The moment had glory written all over it.

Tyler Haws had to borrow a teammate's jersey because there was blood on his own. Then he drove, pulled up with two defenders in his face and buried a jumper for what turned out to be the game-winner with two seconds left -- his 24th and 25th points of the game -- in a 57-56 double overtime win over Davis in the 2008 Utah Class 5A semifinals.

And right now, four games into his college career, that moment means exactly squat.

His opponents don't care that he was Mr. Basketball -- twice. His coaches don't care that he hit that game-winning shot against Davis. His teammates don't care that he led Lone Peak to two state championships, or that his father, Marty, played at BYU back in the '80s.

Tyler Haws is starting right now for BYU because he earned it. He started earning it well before he put on his Nike-provided sneakers and began practicing as a Cougar.

Hours and hours of games, practice, training, AAU travel and camps have led him here. Because of those experiences and hard work, he may be the most basketball savvy true freshman to play at BYU since Danny Ainge.

Uh oh, now I've done it.

I don't mean Haws is Ainge, or that he'll put up similar numbers. Man, no one needs that kind of weight on his shoulders.

I'm just saying that Haws is ready for college basketball right now.

That's why he's starting.

BYU head coach Dave Rose inserted Haws into the starting lineup last Friday against Hawaii and he started again in the Cougars 107-51 demolition of Southern on Tuesday. In his first start, Haws was 4-of-9 from the field, scoring 12 points. Against Southern, Haws played 23 minutes, going 2-of-7 from the field and finishing with five points, four rebounds and a steal. He missed a couple of easy shots, including one where he looked to be going up for a dunk.

Sometimes, freshmen will still be freshmen.

After the game, Rose said he and his coaching staff are still searching for the best combinations, that he likes bringing Charles Abouo off the bench in that small forward spot and matchups may determine who starts some nights.

But a true freshman doesn't usually start for BYU, and usually not this early in the season.

Going back a few years, Matt Montague and Eric Nielsen were starters as true freshmen on that unfortunate 1996-97 Cougar team that went 1-25.

Mekeli Wesley was a starter as a true freshman in 1997-98 and averaged 13.5 points per game as the Cougar program, under Steve Cleveland, began to emerge from some dark years. Jared Jensen started 25 games in 2001-02 and earned MWC co-Freshman of the Year honors. Lee Cummard started 14 games as a true freshman back in 2005-06. Jackson Emery, another Lone Peak grad, earned six starts his freshman season, and Chris Collinsworth was a starter as a true freshman for six games in 2007-08.

If I could point out a trend here, Collinsworth and Wesley were both coached by Craig Drury at Provo High School. Emery and Haws were coached by Quincy Lewis at Lone Peak.

Drury and Lewis are disciplined, focused high school coaches who know how win and how to prepare their players for the next level.

And Haws is ready.

According to Rose, Haws may or may not continue to start for BYU. Nothing is ever guaranteed.

But one thing is for certain: Haws won't dwell on his numerous past moments of glory.

He's too busy trying to make new ones.