FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (November 3, 2022) – Most of the focus on student-athletes is based around their performance in games as millions tune in to watch college students play in thousands of competitions that pit academic institutions against one another.
With all the focus aimed toward the performances on the field or court, sometimes achievements away from it can be forgotten, but are still nonetheless impressive. One Lumberjack who has been recognized for these achievements is redshirt junior
Keith Haymon.
Haymon, a key piece for the Lumberjacks during the 2021-22 season with 9.8 points per game while shooting 36.2% from beyond the arc, is known throughout the Big Sky Conference for his ability to shoot the ball.
"I definitely take a lot of pride in my three point shooting," Haymon said. "It's always been a strong suit of mine. Dating back to high school, when I used to be a center, I could always shoot."
However, Haymon's shooting isn't the only thing that has earned him recognition across the Big Sky as he has consistently landed on the Big Sky All-Academic team. Named to the team for the third consecutive time in his career last spring, Haymon' academic awards don't end there. A four-time Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022) at Northern Arizona and two time NABC honoree (2021, 2022), the forward has shown his academic prowess throughout his career with the Lumberjacks.
For Haymon, his family has been the biggest influence in the drive for academic excellence.
"I'm doing it for my family here, my family in Italy because they've poured so much into me," Haymon said of what drives him to succeed on and off the court. "I credit my parents for driving that work ethic into me and the importance of academics. I took a lot of pride in it throughout my early years and my high school career and on into college."
Haymon has earned high praise from those within Northern Arizona's program, including his head coach
Shane Burcar.
"With someone like
Keith Haymon, he embodies exactly what this program's about," Burcar said. "He's loyal, he took a redshirt year, he's here again for a COVID year. He's probably got every degree you can think of."
Academic's are a key piece of what Burcar values in Northern Arizona's program. The fourth-year head coach has established that his players need to be complete as student-athletes, including checking in with an academic advisor weekly to check on their performance in the classroom. This effort put forth by both coaches and players has earned the Lumberjacks the NABC's Team Academic Excellence Award in two of his first three seasons with the team.
That drive to succeed off the court is also one factor that Burcar considers while looking at potential Lumberjacks while on the recruiting trail. The head coach doesn't require students to have top tier academic success, but the effort has to be there. Students must be prepared to give as much effort off the court as they do on it once they arrive in Flagstaff.
"What we look at with recruiting and academics is their attendance," Burcar said. "If their attendance is bad, that's just not acceptable. But if they're there everyday and they're struggling in class, then there might be a reason for that."
As for Haymon, despite still only being listed as a redshirt junior for his athletic eligibility, he received his bachelor's degree in business economics in the spring of 2021. Haymon is now working toward his master's in organizational leadership.
Despite all the academic success, Haymon's post college aspirations still lie with basketball.
"The NBA is obviously the grand goal," Haymon said when asked about his future in the sport. "I'm half Italian, my mother is from Italy so I have Italian citizenship. I would love to go over there and play as well. It would be a great opportunity to be closer to that side of the family, and play in a forgein country that's not so forgein."
The forward will lace up with the Lumberjacks once again for the 2022-23 season, with the goal of a Big Sky title at the top of his mind, but knowing that what happens on the court is only a small part of what he is achieving in Flagstaff.
