Haynes learned to dribble the basketball from his sisters. His skills may have been helped by handling the ball on the dirt courts of his hometown. A native of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, he played basketball for Langston University from 1942-1946. While at Langston, he once dribbled out the clock in a conference tournament game to taunt an opponent, Southern University. Southern had just run up the score against a weaker team (Sam Huston College, later Huston-Tillotson University). The Sam Huston team was coached by a young Jackie Robinson. Haynes' own coach, the famous Zip Gayles, punished him for the taunting, but it helped draw the attention of the Globetrotters. They were always on the search for trick ballhandlers. Langston was invited to play an exhibition game against the Globetrotters in Oklahoma City. In that game, Haynes led Langston to a 4-point win. He was immediately invited to join the Globetrotters. He returned to Langston to complete his degree. Then he began his long professional career.