Team USA wins qualification final; Haws scores 10


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In his final game as a member of Team USA's World University Games squad, BYU's Tyler Haws finished on a high note, scoring 10 points in helping the U.S. defeat Finland 97-70 to win its qualification final and claim 9th place, in Kazan, Russia.

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Haws added five rebounds, two assists and a steal in his best performance of the games, which for the team will go down as a disappointment as a USA Basketball men's squad failed to qualify for the medal round, for the first time in 21 WUG appearances.

Back-to-back losses to group foes Australia and Canada dropped the U.S. into the qualification phase, in which the Americans won three straight to finish their tourney run with a 6-2 record.

Tyler Haws, Game-by-Game Performance at the World University Games

OpponentMinutesPointsFG3PFGFTRebAstTOStlsBlksFouls
United Arab Emirates11:1941/30/12/2720004
Czech Republic11:5921/40/10/0101001
Sweden7:1010/20/11/2101001
AustraliaDNP
Canada2:5400/20/10/0100001
Norway15:2393/60/03/5300102
Germany14:3462/40/02/2301000
Finland19:35104/71/21/1521101
<b>TOTALS/avg</b>11:504.6 ppg11/281/69/123.00.60.60.30.01.4

Against Finland, Haws didn't enter the game until 6:54 remained in the 2nd quarter, then finished out the half, with USA leading 52-26 at he break. Haws then re-entered with 2:41 left in the third quarter, and never left the floor, playing the game's final 12:41, during which time he scored six of his 10 points.

His final points came on a fast-break dunk on which he was fouled; he made the free throw to reach double figures for the first time in Kazan. His 19:35 of floor time also represented a tournament-high for Haws.

BYU guard Tyler Haws goes up for a shot against Finland while playing for Team USA at the World University Games on Tuesday in Kazan, Russia
BYU guard Tyler Haws goes up for a shot against Finland while playing for Team USA at the World University Games on Tuesday in Kazan, Russia

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Haws played only four of Team USA's first five games and did not see the floor in the crucial loss to Australia; he averaged fewer than nine minutes and scored less than two points per game in group play.

Once the U.S. was out of the medal running (and with starting wing Treveon Graham out due to injury), Haws' playing time almost doubled--he averaged almost 17 minutes per game in the qualification round, while scoring better than eight points per game.

Whether Haws could have helped the team more with more playing time early in the tournament can be reasonably debated, considering the squad's performance. Of the members of Team USA, only Doug McDermott (23.2 ppg) scored more points per game than Tyler Haws (21.7 ppg) during the 2012-13 college season. While McDermott led the team in minutes played, shots taken and points scored in Kazan, Haws was used as a bit player--until the U.S. medal hopes were out of reach.

While it is true that Haws got off to a slow shooting start at the WUG, more faith could have been exhibited in a player who is on pace to end up as the all-time leading scorer in BYU basketball history. Brought into the team as a multi-purpose role player, Haws is most gifted at putting the ball in the basket; it's somewhat unfortunate that his best chances to do so came in the battle to finish ninth.

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In the end, Team USA's overseas performance will not be viewed favorably, but Haws' supporters should be extremely proud of his qualification for the team and his contributions to it.

The players involved struggled to form a cohesive core in their short time together, but all will be named among the nation's best college performers in 2013-14. Just making it out of training camp and onto the roster was notable accomplishment, as was Haws becoming the first BYU player to represent Team USA in international competition since 1981.

Haws will certainly benefit from his 22-day experience, and he will take back to Provo valuable lessons learned that he can share with his BYU coaches and teammates. His World University Games run will hopefully signal the early start of a successful 2013-14 season for him and the Cougars.

Haws' playing time was lacking in Kazan, but it will be found in abundance in the college campaign ahead. Points were not plentiful in Russia, but Haws will undoubtedly again fill the stateside stat sheets.

Soon, Haws will exchange the red, white and blue for the blue and white. He, and BYU, will be better for it.

Team USA World University Games Schedule

DayDateTime (MT)OpponentScoreTVLive Streaming
SundayJuly 78:30 a.m.United Arab Emirates<a href="http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/worlduniversity/13_mwug_game_01_box.html" target="_blank"><b>W 140-46</b></a>ESPNU (taped, 5:00 p.m.)ESPN3, livefisu.tv
MondayJuly 83:00 a.m.Czech Republic<a href="http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/worlduniversity/13_mwug_game_02_box.html" target="_blank"><b>W 96-53</b></a>ESPNU (live)WatchESPN, livefisu.tv
WednesdayJuly 1011:00 a.m.Sweden<a href="http://kazan2013.ru/hide/en/-240/Root/ViewPdf/BKM400C08_C73_5.0.PDF" target="_blank"><b>W 83-65</b></a>ESPNU (taped, 5:00 p.m.)ESPN3, livefisu.tv
ThursdayJuly 118:30 a.m.Australia<a href="http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/worlduniversity/13_mwug_game_04_box.html" target="_blank"><b>L 93-84</b></a>ESPNU (taped, 5:00 p.m.)ESPN3, livefisu.tv
FridayJuly 123:00 a.m.Canada<a href="http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/worlduniversity/13_mwug_game_05_box.html" target="_blank"><b>L 94-85</b></a>ESPNU (live)WatchESPN, livefisu.tv
SundayJuly 1412:00 a.m.Norway<a href="http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/worlduniversity/13_mwug_game_06_box.html" target="_blank"><b>W 91-51</b></a>NoneNone
MondayJuly 1512:00 a.m.Germany<a href="http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/worlduniversity/13_mwug_game_07_box.html" target="_blank"><b>W 92-70</b></a>NoneNone
TuesdayJuly 165:00 a.m.Finland<a href="http://www.usab.com/mens/worlduniversity/13_mwug_game_08_box.html" target="_blank"><b>W 97-70</b></a>NoneNone

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Photos: Courtesy USA Basketball

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