October 15, 2003

Wizards rookie swingman Jarvis Hayes met with WashingtonWizards.com Monday afternoon before traveling to Memphis to discuss his thoughts on Training Camp, and how he's adjusted to his early days in the NBA.

Hayes was selected with the 10th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Mitchell Layton/NBAE/Getty Images

The first couple days of training camp were tough. Being new to the NBA and learning the sets and the system that Coach Jordan wanted to run made it a rough couple of days, but it was fun. I feel like I got a lot accomplished, especially towards the end of the week when the veterans showed up and we were a full team. I must admit though, I was glad when we boarded that plane to come back to D.C. because I knew that training camp was over and that we were about to head into real competition with other NBA teams.

The first game against New York I was definitely nervous. Playing against the Knicks in front of the home fans definitely put some butterflies in my stomach, but I think I played pretty well in my debut. My goal right now is just to get better and develop more of a feel for NBA games, the NBA style in sets and play, but that time will come.

I felt that I brought energy to the court. Unfortunately, I may have brought too much energy because I got into early foul trouble. I'm going to continue to bring the energy to every game I play, and just calm down and pace myself so I'm not too over anxious. I know I'm just a rookie and I'm going to make some mistakes, but I don’t like to make mistakes. I understand they are going to happen, so I just have to learn from them.

Crossing the border and going to Toronto was definitely different. It was my first time up in Canada and I thought it was a beautiful city. I got to play against one of my favorite players in Vince Carter which was fun not only to go up against him, but to watch him as well.

This was the first time that I have seen him play in person and to be on the same court with him was definitely somewhat shocking, but those are things that I am going to run into the whole season. I talked to him a little bit after the game and he told me to keep my head up and keep playing hard. He said that he liked my game and looked forward to watching me get better. Hearing that from him was definitely gratifying because it tells me that I am on the right track to being the player I want to be. To see that a player like Vince noticed that helps me because everyday is a learning process for me and I just want to get better.

The game against Philadelphia in Greensboro, North Carolina was interesting because I got to go back to the area where I first went to college, which was Western Carolina. I had some friends and family come to that game, and playing against Allen Iverson was definitely a sight.

Once again I came into the game a little excited and probably got into a little bit of foul trouble early in the game. It was a good experience playing against a team like Philly because every game I play I'm learning a little bit more. The first game was about being patient, the second game was shot selection and the third game was seeing the floor and knowing when to pick and choose where to shoot my shots from. It's definitely a learning process and I think that I'm on the right path; I just have to keep going.

This week I'm looking forward to putting together what I learned in the first three games and just getting better.

Jarvis went on to have his best game so far this season in Memphis, scoring 12 points on 5-8 shooting in 22 minutes. Jarvis will stop by throughout the season to talk about his first year in the NBA.