B/R Talks to Gordon Hayward: Subway's "Meatball Madness," 5-Seeds, and The Shot

Butler's Gordon Hayward was inches away from being a March Madness legend in the 2010 Championship game.

His half-court, buzzer-beater shot banked off the glass and the front iron while thousands at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and millions around the world watched.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB00wfyuQjY&feature=fvwrel

If this shot had gone in, it would have marked the first time that a 5-Seed won the NCAA Championship.

Hayward moved on from that game, entered the NBA Draft, and was selected as the ninth overall pick of the 2010 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz.

In the middle of his rookie season, Hayward is taking time to reconnect with this year's NCAA Tournament through a special deal with Subway Restaurants.

I talked today with the 20-year-old NBA forward about March Madness, 5-Seeds, and Subway's NCAA 5-Seed Deal.

This will be the first of three parts to this interview.

B/R: First off, tell me about your involvement with Subway.

GH: For this year's NCAA Tournament, I'm teaming up with Subway in "Meatball Madness."

To honor our Butler team making it to last year's title game as a No. 5 seed, if a No. 5 Seed wins it all this year, I am pledging to buy the $5 foot-long meatball pepperoni sub for 5,555 fans.

B/R: That's a sweet deal. I will be the first to take you up on that. By the way, what is your favorite Sub on the Menu?

GH: (without any hesitation) Turkey Provolone on Italian.

B/R: What makes the 5/12 matchups so interesting?

GH: Not really sure. Always very dangerous for the 5-Seeds. We were very glad to get past that opening game last year. 

B/R: How did you as a team enter into last year's tournament? Did you think it was possible to get anywhere close to the Championship Game?

GH: It didn't really start at the beginning of the tournament. It started the summer before the season. I kept telling my teammates, "This is our year." The Championship Game is being played here in Indy. I expect to be the champs! Twenty and 10 are my favorite numbers. It's our destiny.

B/R: What was the journey like getting to the Championship Game?

GH: After a big win against UTEP in the opening round, we had tough games the rest of the way. Close games against Murray State, Syracuse, Kansas State and Michigan State. We didn't have an easy road, that's for sure.

B/R: What did you think when you found out that Butler was going to play Duke for the 2010 Championship Game? A little scared?

GH: I wouldn't say we were scared at all. We respected them because they were a great team with a great tradition. But we came in confident that if we played our game, we had a chance to win it all.

B/R: Talk about "The Shot." What was going through your mind? What were you thinking?

GH: Really wasn't thinking about anything but get the rebound (from the Duke free throw) get down the court, and get a decent shot up. Really can't remember that I had anything on my mind. I've replayed it many times since then, but it's over. It's in the past.

Note: We will cover the rest of this interview in two additional parts in the next two days.

In those articles, you can hear what Gordon says about this year's 5/12 match-ups, his thoughts on the No. 1 Seeds and the 2011 Final Four.

We will also hear about his transition from college star to NBA rookie.

Bring on the 5-Seeds...and the Meatball Subs!