Here’s something you don’t hear every day: the biggest star at recent a U.S. college basketball game stands just a couple of feet tall, and is a few years away (to say the least) from even being able to attend college.
During a Mountain West Conference clash between Fresno State and Boise Tuesday night, the action came to a sudden and unusual halt after a shot by Boise State guard Justinian Jessup was deflected – and ended up getting stuck behind the backboard, wedged underneath the shot clock.
With four minutes left in the first half, multiple attempts were made to dislodge the ball, including trying to knock the ball free with a mop handle and even another basketball.
Then from the stands at Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho, came the hero of the night – a little boy, accompanied by an adult who helped hoist the helpful climber up onto the stanchions.
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The boy was eight-year-old Hunter Hales, accompanied by his father Paul, who told CBS News it was his idea for his son to lend a helping hand.
“So Hunter and I, at first we were watching the guys throwing balls at it and getting the broom, trying to poke it, and I said, ‘Hey, should we do this?’ and he was like, ‘No, we’re all right,'” Paul Hales said. “We watched them for about 30 seconds and Hunter was like, ‘All right, we got this.’ So we hoisted him up and he did the rest.”
For several tense moments, a battle of boy vs. ball unfolded in front of the packed arena before the ball finally came loose.
“He kind of climbed up and then some of the other players helped hold on to him as well,” Paul Hales said.
“And then I grabbed the ball and threw it down,” Hunter added.
Accompanied by chants of “MVP! MVP!” the boy returned to his seat – and like all great sports moments, this one was accompanied by a classic play-by-play call.
“Give that young man a scholarship!”
Hales said he and his son had a simple motivation for wanting to get the ball loose.
“Well, we wanted to watch the game, so we had to get it going, right?”