TJ Haws & Wife Head To Hospital After Game-Winner To Welcome First Child
Feb 2, 2020, 12:11 AM | Updated: 10:48 pm
PROVO, Utah – Before BYU’s game against Saint Mary’s, senior forward Yoeli Childs posed a hypothetical to his teammates, what if “Teej” (TJ Haws) hit a game-winner on the same night he and his wife head to the hospital to welcome the birth of their first child?
Childs apparently can see the future as that exact scenario played out in the Marriott Center in front of 15,212 fans as BYU took down the Gaels 81-79 with Haws hitting the game-winning shot.
TJ Haws hits a game winner and later tonight he and his wife are headed to the hospital to welcome their first baby into the world. You can’t make this up. 😊 #BYU #BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/Y5iW96siMb
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 2, 2020
Right after the game concluded, Haws spoke with the media then left the Marriott Center to head to a local hospital with his wife Lauren to begin the labor process for their son.
Moments before the game-winning shot, Haws had his unborn child on his mind.
“To be honest, my son went through my mind,” said Haws. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about this whole experience all day and right after I hit that shot, I said, that’s for you man. So yeah, those were kind of my thoughts.”
THERE GOES THAT MAN 😤#BYUhoops #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/X0QlitrA7Z
— BYU Basketball (@BYUbasketball) February 2, 2020
Now all focus for “Teej” goes towards his wife as she gets induced and is expecting to welcome their child in the early hours Sunday morning.
“I got a big day tomorrow. We’re actually heading to the hospital tonight and we’ll begin the process tonight. So yeah we’ll start the process tonight. It’s been a full day of emotions, to say the least. But yeah, I’m super excited and I’m happy that we came out with the win and now I’m going to have one of the coolest experiences of my life. I’m excited,” said Haws.
#BYU head coach Mark Pope can relate to what TJ Haws is experiencing tonight. With the Bucks, Pope had one of the best games of his NBA career before his wife was induced.#BYUhoops @kslsports pic.twitter.com/RS3K10PF8V
— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) February 2, 2020
BYU head coach Mark Pope who has no shortage of energy at all times was pumped for his senior guard and the Haws family.
“TJ Haws is going to have a baby right now. Think about that,” said BYU coach Mark Pope. “He’s literally going to roll out to the hospital and they are going to have this baby in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow.
“…I’m so happy for ‘Teej.’ I can relate a little bit to the experience. I had one of the best games I ever had at home with the Milwaukee Bucks playing against the New York Knicks and I knew that we were going the next morning to induce because we had three days off. It was one of the most fun basketball experiences I’ve ever had. It’s such a rush. Then you’re about to go do the most epic thing you’ll ever do in your life. I’m just so happy for him. What fun to be able to roll into there.”
The Haws family has become one of the first families in BYU basketball history and having another young Haws boy added to the family, one can only imagine that a scholarship offer will be ready when he is born on Sunday.
*****
TJ Haws announced on Sunday night the name of him and Lauren’s first child. Tyson Ralph Haws named after TJ’s legal first name and grandpa Haws who is a fixture at BYU basketball practices and games over the years.
Cougar Nation!
Thank you for all your support!
Last night was truly amazing!… but for Lauren and me, today was even better.
Everyone welcome Tyson Ralph Haws to the world.
02022020— TJ Haws (@tjhaws30) February 3, 2020
TJ will return to practice later in the week as BYU prepares to travel on Wednesday evening for a road game at Portland next Thursday at the Chilles Center.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
