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With lots of help in the post, Gallaudet women stand tall
Before Easter Faafiti arrived at Gallaudet, Nukeitra Hayes knew plenty about her.
Coach Kevin Cook "talked about her all the time," Hayes said through an interpreter. "He showed me pictures of her every day and said, 'This is the girl you're going to be playing with.' . . . I knew that she was a good player. I always wanted to play with a player like this, that's really talented."
Faafiti, a 5-foot-10 forward-center who transferred to Gallaudet before her junior year, was a two-time all-state selection at Pasadena Community College and had led the Lancers to their first California Community College Athletic Association title in 2009. Hayes, a 6-foot center who had been the Capital Athletic Conference rookie of the year her freshman year, was looking forward to having someone who could draw away some of the double- and triple-teams she was facing.
Cook knew the pairing of the two talented post players, who now are seniors, could be just what the Bison needed.
"Last year I had several meetings with them both, saying, 'Hey, if you guys ever learn to play with each other you'd be pretty difficult,' " Cook said. "It took them almost a year to learn how to play together. Now we're seeing the fruits of that this year."
Faafiti and Hayes have become a dynamic duo for Gallaudet (14-0), propelling the Bison to their best season in more than a decade and their best start in school history. They are ranked No. 24 in Division III, their first appearance in the rankings since 1999. Their 14 consecutive wins are one shy of the school record.
For Faafiti and Hayes, learning to play together didn't come naturally. It took some time because first they had to learn how to communicate with each other at Gallaudet, a school for the deaf and hard of hearing in Northeast Washington.
Faafiti attended a mainstream high school and learned Signed Exact English, in which a sign is executed for every word, rather than American Sign Language, which uses hand gestures and symbols and has its own grammar and syntax. Hayes attended Indiana School for the Deaf and had been signing since she was 6.
"I felt like I wanted to come here because I wanted to learn about my culture, which is deaf culture," Faafiti said through an interpreter. "It was a huge change for me, big time. At first, I was thinking: 'How does a deaf team know when the ref blows a whistle? How do they stop and how do they know what's going on?' I was actually worried about that and wondering about that for a long time. And the signing, I was like, man, I can't sign and run and play basketball at the same time. I can't do all that.
"It actually took a long time for me to adjust to the culture and the communication barrier. Finally this year, things just clicked with me. I bond well with everybody. We work together. Now that I know signs, I communicate with my teammates. I feel like I grew up with these girls my whole life."
Hayes, who helped Faafiti with her signing, said her teammate was a quick learner.
"This team is a lot different because in years past most of the kids were from residential deaf schools and now there's more diversity because we have kids from deaf schools and kids from mainstream schools," Hayes said. "When we all came together, we were on different pages but we found a way to communicate with each other."
Faafiti made an immediate impact as a junior last season. She was selected the Capital Athletic Conference player of the year and named to the Division III all-American fourth team. This season, following Gallaudet's move to the North Eastern Athletic Conference, Faafiti has been selected the conference player of the week four times. She ranks ninth in Division III in steals (4.2 per game) and is leading the NEAC in field goal percentage (.549). She is the team's leading scorer (19.1 points per game) and rebounder (12.2 per game).
Hayes has blossomed alongside Faafiti. She too is averaging a double-double this season (13.1 points, 10.1 rebounds per game). She also has 22 blocks and 35 steals. "I put a lot more effort into [conditioning] knowing that I am a senior and I don't have any more years to play," Hayes said. "My freshman year, I was kind of going through the motions. I wasn't putting all the effort and energy into it."
Gallaudet has recorded some impressive wins, including handing No. 15 Lebanon Valley its only loss of the season. But it was the Bison's lopsided loss in an exhibition game that showed them early on how good they could be.
Gallaudet traveled to Comcast Center to play Maryland, then ranked 21st in Division I, on Nov. 2. Although the Bison lost, 90-37, they came away from the game feeling good about themselves.
"It actually helped us a lot," Faafiti said. "We looked up to them, almost like our older sisters playing at a higher level of play. . . . When we play in the NEAC and we struggle, we picture that game - 'Let's get together because we played the University of Maryland and this is how we played them, so apply those principles to this game' - and that helps us get by."
"There were a couple players that were a little bit nervous," Cook said. "They said, 'Coach, why in the world did you schedule the University of Maryland?' But in time, they began to believe they can be on the same court and not get embarrassed. I thought they made a good representation of themselves and the program."
The confidence from that game has helped make the Bison the team to beat in the NEAC.
"We all know that every team is gunning for us because we're undefeated," Hayes said. "It's tough [being the favorite]. We have to stay mentally strong. We know that other teams really, really want to beat us."
Together, Faafiti and Hayes intend to make sure that nothing stops them from their goal of winning the NEAC and going to the NCAA tournament.
"I think the team's rallied around those two, and they want to send them off on a good note," Cook said. "That's been pretty special to see, too."
Before Easter Faafiti arrived at Gallaudet, Nukeitra Hayes knew plenty about her.
Coach Kevin Cook "talked about her all the time," Hayes said through an interpreter. "He showed me pictures of her every day and said, 'This is the girl you're going to be playing with.' . . . I knew that she was a good player. I always wanted to play with a player like this, that's really talented."
Faafiti, a 5-foot-10 forward-center who transferred to Gallaudet before her junior year, was a two-time all-state selection at Pasadena Community College and had led the Lancers to their first California Community College Athletic Association title in 2009. Hayes, a 6-foot center who had been the Capital Athletic Conference rookie of the year her freshman year, was looking forward to having someone who could draw away some of the double- and triple-teams she was facing.
Cook knew the pairing of the two talented post players, who now are seniors, could be just what the Bison needed.
"Last year I had several meetings with them both, saying, 'Hey, if you guys ever learn to play with each other you'd be pretty difficult,' " Cook said. "It took them almost a year to learn how to play together. Now we're seeing the fruits of that this year."
Faafiti and Hayes have become a dynamic duo for Gallaudet (14-0), propelling the Bison to their best season in more than a decade and their best start in school history. They are ranked No. 24 in Division III, their first appearance in the rankings since 1999. Their 14 consecutive wins are one shy of the school record.
For Faafiti and Hayes, learning to play together didn't come naturally. It took some time because first they had to learn how to communicate with each other at Gallaudet, a school for the deaf and hard of hearing in Northeast Washington.
Faafiti attended a mainstream high school and learned Signed Exact English, in which a sign is executed for every word, rather than American Sign Language, which uses hand gestures and symbols and has its own grammar and syntax. Hayes attended Indiana School for the Deaf and had been signing since she was 6.
"I felt like I wanted to come here because I wanted to learn about my culture, which is deaf culture," Faafiti said through an interpreter. "It was a huge change for me, big time. At first, I was thinking: 'How does a deaf team know when the ref blows a whistle? How do they stop and how do they know what's going on?' I was actually worried about that and wondering about that for a long time. And the signing, I was like, man, I can't sign and run and play basketball at the same time. I can't do all that.
"It actually took a long time for me to adjust to the culture and the communication barrier. Finally this year, things just clicked with me. I bond well with everybody. We work together. Now that I know signs, I communicate with my teammates. I feel like I grew up with these girls my whole life."
Hayes, who helped Faafiti with her signing, said her teammate was a quick learner.
"This team is a lot different because in years past most of the kids were from residential deaf schools and now there's more diversity because we have kids from deaf schools and kids from mainstream schools," Hayes said. "When we all came together, we were on different pages but we found a way to communicate with each other."
Faafiti made an immediate impact as a junior last season. She was selected the Capital Athletic Conference player of the year and named to the Division III all-American fourth team. This season, following Gallaudet's move to the North Eastern Athletic Conference, Faafiti has been selected the conference player of the week four times. She ranks ninth in Division III in steals (4.2 per game) and is leading the NEAC in field goal percentage (.549). She is the team's leading scorer (19.1 points per game) and rebounder (12.2 per game).
Hayes has blossomed alongside Faafiti. She too is averaging a double-double this season (13.1 points, 10.1 rebounds per game). She also has 22 blocks and 35 steals. "I put a lot more effort into [conditioning] knowing that I am a senior and I don't have any more years to play," Hayes said. "My freshman year, I was kind of going through the motions. I wasn't putting all the effort and energy into it."
Gallaudet has recorded some impressive wins, including handing No. 15 Lebanon Valley its only loss of the season. But it was the Bison's lopsided loss in an exhibition game that showed them early on how good they could be.
Gallaudet traveled to Comcast Center to play Maryland, then ranked 21st in Division I, on Nov. 2. Although the Bison lost, 90-37, they came away from the game feeling good about themselves.
"It actually helped us a lot," Faafiti said. "We looked up to them, almost like our older sisters playing at a higher level of play. . . . When we play in the NEAC and we struggle, we picture that game - 'Let's get together because we played the University of Maryland and this is how we played them, so apply those principles to this game' - and that helps us get by."
"There were a couple players that were a little bit nervous," Cook said. "They said, 'Coach, why in the world did you schedule the University of Maryland?' But in time, they began to believe they can be on the same court and not get embarrassed. I thought they made a good representation of themselves and the program."
The confidence from that game has helped make the Bison the team to beat in the NEAC.
"We all know that every team is gunning for us because we're undefeated," Hayes said. "It's tough [being the favorite]. We have to stay mentally strong. We know that other teams really, really want to beat us."
Together, Faafiti and Hayes intend to make sure that nothing stops them from their goal of winning the NEAC and going to the NCAA tournament.
"I think the team's rallied around those two, and they want to send them off on a good note," Cook said. "That's been pretty special to see, too."