very self-disciplined guy. He puts in a lot of work. He goes after it.”

Holloway regularly watched Haywood in action during his year as student manager of the Northwest basketball team, and as a fan at the A.E. Wood Coliseum in Clinton. “He could put up shots. He’s a great athlete.”

Haywood scored as many as 31 points in a December 2009 MC win over Sul Ross State. In late February 2010, the Louisiana native pumped in 27 points in a Choctaws victory over Concordia in an ASC tournament game. Donnie was a top-notch basketball player at Ouachita High in Monroe, La. before his college days. Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant remains his favorite NBA player. Basketball runs in the Haywood family. Donnie’s dad played the sport in high school.

While Mississippi College plays in NCAA Division III ranks, MC athletes can make it in professional sports. Jake Allen, the Christian university’s All-American receiver, recently signed a contract with Calgary in the Canadian Football League after two years with the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns. MC Choctaws star senior running back Steven Knight says he’s hoping to play pro football. Fred McAfee, a standout from MC’s Division II football days, was a star with the New Orleans Saints and other NFL teams.

The CFL’s Allen, like Haywood, has seen fitness benefits from vigorous workouts in MC’s Alumni Pool, says water aerobics instructor Pam Milling.

“He’s sticking with it,” Milling says of Haywood.

“The pool workouts help me burn fat,” Donnie says. As for basketball, “I work on my game every day.”

Whether he makes it or not in pro basketball, Holloway admires his friend’s determination and priorities. “Donnie is a Christian guy who keeps God first.”

Active in his church in Louisiana, Haywood says his faith is a huge part of his life. As a believer in God, it’s made him think big about playing professional sports and achieving other lofty goals. “Without Him, none of this would be possible.”