BYU sophomore Tyler Haws remembers clearly what he did to ring in 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Philippines, New Year’s is crazy,\u201d Haws recalled. \u201cFireworks are really cheap over there, so everyone buys them. They\u2019re not just the small ones either, they\u2019re the huge ones that shoot into the air. So you just stay up all night and shoot fireworks until early in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
A year later, the 6-5 shooting guard created some memorable fireworks of his own by lighting up Virginia Tech for a career-high 42 points on December 29 during a win which consequently served as an emphatic re-introduction to the college hoops landscape.<\/p>\n
Following a decorated high school career at Lone Peak (UT) that included two state titles, two Mr. Basketball awards and a long list of school records including leaving as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder, Haws set a BYU record as a freshman by sinking 48 consecutive free throws and averaged 11 points during the Cougars\u2019 ’09-10 season that ended in the second round of the Big Dance.<\/p>\n
Seemingly on the fast track to the pinnacle of his career, with all the accolades every hooper dreams of but a miniscule percentage achieve, Haws put hoops on hold for two years for another part of his life he holds dear, instead of joining Jimmer Fredette and Jackson Emery on their eventual 2011 Sweet 16 run without much hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had made my decision when I was a little kid that I\u2019d serve a two-year mission,\u201d he said. \u201cI guess I had a few second thoughts and what-ifs, but I always wanted to serve and I knew it was important. When the time came, it wasn\u2019t tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
After serving in the Philippines until April of 2012, Haws has been playing as if he never left.<\/p>\n
He currently is top 10 in the country in scoring (20.9 ppg), shooting nearly 48 percent from the field, and joined Danny Ainge as the only Cougar to reach 1,000 points in their first two seasons.<\/p>\n
Given Haws\u2019 track record on the court, the numbers he\u2019s put up this season aren\u2019t too surprising given his ability to move without the ball, come off screens to knock down shots, or create off the dribble. He also possesses a post-up game rarely seen among two-guards these days.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s his tireless work ethic, which has been the catalyst to his success on the court prior to his mission and since coming back from his two-year hiatus from the game.<\/p>\n
Shortly following the conclusion of his freshman season, Haws packed up for the Missionary Training Center in Utah for close to three months before heading off to the Philippines. Playing or training at the Division I level was not on his schedule during that time, but that isn\u2019t to say it was totally out of his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasketball is really big in the Philippines,\u201d Haws said. \u201cYou can\u2019t go down one street without seeing a hoop or a game going. They play barefoot or in flip-flops. So every once in a while, when we\u2019d be walking around they\u2019d see a big, tall American and throw me the ball and tell me to dunk it or shoot it. So I\u2019d stop and shoot with them for a few minutes. But for the most part I didn\u2019t play that much basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was up at 6:30 every morning for personal study, along with some study with another missionary, and said he\u2019d proselyte from noon until nine each night.<\/p>\n
So while his success playing hoops doesn\u2019t appear much different than before his mission, he said the man underneath the jersey is completely transformed following a couple years serving and interacting with those in the Philippines he sought to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell a lot of people that my mission changed my life forever,\u201d Haws said. \u201cOne, the Filipino people are some of the happiest people I\u2019ve ever met in my life. Then just seeing Jesus Christ\u2019s gospel help them and improve their lives was a big blessing to me. Being able to serve like that, and step away from basketball, has helped me with a new perspective on life. I feel like I grew up and I\u2019m a different person.\u201d<\/p>\n
His outlook and worldview changed, along with some other things on and off the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy little brother (TJ) made fun of my accent for about a month and a half. He thought I talked funny,\u201d Haws remembered.<\/p>\n
Besides some ribbing from TJ, Tyler\u2019s transition back to living in the United States and being a student-athlete at BYU also presented some obstacles. Luckily for Haws, he had the guidance of Dave Rose and the rest of the Cougars\u2019 coaching staff as well as his dad Marty who starred at BYU from 1986-1990.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously physically I wasn\u2019t in Division I basketball shape, so I got together with my coaches and my dad and put together a gameplan of how I was going to do it,\u201d Haws said. \u201cI didn\u2019t play any pickup ball for two months, I just got in the gym and shot with my dad and brother. Then I hit the weight room hard trying to take care of my body and get my legs back under me. I just slowly eased back into the whole process. I finally got my legs back and felt really comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The meticulous training process, along with the comfort and confidence that came with it, translated to Haws beginning this season with six straight 20-plus point outputs. BYU currently sits in third place in the West Coast Conference, behind Gonzaga and St. Mary\u2019s, and will most likely need to win the WCC Tournament to ensure its seventh straight NCAA Tourney appearance.<\/p>\n
A two-year break from basketball obviously called for dedication to training to get back to the level he was capable of, but his drive to work wasn\u2019t picked up as a cause. Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis got to see it first hand during his high school years.<\/p>\n
\u201cTyler wasn\u2019t blessed with the ability to touch the top of the square,\u201d Lewis said with a chuckle. \u201cHe\u2019s a good athlete, but not what there is around the country. He\u2019s tough and he works, and he\u2019s relentless. He has put so much time into individual work, working on his footwork and all the little things that make you good.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Tyler was here, every day in the summer he was here 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. doing a shooting workout. He\u2019d go home and get something to eat, then he\u2019d get into some lifting for an hour and a half. Later in the afternoon he\u2019d go back and shoot for a few more hours. That\u2019s not to mention any pickup games he got in those days. This was his normal schedule. This guy has really worked, really worked.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
During the two years Tyler was overseas, TJ blossomed into one of the top combo guards in the country for the Class of 2014 and committed to BYU. Despite being four years younger than Tyler, the 6-4 TJ proved to be a formidable training partner as Tyler began to get his feet wet again upon his return, and the one-on-one battles weren\u2019t as one-sided as they used to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe pushed me a lot in this past offseason,\u201d Tyler said. \u201cRight when I got home he wanted to play me and beat up on me while I was fresh off the mission. But Teej is great. Our games are different, and my game is not his game. So when we play one-on-one, it\u2019s always a battle. We know each other\u2019s games and fight hard to make each other better. We go back and forth, actually\u2014[who wins] depends on the day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always seen Ty growing up and how hard of a worker he is, and that\u2019s why he\u2019s as successful as he is,\u201d TJ said. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t expect him to work as hard as he did when he first got back from his mission. There were times we\u2019d shoot in the morning, lift in the afternoon then he\u2019d be ready to go over to our church to get some shots up with me. I was stunned, I was like, \u2018I\u2019m tired.\u2019 He\u2019s pushed me and shown me what it takes to be a really good basketball player. I\u2019m lucky to have that example, and he\u2019s definitely made me a better basketball player.\u201d<\/p>\n
The work Tyler put in throughout his hoops career, especially during the time since returning from the Philippines to exceed the level he was playing at prior to leaving, is something TJ has dedicated himself to emulating. Yet the fact the youngest Haws son committed to BYU had little to do with the fact his father and older brother played there.<\/p>\n
Experiences one faces throughout life, no matter how large or petty in the \u2018big picture,’ inevitably shape one\u2019s identity. TJ said the recruiting process, and his ultimate decision where he\u2019d attend college, was one of many he had to take on his own as he grows up.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t feel pressured at all,\u201d said TJ, who held an offer from Utah and had Stanford hot in pursuit. \u201cMy dad told me this is a time in my life where I can make a decision that is all about me, and not about anyone else. We went through the recruiting process how I wanted. But I just felt comfortable with BYU because their coaches had shown interest in me at an early age, and I could tell they wanted me.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll throughout the summers you pretty much just counted on one of the BYU coaches being there. Whether we were in California, Milwaukee or Boston there was always a coach there. I like them and I like the atmosphere there. I\u2019m excited to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
It probably helped that his high school teammates, Nick Emery and Eric Mika, will be there as well. Emery, a 6-2 sharp-shooting point guard, broke Tyler\u2019s career scoring record at Lone Peak this season and will serve his mission after this year before arriving at BYU\u2014an option that wasn\u2019t available until this year.<\/p>\n
The 6-9 Mika has established himself as one of the best post prospects in the country, given his ability to be a load in the paint and run the floor. He will play a season with BYU before heading off on his mission.<\/p>\n
BYU football commit Talon Shumway, and 6-3 guard Conner Toolson\u2014a DI hoops prospect\u2014round out the rest of the Lone Peak starting five that has captivated high school hoops followers all over the country this season. The Knights capped their year by finishing 26-1 and winning their third straight Class 5A state title on March 2. Their only loss came at the hands of top-10 nationally ranked Montverde Prep (FL) in the City of Palms championship.<\/p>\n
The mix of talent in the backcourt and frontcourt, along with college-level ball movement and sets under Coach Lewis, has proved to be a devastating combination for opposing defenses. Add in the fact Lone Peak is also tenacious and disciplined defensively, and it shouldn\u2019t be a surprise Lone Peak is rated as one of the best teams in the country.<\/p>\n
Perhaps no performance of the Knights has been more impressive than their 81-46 obliteration of two-time defending California Division II state champion Archbishop Mitty, featuring consensus top-five senior Aaron Gordon, on ESPNU. TJ scored 18 points while displaying his arsenal of perimeter shooting and advanced mid-range game, and also snatched 5 steals.<\/p>\n
TJ still has one more year of high school before he has to decide whether to go on a mission straight out of high school, or possibly play a season with Tyler at BYU. But for now, he\u2019s just enjoying the ride that has taken the Knights from a regional powerhouse to a national powerhouse ranked by all the publications in the top five in the country\u2014and easily the best public high school team in the USA. Maxpreps.com has Lone Peak ranked No. 1 overall.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve taken a step back and looked at the big picture,\u201d said TJ, who was a member of the \u201911 and \u201912 state championship squads as well. \u201cI\u2019m never going to have this experience ever again with the guys I\u2019m with. I\u2019m just trying to enjoy it every single day. Having the success that we\u2019re having and being able to travel with these guys who are some of my best friends has been so fun. A lot of the guys on the team have realized we can play with anyone and our confidence has grown. Individual confidence comes off from that for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lone Peak-to-BYU pipeline isn\u2019t necessarily new. Current BYU players Nate Austin and Josh Sharp were both teammates of Tyler\u2019s at Lone Peak during the \u201907 and \u201908 state championship campaigns. Nick\u2019s older brother Jackson capped his career at Lone Peak with a state crown in 2005.<\/p>\n
Lewis said besides the obvious differences between the Haws brothers\u2019 games and positions on the court, as well as their personalities, they share a couple distinct similarities that have been a helpful driving force to Lone Peak\u2019s state supremacy and what have BYU fans excited about their presence in the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose guys are great and put up big numbers, but really the first thing with both of them is winning,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cTJ is averaging 17 or 18 a game right now, and if he\u2019s somewhere else he\u2019s averaging 27 or 28 a game right now. He\u2019s got a fun personality, and a little bit more out there with the guys. Tyler is a little bit more reserved than TJ, but Teej has put forth the same type of work ethic. They\u2019re very different players. He\u2019s willing to sacrifice for what we need to do to win, and that\u2019s how Tyler was too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Given the success of the Knights teams over the last few years, naturally, light-hearted debates chock-full of trash talk have arisen from the hypothetical matchups of the respective teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tease him a lot about it. I think our team would beat his team for sure,\u201d TJ said with a devilish laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe talk about that sometimes,\u201d Tyler said. \u201cMy junior year we had five or six DI guys, and it would be a battle for sure. I have to give TJ\u2019s team a lot of credit, I mean they\u2019ve been playing together since they were 10 years old and they\u2019re ranked No. 1. So they might get the edge in the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cI try and follow them wherever they are, and if I can go to some of the local games I go and support. I\u2019m still a big Lone Peak fan.\u201d<\/p>\n
With that debate somewhat settled for the time being, both Haws\u2019 are now squarely focused on helping their current teams.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not accurate to parallel Tyler\u2019s mission in the Philippines to the one he\u2019s currently immersed in on the court, but as he had a positive impact on those around him overseas, he\u2019s proven to make one on his brother as well as the BYU basketball team since returning.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s just happy to have fulfilled one life-long dream already while he continues to chase another.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means a lot because I love playing the game, and I love BYU,\u201d he said. \u201cI grew up close to here and to be a part of this program and play for coach Rose means a lot. We still have a lot of basketball ahead of us and lots of challenges left in the season. We have to keep plugging away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to just be the best college basketball player I can be, then wherever basketball takes me is where I\u2019ll go,\u201d Tyler said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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