“Andy. Who’s Tyler Haws?”
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That was a question that I asked before the college basketball season. This was before the 38-1 roller coaster filled with legacy chasing ride for the Kentucky Wildcats.
Before that whirlwind of Kentucky that spread throughout the entire season I asked that question in the summer before the college basketball season started. While I was speaking with one of my workers (Andy), we were talking about preseason players to watch out for. He started talking mid-major schools and then made his way to talking about the BYU Cougars. After raving about how good Kyle Collinsworth is (which he is), that’s when Andy said this.
“The Collinsworth kid is nice but you need to look at Tyler Haws too, he’s special.”
That’s when I questioned who Haws was and I’m glad that I did.
One of the biggest stories in the west coast outside of the Kentucky Wildcats (national storyline), the Arizona Wildcats and Delon Wright, people were talking about Haws. Now it’s less than a year later and a lot more people are going to start asking the same question that I had before the season “Who’s Tyler Haws?”
The biggest difference is Haws could be wearing a Utah Jazz jersey while answering it. Should the Jazz sign Haws if he’s available?
In essence you could say that Haws has been playing for the Jazz since he’s been in high school. Growing up in Alpine, Utah which is only 22 miles away from the capital it’s safe to say that his name has rung bells throughout the state.
When it comes to Utah basketball this year people were either talking about Rudy Gobert, Gordon Hayward, Delon Wright, John Stockton or Haws. Bringing in someone who the fan base has already grown to love since he’s been 14 years old because he’s their native son is a much easier transition than waiting for Ante Tomic to realize that might he might want to come back to the NBA in another two years.
Seeing Haws play for the Jazz would mean a lot to a crowd who has supported him throughout his career. They would get to experience watching someone live out his dreams and do it while helping their team to future success.
The best comparison of Haws game is Jimmer Fredette. In reality though he’s actually better.
It was Haws himself who in his senior year at BYU averaged 22.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting an insane 48 percent from the floor. Haws managed to score 2,720 career points and passed Fredette as the school’s scoring leader.
That’s why it’s a huge upgrade to the bench for the Jazz if they manage to land Haws.
Even against NCAA Tournament opponents Haws played well. He torched San Diego State for 26 points. He had 24 points against Delon Wright, another fellow NBA draft prospect who’s known primarily for his lockdown defense. He also had 24 points against Chasson Randle and Stanford who ended up winning the National Invitational Tournament.
Then Haws went off to cap off his wonderful career with an awesome game against Ole Miss. Haws put on a wonderful final showing as he had 33 points, five rebounds, five assists and he shot incredibly well going 13-of-23 from the floor and 5-of-9 from the three-point line.
Since the Jazz are very concerned with getting a knockdown shooter because they desperately need one then they should address their needs with the draft. However, once the draft is over they need to make a phone call to Haws’ representatives because he’s someone who could become a great rotational player.
Outside of the knock down shooting the Jazz are going to need a stronger bench. Having Haws off the bench to provide some much-needed scoring to their roster is only a benefit. The kicker is because he’s going to go undrafted then it’ll be a low risk high reward signing.
There’s nothing to lose with the Jazz getting Haws.
Well maybe the loss of respect from their fan base if they don’t find a way to get him a roster spot on the team.
Let’s see on draft night if he’ll get drafted because with his talent it won’t be a surprise.
Next: Devin Booker: 5 Teams That Makes Sense
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