April 26, 2011
New York, N.Y. -
Former Fordham University standout Michael Haynes is enjoying a successful first year in the NBA Development League (NDBL), helping his Iowa Energy squad advance to the NDBL finals, scoring 18 points on Sunday night to help the squad take a 1-0 lead in the best of three championship series. Game two of the finals is on Wednesday night at and will be televised live on VERSUS.
The top-seeded Iowa Energy outscored the defending NBA Development League champion and third-seeded Rio Grande Valley Vipers 29-9 in the third quarter to take the lead and pull away for the 123-106 win in Game 1 of the best of three Finals on Sunday at State Farm Arena.
Haynes, who started at forward for Iowa, netted 18 points, shooting 3-for-7 from behind the arc, and added six rebounds and four assists.
During the regular season, Haynes averaged 10.5 ppg and 3.6 rpg as he helped the Energy to a 37-13 record, tops in the NDBL. He also added 48 assists, 22 steals and 21 blocks in 48 regular season games.
Haynes has saved his best for the playoffs, averaging 20.7 ppg, second best on the team, and 7.3 rpg in six playoff games to date. He also has 14 assists and eight steals in the postseason.
Haynes recorded a double-double with a career high 37 points and 11 rebounds in the deciding game three of the first round versus the Utah Flash. His shot from 50 feet away at the third quarter buzzer helped give the Energy the lead which it did not relinquish.
In the semifinals, Haynes tallied 15 points and seven rebounds in 42 minutes to help Iowa defeat Tulsa, two games to none, and advance to the NBA D-League Finals for the first time in franchise history.
A two-time team captain at Fordham, Haynes led the team in both scoring, with an 18.6 ppg average, and rebounding, averaging 7.4 rpg, as a senior in 2003-04. The 2004 Third Team All-Atlantic 10 and Second Team All-Metropolitan selection was ranked among the Atlantic 10 leader in both categories that year, finishing fifth in scoring and eighth in rebounding. He was one of only two players to be ranked among the top ten in the conference in scoring and rebounding and he also shot 37.0% from three-point range, seventh best in the A-10. Haynes dished out 58 assists and blocked 22 shots; second best on the team, while also recording 20 steals.
Haynes, who was drafted in the second round of the USBL draft by the Westchester Wildfire, saved his best for last as a senior, scoring in double figures in 26 of his 27 games on the year, including nine 20-point games and three 30-point games, including a career-high 36 points against St. Bonaventure. He became the first Fordham player since Andre McClendon in 1989-90 to have three 30-point games in a season and the 36 point output against St. Bonaventure was the most scored by a Ram since Joe Paterno netted 37 against Manhattan in 1990.
For his career, Haynes amassed 1,228 points which places him 17th on Fordham's all-time scoring list.
Following his standout career at Fordham, he went on to play overseas in Israel, Spain, Poland, France and Germany. Before the season he was drafted in the fourth round of the NBA D-League Draft.
