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BYU's Tyler Haws will soon attempt to do what no other Cougar hoopster has done in the last 30 years: make a team that will represent the United States in international competition.
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With last week's news that Haws has been selected as one of 29 college players to try out for USA Basketball's World University Games squad, Haws now has a chance to join a list that includes only four other BYU players as representatives of Team USA.
It was three summers ago that BYU's Jimmer Fredette was one of 20 players invited to be a part of the USA Men's Select Team that trained against the Senior National squad in its preparation for the 2010 FIBA World Championships, but the Select Team never entered into competition.
BYU players last competed internationally for the U.S. in 1983, as both Devin Durrant and Mike Smith saw action in the World University Games and Junior World Championships, respectively. Prior to them, Fred Roberts (1979 and 1981) and Craig Raymond (1967) were the first and only other Cougars to wear the Team USA jersey.
BYU Men's Basketball Players Who Represented Team USA in International Competition
Year | Player | Competition | Site | Team Result | Notable Teammates | PPG | RPG | FG% | FT% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1967 | Craig Raymond | World University Games | Tokyo, Japan | Gold Medal (7-0) | Wes Unseld, Butch Beard | 2.1 | NA | NA | NA |
1979 | Fred Roberts | World Junior (U19) Championship | Salvador, Brazil | Gold Medal (8-0) | James Worthy, Sam Perkins | 8.1 | NA | NA | NA |
1981 | Fred Roberts | World University Games | Bucharest, Romania | Gold Medal (7-1) | Roy Hinson, Sidney Lowe | 8.3 | 5.6 | 52% | 63% |
1983 | Mike Smith | World Junior (U19) Championship | Palma de Mallorca, Spain | Gold Medal (6-2) | Larry Krystkowiak, Scott Skiles | 1.2 | 0.0 | 43% | NA |
1983 | Devin Durrant | World University Games | Edmonton, Alberta | Bronze Medal (6-1) | Karl Malone, Charles Barkley | 11.7 | 2.9 | 68% | 86% |
Of the 28 other players invited to Colorado Springs for training camp that starts a week from Monday are four big guards, with whom Haws will likely compete for a spot on the final 12-man roster. None of the point/shooting/big guards on the training camp roster scored as many points per game as Haws in 2012-13; in fact, power forward Doug McDermott of Creighton (23.2 ppg) is the only player invited who finished higher on the national scoring chart last season.
Big Guards Invited to USA Basketball's 2013 World University Games Team Training Camp
Player | School | Height | Weight | 2012-13 PPG | 2012-13 RPG | 2012-13 APG | 2012-13 FG% | 2012-13 3PFG% | 2012-13 FT% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spencer Dinwiddie | Colorado | 6'6" | 200 lb. | 15.3 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 42% | 34% | 83% |
Jerian Grant | Notre Dame | 6'5" | 202 lb. | 13.3 | 2.9 | 5.5 | 41% | 34% | 74% |
Joe Harris | Virginia | 6'6" | 211 lb. | 16.3 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 47% | 43% | 74% |
<b>Tyler Haws</b> | <b>BYU</b> | <b>6'5"</b> | <b>200 lb.</b> | <b>21.7</b> | <b>4.6</b> | <b>2.0</b> | <b>48%</b> | <b>38%</b> | <b>88%</b> |
Sean Kilpatrick | Cincinnati | 6'4" | 221 lb. | 17.0 | 5.2 | 1.9 | 40% | 31% | 74% |
There are some bigger players listed as forwards who could conceivably be used as wings, just as there are some smaller shooting guards who could also see time at the "3," but the list above comprises the most probable competition group as head coach Bob McKillop (Davidson) seeks to identify his best big guards.
Assuming only two or possibly three from that group will make the final squad, the competition among the above players will be intense. Just this week, the Sporting News listed its top 10 shooting guards for 2013-14; Haws (4th), Dinwiddie (5th) and Harris (9th) all made the list.
Notre Dame's Grant faced off with Haws when the Irish met BYU in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic last November in Brooklyn; Grant scored 19 points (6/9 fg, 6/6 ft) with five assists and three steals as Notre Dame won 78-68. Haws countered with a game-high 21 points (8/20 fg, 5/6 ft), with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
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These are heady times for the Haws hoopsters; Tyler's younger brother and BYU commit T.J. is in Charlottesville, Virginia this week for the NBPA Top 100 Camp. This is the second straight year that a Lone Peak HS product and future Cougar has taken part in the elite high school camp, as Nick Emery was a 2012 participant. Emery, by the way, left for Frankfurt, Germany this week at the start of his two-year LDS Church mission service.
Also in Charlottesville are two seniors-to-be with BYU offers in hand: Mountain View HS (Mesa, Ariz.) star Payton Dastrup and Roy HS standout Brekkott Chapman. ESPN.com's "Top 100" for the Class of 2014 lists Haws 48th, Chapman 49th, and Dastrup 85th.
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Top Photo: Courtesy BYU Photo
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