Haywood Highsmith

About

Haywood Lee Highsmith Jr. (born December 9, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Cardinals of Wheeling Jesuit University and was the NCAA Division II Player of the Year as a senior in 2018. Highsmith was born in Baltimore.
After not being selected in the 2018 NBA draft, Highsmith began his professional basketball career with the Delaware Blue Coats of the NBA G League in 2018. Late in the 2018–19 season, Highsmith made his NBA debut with the Blue Coats’ parent team Philadelphia 76ers. In later years, Highsmith played in multiple stints with the Blue Coats, the Crailsheim Merlins of the German Basketball Bundesliga, and the Miami Heat.

Originally from Baltimore, Highsmith graduated from Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore in 2014 where he was classmates with NFL wide receiver Deonte Harty of the Baltimore Ravens. His high school coach Brian Hubbard told The Baltimore Sun that Highsmith drew little interest from NCAA Division I colleges.
After high school, Highsmith attended Wheeling Jesuit University (now Wheeling University…