Most logical BYU fans consider Tyler to be in the conversation for the 2nd best BYU player of the past 25 years. You say he is a "very solid player, but not necessarily a great one", or a player that "can't put the team on his back". I think this opinion is probably a function of your not watching nearly as many BYU games as the rest of us on this board.

Look at Haws numbers since returning from his mission:
22.5 ppg,4.2 rpg, 1.8 apg. He's ranked in the TOP 11 scorers in the country the last two years. Keep in mind, there are 330+ NCAA D1 basketball teams - and Tyler Haws was one of the 11 best scorers 2 years in a row, including one season where he was coming off a two year break. Last year he shot 47% from the field 41% from 3, and 88% from the free throw line. Is he an "all-around" player? No, but there are plenty of players who are stars merely for their scoring ability.

My biggest disagreement with your post, however, is the idea that Haws can't "carry team". Here are Haws stats from our 10 losses last season:


Iowa ST 20 pts 6-19 FG
Wichita St. 17 pts 3-15 FG
UMass 25 pts 9-16 FG
Utah 14 pts 3-11 FG
Oregon 32 pts 13-21 FG
Portland 48 pts 17-34 FG
Gonzaga 23 pts 7-15 FG
Pacific 20 pts 6-16 FG
Gonzaga 24 pts 6-14 FG
Oregon 19 pts 7-18 FG

So in ten losses last year, Haws averaged 24.2 points a game (which was actually HIGHER than his season average), while shooting 43% from the field. I'd argue that's less a matter of him "not putting the team on his back", than it was his supporting cast letting him down.

Finally, if Haws matches last seasons per game average of 23 ppg, and plays about 35 games, he will finish in the top 20 NCAA scorers of all time. Let that sink in for a second - there aren't many "fluke" guys on that list - it's a pretty select group.

So I think that if BYU fans consider Haws to be a BYU great, who maybe could have been a little better defender, that's probably a whole lot closer to the truth than calling him a rich man's Brady Heslip.