This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Could tonight be the night that Tyler Haws passes Jimmer Fredette for the top spot on BYU's all-time scoring list?
It is unlikely, considering that Haws needs 35 points to take over the perch, and tonight's opponent, San Diego, traditionally plays low-scoring, defensive struggles.
Still, Thursday seemed like the best day to present this story on how Haws has consistently climbed the BYU scoring ladder and how he's done it his way — quite different than the way the flashier, more explosive Fredette got there.
As is often the case with any major story, there was a lot of material I gathered that I couldn't work into the printed article due to space limitations.
Here are more comments from Jimmer Fredette, Tyler's father Marty Haws, coach Dave Rose and even Haws himself that hit the cutting room floor. Thanks to the Tribune's Utah Jazz beat writer, Aaron Falk, for getting the comments from Fredette in New Orleans prior to the recent Jazz-Pelicans game there.
Fredette on Haws approaching his record:
"I'm excited for him obviously. You never want a record broken, but they're meant to be broken. So I'm excited for him to be able to do that. He's a great kid. He's a great basketball player and he's worked really hard in his career."
Fredette on whether he knew Haws could break the record when they played together in the 2009-10 season (Haws' freshman season; Fredette's junior season):
"I definitely thought he could. He has a gift to score the basketball. I knew more when he came back from his mission and had a great sophomore year. When he had a great sophomore year I knew that probably was going to go down. He came back after his mission and was just ready to go, ready to play. So I was happy for him. Like I said, it couldn't happen to a better person. He's such a good kid. He's kind to everyone. It's great for that program, so I'm happy for him."
Fredette on whether he will reach out to Haws:
"Definitely. I'll be talking to him here in the next couple weeks."
BYU coach Dave Rose on whether Haws has changed much in his pursuit of the record:
"I am just amazed at how difficult his assignment is every night, and then just how good he is in that assignment. There is a lot of attention paid to him. He kinda reminds me a little bit of [Brad] Waldow. We all know what he does, and we all have a plan to stop it. But very few guys can do it. That's what happens with Ty. We all know what he does, and we all know how he does it, and everybody has a plan for it. But at the end of the game you still see that he has scored between 20 and 30 points, has four or five rebounds, two or three assists, a couple steals.
He has just been really consistent. What I notice is the same approach that he's had for the three years that we have had him, the last three years since his mission."
Marty Haws on when Tyler first made the Lone Peak varsity basketball team:
"As a ninth grader. They didn't have great year his ninth grade year. I think that set the tone even more that this was going to take a lot of hard work. They went 9-12 when he was a freshman. They committed to play together, and not have individual agendas. That was the beginning of a pretty good run for Lone Peak — which is still going."
Marty Haws on what it has been like as a parent:
"For me, my mentality, for better or worse, I don't really allow myself to go outside of what is in front of us. Maybe that takes a little bit of the enjoyment factor out of it. Really, my mentality, when Tyler and I have conversations, it is about this bite-size piece: what is in front of you right now, and what do you need to do to get this done and stay focused.
Our experience has been that any time you get a head of yourself, any time you start looking too far out there, bad things happens.
So, that has served us well. We try to look at taking care of today, and Tyler is as good at taking care of today as anybody I have ever seen."
Marty Haws on trying to avoid hearing all the talk about records, etc:
"That's part of the deal. It doesn't mean you don't hear it. For Tyler, it is not about the chase, it is about staying within who you are, and all of those things will take care of themselves. That was a good formula in high school, and it has been a really good formula for him at BYU.
That doesn't mean we don't know that they are there. But if you don't take care of your next good look [at the basket], then if you try and count faster than two or three, you are in big trouble. If you count in 10s and 20s, you will be sorry."
Marty on whether Tyler is as consistent in doing his chores:
"Mom might get a reaction out of that if you saw his bedroom. …. As parents, we could take credit for raising him that way. But the truth is, in a lot of ways, Tyler came that way. He is just a respectful kid and he has good instincts and he doesn't have that superstar entitlement mentality — which as served him well. That can take you a long ways in life. It is an endearing quality, and he has it in his veins."
Tyler Haws on not being automatically great at basketball:
"It was in the third or fourth grade. Kinda when I first started playing basketball. I played on a good team, but I never played, and then they didn't tell me to come back. That was the first time where I was kinda like, 'that's weird. I need to work hard at this game if I want to be good.' Then I started going to camps and started getting better."
Tyler Haws on whether he ever wrote down goals while growing up:
"No, I never did any of that. My first goal was just to be good on the Little League basketball team I joined. Then it was to make my high school basketball varsity team as a freshman. That was one my goals.
I saw a few of my AAU teammates do that, and that was what I wanted to do. And then the goal after my freshman season, we didn't have that great of the year, was to be good in high school, and part of a good team.
I wanted to be the best at that level, and then when I got further along the scholarship offers came. Little by little, it kind of happened."
Tyler Haws on whether he ever really considered going somewhere besides BYU:
"I considered everywhere else and took a good look at lots of different places. But I came on a visit here and felt really comfortable with the way BYU basketball played, and the program, and the education and the surroundings. I just felt really comfortable here in lots of different areas."
Tyler Haws on the earliest age he played basketball:
"My dad played. There are pictures of me wearing my dad's BYU stuff as a 3-year-old. But I didn't really start liking basketball until the third or fourth grade. About that time, I thought to myself: I really like this game, and I want to be good at it."
Tyler Haws on whether there was a player he emulated:
"There were a bunch of guys I looked up to and definitely watched. I loved watching J.J. Redick at Duke, growing up. I loved watching Duke basketball. I watched Rip Hamilton a lot in the NBA and looked up to him. And then I grew up watching Lone Peak guys.
When I was in the 7th and 8th grade, Jackson Emery was at Lone Peak so I loved watching him play and the way he competed, and definitely looked up to him."
Tyler Haws on whether his fame has reached Jimmer's level:
"No, no. I am not at Jimmer's level at all. People recognize who I am, and they will stop me every once in a while. But I can go to class and all that without being bothered just fine. It is not like what Jimmer dealt with. That would be a nice thing [being asked to stay away from classes], if that happened."
On whether the BYU fan base has embraced him at the level it should as the school's all-time leading scorer:
"I hope so. I love BYU basketball and I love the program here, and I have tried to put my whole heart and soul into everything. I am still not done. My work here is still not finished. We have a lot to still play for and we want to finish this year out strong."