Gordon Hayward's former position coach reveals an inside look at his progression

NEWPORT, R.I. — The relationship between Brad Stevens and Gordon Hayward got the lion's share of the headlines this summer when Hayward signed with Boston, but there is another coach on the Celtics staff that has seen just as connected to Hayward throughout his basketball career: assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry.  

Shrewsberry was Hayward's position coach at Butler University for all three of the shooting guard's collegiate seasons, prior to the 6-foot-7 wing declaring for the NBA Draft in 2010. Shrewsberry stayed as a Butler assistant for one more season and then coached at Purdue University for a couple seasons. After Stevens was brought aboard as Celtics head coach in 2013, Shrewsberry was one of his first hires and the 41-year-old has been one of the top Boston assistants for the past four seasons.

In order to gain a better understanding of Hayward's progression from his college career to now, Boston Sports Journal sat down for an exclusive interview with Shrewsberry to get the coach's assessment of Hayward's game, his fit in Boston and the role he played in helping convince the 27-year-old All-Star to sign with the Celtics this past summer.

BSJ: Hayward has been in the NBA for eight years now. How closely were you tracking him during that time and what was it like to see his progression over that timespan?           

Shrewsberry: It's been like really fun to watch it. We only had to play him twice a year, so you don't have to worry about hoping he doesn't do well. I'm happy for him to see him rise. We were talking it last night and you look through the pictures over the years in how much he's changed, not just in appearance but in his game as well. He has continued to get better and he has added something different every single year. His numbers have risen and risen every single year.

BSJ: You and Brad clearly saw that NBA potential in Hayward back at Butler, but where has he come the furthest in his game from those college days?

Shrewsberry: A lot of it is he still plays really similar to how he played in college. He's always been team-first, so he makes the right plays. If someone is open, he gives it to him. There is no hesitation in that and that hasn't changed at all. Now, you see with his scoring averages, there is more aggressiveness where now there are those moments where he can just take over. He can rise. We were having a dinner last night with some people and we were talking about how some players work so hard to rise to a certain level. Gordon is at that level and he can still rise to a different level as the games get higher (in importance). That's kind of where his development has really taken off. He could always do that, but now it's at a more consistent level where he does it every single night.

BSJ: In Utah, Hayward was on a good team, but offensively there wasn't a lot of shot creators outside of him. He had a lot on his plate there and a lot of defensive attention on him. With the talent he gets to play with in Boston now, how much will that help broaden his game more?

Shrewsberry: I think him having more guys that are a lot more skilled, playing with a Kyrie or Al, those guys draw so much more attention. People might forget about Gordon even though he's a 20-plus ppg scorer. You might look at the end of the first quarter and he'll have 12 points or something. Teams will come in focused on one thing and he'll silently be killing you on the other side. I think that's really going to help him, getting the focus off of him initially. Like you said in Utah, he had good players around him, but all eyes were on him. The gameplan was to stop him right away. Now the gameplan is to try to stop him, Kyrie and Al and that's really going to help him.

BSJ: Take me back to the recruiting experience this summer with Gordon. You and Brad just picked him up at the airport unlike a team like Miami that sent VIP security for him when he arrived. How did you guys decide to go with something simple like that?

Shrewsberry: I think it's just a part of just being yourself. Knowing who you are, knowing who he is, we're Indiana. We're small-town Indiana guys at the end of the day. It's just being comfortable in who you are. At the end of the day, I don't know if it's about glitz and glamour. It's comfort and him being comfortable around us. That was one of the things we wanted him to see right away is, 'It's us. You know who we are. We know who you are.' I think it took a lot of angst over the whole visit away and eased everything right away when he gets off the plane and we were just sitting there waiting for him.

BSJ: You coached Gordon at Butler in a defensive-first system and you guys played gritty basketball as you tried to slow down more talented teams with size throughout your time there. Is Hayward's defense something that has always been underrated and how has he progressed there in the NBA? 

Shrewsberry: I think he's been in a defense-first system his whole career. First at Butler and then in Utah. He's been well coached on how to defend. People may do it certain ways, but he knows. His size and length at that position just adds a different element for us. He's got great instincts too. He's a smart player. He's been in the league eight years. He knows tendencies of guys he's going to guard. The way he plays, the way he does things unselfishly, taking on challenges of guarding people too. For an older guy to be able to do that is great for the younger guys to watch and emulate.

BSJ: Do you think he has the speed to guard shooting guards too? We know he can handle small forwards and small-ball power forwards, but you guys are missing a big piece in Avery in that spot?

Shrewsberry: I think so. He's a smart guy. He can't guard all these guys the same way. He has to figure it out. He has to figure it out the best way that he can do it and be successful in guarding those guys. You can't pick up and guard people at halfcourt like Avery. He has to do it in his own way to have success.