I’ve always been a Jeff Boals fan, but yesterday put it over the top. Jeff Boals is an innovator with a capital “I.”
Noted triple-double enthusiast Russell Westbrook announced the birth of his son, Noah, on Twitter yesterday afternoon. Congrats Russell!
Noah Russell Westbrook
— Russell Westbrook (@russwest44) May 16, 2017
7lbs 5oz
20inch long pic.twitter.com/JRImZCW7iU
While you were out there quote tweeting Russell’s tweet with your congratulations, Jeff Boals was hustling. He saw an opening. He shot his shot.
Offer https://t.co/rtweCbyKuX
— Jeff Boals (@JeffBoals) May 16, 2017
Yes. Jeff Boals is offering a scholarship to a one-day old child.
This is genius.
If we’re being honest, teams of Stony Brook’s ilk do not have the requisite It to recruit a Glenn Robinson III by the time he hits high school or Lebron James Jr. by the team he hits age 11.
But what low-majors CAN do is begin the recruiting process before the recruit even knows they’re being recruited.
Is giving a family a Stony Brook blanket and perhaps a cuddly bear with a Sea Wolf on its chest as a “congratulations on the new baby” a recruiting violation? It’s probably in murky waters that the NCAA can’t or won’t legislate. There is your in.
Let’s fast forward eight months. Noah Westbrook cannot sleep unless he’s got his Stony Brook blankey. It’s become a part of his daily routine. Before he even has refined motor skills, he has an intense emotional connection with Stony Brook University. While other teams will first meet Noah when he’s playing 11U AAU ball, Stony Brook will have a decade’s head start. That’s the future.