Marques Hayden Will Visit OU
Even though he recently gave a verbal commitment to Kansas State, talented power forward Marques Hayden told Rivalshoops.com on Tuesday night that he will officially visit Oklahoma this weekend.
Hayden, a 6-7, 230 pound power forward from Putnam City H.S. in Oklahoma City, committed to Kansas State last week after taking fall trips to K-State, Miami and UConn.
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He said he is still likely to sign with Kansas State, but admitted that there's a possibility something could change with his recruitment after his weekend trip to Norman.
As a result, Hayden has pushed off his signing until Monday, Nov. 19. He will make his intentions permanent on that date when he signs a national letter of intent.
"Coach [Kelvin] Sampson asked me to just give them a chance, come down and look at the campus and everything else," Hayden said. "That's why I am signing Monday at 10 o'clock."
Hayden played with the Athletes First program this past summer, which had quite of collection of high major talent. One of his teammates on that squad, DeAngelo Alexander, plans to sign with Oklahoma this week, and another one, forward Kevin Bookout, will decide between OU and Oklahoma State.
Hayden said he picked Kansas State for a number of reasons, and still feels that the Wildcats are the team to beat for his services.
"Kansas State is an up and coming program," Hayden said. "Me and Kansas State have a lot of things in common. As a player, I feel I am underrated, and as a program, I think Kansas State is underrated."
"Jim Wooldridge graduated from Putnam City," Hayden continued. "He was on the 1973 team with Alvan Adams and they won the states. It does not get any sweeter than that, one of his hometown cooking boys going there. I think I am going to contribute to the team immediately and I liked Manhattan a lot too."
So while his enthusiasm for Kansas State is evident, Oklahoma still has a shot once it gets him on campus this weekend for a visit.
"I am just being courteous and giving them a chance," Hayden said.
Hayden averaged 18 points per game as a junior at Putnam City. Nicknamed "Mad Dog," Hayden said he holds a 3.0 GPA and scored a 17 on the ACT exam.
"Kansas State sees me playing both the three and four slots," he said. "I am a complete player. I can go inside and out, I can slash to the basket."
Rivalshoops.com will keep you posted on Hayden's situations over the next several days, so keep it tuned here for the latest.