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Jarvis Hayes, a former NBA standout and a highly-respected figure throughout the basketball community in the city of Atlanta and the state of Georgia, serves as an assistant coach at Georgia State and his first under head coach Jonas Hayes. Hayes joined the Panthers' staff for the 2019-20 season.
Hayes' roots in this city and state run deep as the Atlanta native starred at Douglass High School and then the University of Georgia. Following his 12-year pro career that included seven seasons in the NBA, he served as the head coach of the Atlanta Celtics AAU team from 2015-18, one of the premier AAU programs in the country.
In his first three seasons at GSU, Hayes has been a key component for a GSU program that won the 2022 Sun Belt Conference title to earn the Panthers' sixth NCAA Tournament berth and fourth since 2015. He helped the Georgia State to winning seasons each year, including back-to-back appearances in the Sun Belt title game.
Another highlight of his tenure at Georgia State was the Panthers' 2020-21 opening night, quadruple-overtime victory at Georgia Tech for the first win over an ACC opponent in school history.
In his first season, he helped the Panthers to 19 wins in a 2019-20 season that included a seven-game winning streak and the championship of the 2K Empire Classic Riverside Regional.
Before coming to Georgia State, Hayes spent the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach at Atlanta's Morehouse College, helping guide the squad to a 20-5 overall record and the SIAC regular season title while assisting in the recruitment and development of the conference Player and Newcomer of the Year.
From 2015-18 he led the Atlanta Celtics AAU team while also serving as a color commentator for NBA TV and the ESPN/SEC Network. He also served as an assistant basketball coach at the Drew Charter School for two seasons.
Hayes was drafted with the 10th pick in the first round of the 2003 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards. He spent four seasons in Washington before playing the 2007-08 season for the Detroit Pistons, who advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. He spent his last two seasons in the NBA with the New Jersey Nets, where he served as an NBPA Team Representative.
From 2010-15, Hayes continued to play professionally overseas winning a championship with CSU Asesoft Ploiesti in Romania. He also played in Italy, Qatar, Israel, Russia, and Turkey.
After his freshman season at Western Carolina, where he averaged 17.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game to become the first freshman in 40 years to lead the Southern Conference in scoring, Hayes transferred to Georgia.
At Georgia, Hayes played two seasons before entering the NBA Draft. As a sophomore, he won the SEC scoring title wtih 18.6 points per game and was voted the SEC Player of the Year by Basketball America, The Sporting News, and CNN-SI.
During his junior year, he ranked second in the conference in scoring and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage. He became the only Bulldog to be a two-time, unanimous First-Team All-SEC selection by the coaches.
Hayes and his wife Illia were married in 2008. The couple has two sons, Jarvis Jr., and Myles.
