hayes arrived at the university of kentucky (uk) in 2001 after choosing uk over kansas in a close recruiting battle. hayes was named to the all-sec freshman team in 2002. during the next three years, he contributed to a resurgence in kentucky basketball along with keith bogans, gerald fitch, erik daniels and kelenna azubuike. over hayes' sophomore, junior and senior seasons, kentucky accumulated a record of 87–15 (.853), and earned final ap rankings of 1st, 2nd and 7th respectively. during hayes' senior season, the kentucky athletics department promoted him as an all-american candidate, using the slogan "all he does is win". although hayes was named the 2004 sec defensive player of the year, he did not earn all-american honors.