Team USA's Haws continues down 'The Road to Russia'


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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- After what BYU guard Tyler Haws called a "crazy night" of waiting and wondering, the news he was hoping to hear came right before breakfast: he was one of 12 players to survive final cuts and make it onto Team USA'a World University Games roster.

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"Your mind was was just kind of thinking about (final cuts) the whole night," said Haws after a Saturday morning practice on the U.S. Olympic Training Center complex in Colorado Springs. "Everyone was kind of on edge, so we ended up going to a movie as a team try and get our minds off stuff."

"I didn't get that much sleep last night, just kind of tossing and turning, but I found out this morning from one of the managers and then the coaches told me 'congratulations,' so I'm just really excited to represent the USA and go play in Russia."

Haws says after finding out he made the final squad, he ran back to his dorm room "and jumped up and down a little bit. I was pretty excited."

"Now your focus has got to switch," Haws says, "to winning a gold medal and going over and representing the same way."

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The coach in charge of directing that gold medal pursuit is Davidson College head man and Team USA veteran Bob McKillop. He told us today of Friday night's "very torturous dinner, making a decision about the cuts."

"We had to let go three terrific young men and it was not easy," McKillop said Saturday, "but we're very, very thrilled with the 12 that we have. We think they've earned their opportunity and we're pleased that they'll be representing the United States."

I asked McKillop what led him to keep Haws on his 12-man team, and his response was succinct: "He's tough, he's smart, he's team-oriented, he's coachable and he's talented."

McKillop had told us that Haws was not at his best on the first night of the week-long training camp, and he reiterated that point today, noting that "he struggled early (in the week), and he didn't let that become a snowball going down a hill."

"He stopped the snowball and righted himself, and didn't live or dwell in the past. He went on to the next play, and that's going to be a pivotal part of our success. We're going to make mistakes, and how we respond to mistakes will be key."

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Haws said that change from a tryout atmosphere to a team-building and game-prep routine should be a positive one for him and his Team USA brethren.

"The past week has been lots of pressure and very intense--guys trying to kill each other out there," said Haws Saturday afternoon, "but today's practice was different and guys are starting to come together. I'm just excited to be a part of this thing."

What Haws' role will be in Russia is yet to be determined; his head coach says that "I think we'll spend the next two or three days seeing how he can help us."

"Then we'll get to Russia," McKillop says, "and we'll have two scrimmages, and at that point I think we'll have a pretty good definition as to who is going to play what role."

Speaking of the team as a whole, McKillop said that "roles are going to have to be played."

"Some guys might get six minutes, some guys might get 20, some guys might get 30. You try best to fit guys into those slots, see how the rotation's going to go, and if they're not in the rotation, how can they handle that? If they're not in the rotation, but they may be called upon for a specific responsibility, they can give us that specific responsibility."

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Haws is less concerned about a particular assignment than he is simply helping Team USA win World University Games gold for the first time since 2005.

"This is a great group of guys to be around--a very determined group," said Haws, "and obviously the coaches are very focused. We know what our goal is and we're excited to go over and make it happen."

McKillop acknowledges the World University Games championship drought noting that "we haven't won gold, but we've been 28-3 (in competition); that's how difficult this is."

"The expectation is you have to get the gold. This team is talented, this team is tough, this team needs to show that it can be tough in difficult times, because we're going to face difficult times."

For Tyler Haws and Team USA's 12 members, the difficult times of the past week have been replaced by a sense of reward. Making this squad is a significant accomplishment. For BYU players, it is also a rare honor.

The last BYU hoopster to represent the United States in international competition was Devin Durrant, with the World University Games squad of 1983. On a team loaded with big names (including Karl Malone and Charles Barkley), Durrant ended up as the team's fourth-leading scorer (12 points/game) and key contributor to a bronze medal-winning effort.

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USA Basketball World University Games Roster

Jersey #NamePositionHeightWeightDOBYear of GraduationCollegeHometown
44Spencer DinwiddieG6-620003/06/932015ColoradoWoodland Hills, CA
26Yogi FerrellG6-017805/09/932016IndianaIndianapolis, IN
68Treveon GrahamF6-521510/28/932015VCUTemple Hills, MD
45Luke HancockF6-620001/30/902014LouisvilleRoanoke, VA
<b>46</b><b>Tyler Haws</b><b>G</b><b>6-5</b><b>200</b><b>04/11/91</b><b>2015</b><b>BYU</b><b>Alpine, UT</b>
73Cory JeffersonC6-921012/26/902013BaylorKilleen, TX
41Sean KilpatrickG6-422101/06/902014CincinnatiYonkers, NY
87Alex KirkC7-025011/14/912015New MexicoLos Alamos, NM
75Doug McDermottF6-822501/03/922014CreightonAmes, IA
57Adreian PayneF6-1024002/19/912014Michigan StateDayton, OH
76Will SheeheyF6-720001/16/922014IndianaStuart, FL
77Aaron WhiteC6-821809/10/922015IowaStrongsville, OH

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Photo: Kyle Chilton, BYU Athletic Media Relations

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