From showing that size is no barrier to playing basketball, to proving his own value, and now showing he can do things at a higher level, rising to challenges is something he knows how to do.
That leaves the 20-year-old guard in familiar territory as he heads to Porirua today with the Otago under-23 teams for the national championships.
Sending both men’s and women’s teams, was a chance for the region to show the rest of the country of what Otago is capable, particularly in the men’s side with no NBL team, Hayman said.
"It’s a good opportunity for us to prove ourselves on the national stage again," Hayman said.
"Without the Nuggets for the past three years now, I think a lot of us are capable of playing at the top level, but we kind of don’t have any exposure down here.
"So in that regard, that’s what I’m excited about. I think we’ve got a lot to prove, to the country and to ourselves."
It is the latest in a series of challenges Hayman has faced throughout his years in basketball.
Despite having two national titles to his name, there was a tendency for him to be overlooked as a star among a very strong group of players growing up.
As an undersized player during those years, he was forced to work extra hard to develop a high skill level so he could compete.
It was something that paid off and he eventually made the national tournament team in his final year of under-19 basketball.
Having now been one of club basketball’s top players over the past two seasons for the Mid City Magic, he is happy to be where he is.
"I’m happy I persisted with it. I feel like that’s what I pride myself on, is persisting.
"If you love something don’t give up on it.
"Even though I wasn’t playing, I loved to train, I loved to run suicides, it was never a chore for me.
"I would happily wake up at 7am every morning to train with Mark [Dickel].
"It sounds mad, but I’d be pissed off if I missed my alarm. I’d be grumpy the whole day at school because I missed morning training. It was just fun and I was doing it with my friends.
"Now I’ve got a big role and I’m kind of out there more, I’m over the moon about it because all the work’s kind of paid off."
An economics student at the University of Otago, Hayman has had a busy past 12 months.
He was one of the stars, scoring 17 points, when an Otago invitational team beat the Southland Sharks in a pre-season game earlier in the year.
It had been a great experience, as had his time on an exchange at the University of North Carolina at the end of last year.
The university is the reigning NCAA division 1 national champion and has produced some notable talent, including Michael Jordan.
While there, Hayman played on the university’s club team, alongside its second-tier of players, playing in several tournaments.He was also a training player with the women’s team, giving him access to hall of fame coach Sylvia Hatchell.
Now in his final year of university, he is unsure what the future holds.
His mother is Swiss and that has enabled him to recently gain citizenship of the country.
That means going to Europe is one option, both to see his family there, alongside postgraduate study, and possibly playing basketball.
For now, he is focused on the tournament at hand. The Otago men play their first game at 9am tomorrow against Hutt Valley, while the women are in action at 10.45am against Porirua.
Otago teams
for under-23 national championships
Men: Darcy Knox, Benoit Hayman, Hamish Robertson, Liam Aston, Josh Aitcheson, Jamie MacDonald, Tom Davison, Stanley Muru, Richard Rodger, James Scobie.
Women: Rosie Davison, Jeanie Pattison, Olivia O’Neill, Hanna Gallagher, Georgia Te Au, Kaylee Bezett, Libby van Harselaar, Kelly Thompson, Aliyah Dunn, Estelle Schuler.
