Utah Jazz: Prep coaches remember moment they knew their Jazz stars could be NBA players

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Is it nature or nurture? When does potential first show itself and when is that same potential realized? As the Utah Jazz embark on the team's first playoff appearance in five years, reflection is as much a part of the equation as anticipation.

The quest for the Larry O'Brien trophy began for Jazz players not with the first whistle of this NBA season, but on high school courts in places like Brownsburg, Ind. and Meridian, Miss. As Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rodney Hood and Shelvin Mack hope to make noise in the playoffs, I spoke to their high school coaches to see which moments gave glimpses of their NBA potential. Here's what they said, in their own words and voices.

Gordon Hayward

Hayward's high school career is legendary in Indiana after a game-winning layup led his alma mater Brownsburg High School to a 4A state title in a senior year when he averaged 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game. Even then, Joshua Kendrick, Hayward's head coach, and assistant coach Dave Perkins were skeptical he'd be an NBA player, let alone an NBA All-Star.

Derrick Favors

Favors was a decorated high school athlete, picking up awards as a McDonald's All-American, several High School Player of the Year awards and the Mr. Basketball award for the state of Georgia by averaging 28 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks per game as a senior. His high school coach Michael Reddick, however, remembers Favors for a night of tireless gym work after practice.

Rodney Hood

Hood, a two-time Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year, averaged 25 points, six assists and three steals en route to a Class 6A championship for Meridian High School as a senior. His coach Randy Bolden saw Hood's NBA potential, even when the Jazz guard's mother had her doubts.

Shelvin Mack

Mack had his jersey retired in January at Bryan Station High School in Lexington, Ky. after leading the Defenders to a 30-3 record his senior year. Mack's coach Champ Ligon remembers his team's star as a "silent assassin" with a penchant for quiet trash talk.

bsmith@sltrib.com

Twitter: @BrennanJSmith