Prepare to be downvoted by everyone’s Jaxson Hayes trauma
BaronsDad
Before more Redditors spread misinformation about Jaxson Hayes:
Jaxson started playing organized basketball in 2nd grade. His mom, who played in college and coached at Oklahoma, Iowa, and SIUC, stated in a podcast that she coached him in Upward basketball in 2nd grade and then coached him another couple years when he played for his school. Starts at 6:23 [https://youtu.be/LKO1CfyY0X8?t=383](https://youtu.be/LKO1CfyY0X8?t=383)
On the other hand, the weird thing about Yves Missi is that his parents both played for the Cameroon national team. His older brother was sent to Monteverde in high school (played 3 years) then was the team captain at Harvard (2011-2015) . He was 3x All-Ivy and one year was DPOY. [https://gocrimson.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/steve-moundou-missi/3073](https://gocrimson.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/steve-moundou-missi/3073)
But Yves didn’t play organized ball until he moved to the United States at 16.
>Missi grew up in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where, in 2019, agent Bouna Ndiaye and trainer Tim Martin, who count Victor Wembanyama among their many clients, ran the “Why Not Me” basketball camp. Missi had no idea who Ndiaye or Martin were. While both of his parents had played for the Cameroonian national team and his (much) older brother, Steve Moundou-Missi, had hooped for Harvard, he was more into soccer. When a coach suggested he attend the camp, though, Missi took him up on it. > >”I was the best young prospect,” Missi said. “I mean, I was the youngest guy, there wasn’t a lot of us, so I was the best young prospect. And from there, I started really liking basketball.”Four months later, a 15-year-old Missi went to Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri’s Giants of Africa camp. Missi remembers the surprise guest who showed up: Pascal Siakam, with the Larry O’Brien trophy in hand. Siakam may have been an NBA champion and the league’s reigning Most Improved Player, but, before all that, a basketball camp had changed his life, too. > >It is hard to overstate how little formal basketball training Missi had before he came to the United States. He said there were “few basketball courts that have two hoops of the same height” for him to play on. He would “play around” with friends, but, when he arrived at West Nottingham Academy in Colora, Maryland, at 16 years old, basic terminology was new to him.
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Prepare to be downvoted by everyone’s Jaxson Hayes trauma
Before more Redditors spread misinformation about Jaxson Hayes:
Jaxson started playing organized basketball in 2nd grade. His mom, who played in college and coached at Oklahoma, Iowa, and SIUC, stated in a podcast that she coached him in Upward basketball in 2nd grade and then coached him another couple years when he played for his school. Starts at 6:23 [https://youtu.be/LKO1CfyY0X8?t=383](https://youtu.be/LKO1CfyY0X8?t=383)
It is also documented that he played freshmen basketball at Moeller (a prep football powerhouse) and was already dunking at that age. Jaxson lack of basketball IQ and skill development was entirely on him. He was always playing organized ball. He just prioritized football because of his dad. [https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/in-3-years-jaxson-hayes-has-gone-from-high-school-backup-to-nba-rotation-piece/article_369cfbe0-229c-11ea-8499-cfd8806c5eea.html](https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans/in-3-years-jaxson-hayes-has-gone-from-high-school-backup-to-nba-rotation-piece/article_369cfbe0-229c-11ea-8499-cfd8806c5eea.html)
On the other hand, the weird thing about Yves Missi is that his parents both played for the Cameroon national team. His older brother was sent to Monteverde in high school (played 3 years) then was the team captain at Harvard (2011-2015) . He was 3x All-Ivy and one year was DPOY. [https://gocrimson.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/steve-moundou-missi/3073](https://gocrimson.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/steve-moundou-missi/3073)
But Yves didn’t play organized ball until he moved to the United States at 16.
>Missi grew up in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where, in 2019, agent Bouna Ndiaye and trainer Tim Martin, who count Victor Wembanyama among their many clients, ran the “Why Not Me” basketball camp. Missi had no idea who Ndiaye or Martin were. While both of his parents had played for the Cameroonian national team and his (much) older brother, Steve Moundou-Missi, had hooped for Harvard, he was more into soccer. When a coach suggested he attend the camp, though, Missi took him up on it.
>
>”I was the best young prospect,” Missi said. “I mean, I was the youngest guy, there wasn’t a lot of us, so I was the best young prospect. And from there, I started really liking basketball.”Four months later, a 15-year-old Missi went to Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri’s Giants of Africa camp. Missi remembers the surprise guest who showed up: Pascal Siakam, with the Larry O’Brien trophy in hand. Siakam may have been an NBA champion and the league’s reigning Most Improved Player, but, before all that, a basketball camp had changed his life, too.
>
>It is hard to overstate how little formal basketball training Missi had before he came to the United States. He said there were “few basketball courts that have two hoops of the same height” for him to play on. He would “play around” with friends, but, when he arrived at West Nottingham Academy in Colora, Maryland, at 16 years old, basic terminology was new to him.
[https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2024-nba-draft-baylors-yves-missi-drafted-no-21-by-pelicans-wants-to-be-the-next-dereck-lively-ii/](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2024-nba-draft-baylors-yves-missi-drafted-no-21-by-pelicans-wants-to-be-the-next-dereck-lively-ii/)
Are you saying he was the MISSIng piece?