Chuck Hayes signs with Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are signing former Kentucky Wildcats star Chuck Hayes, the team announced Sunday.

Hayes, now 32 years old, played in 29 games for the Toronto Raptors last season, averaging 8.8 minutes per game. He averaged just 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in his limited minutes, and has taken on more of a veteran leadership role as many guys do late in their NBA careers.

In 642 career games with 244 starts across 10 NBA seasons, Hayes has averaged 3.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 18.4 minutes per game while shooting 49.8% from the floor. He has previous stints with the Rockets, as well as the Sacramento Kings. Over his NBA career, he's played with fellow former Cats Patrick Patterson, Terrence Jones and DeMarcus Cousins, and now gets to play with Jones in Houston again.

Standing at just 6-6 and 240 pounds, Hayes has surprisingly managed to have a pro career lasting more than a decade while starting games at both power forward and even center. He still ranks seventh in all-time rebounds in UK basketball history.

This also means Kentucky has 22 former players currently in the NBA, the most of any school.