It’s 2001, Crystal Owusu, age 5, is poppin’ 3 point jumpers on our AAU team practice court. I’m thinking how her dad, Olympic runner Francis Owusu, had moved from Ghana to Oxnard where I taught and coached.
Dude had a dream for all his kids to get that crazy dope education at Oaks Christian High and all 5 siblings put it down like few ever have.
Could I guess in 2001 that Crystal’s big bros Chris, Brian, and Francis would go on to play in the NFL, star for Stanford and Harvard? No. Could I guess that Crystal would go on to play basketball for vaunted Columbia University in New York?
No and yes. I knew Crystal was down for attending the #2 academic institution in the world, Columbia University, because in C-Owusu’s eye was this fantastic drive, her parents were so supportive, and her fam just wanted her to be the best she could be!
Forward 19 years, where is Crystal now? Helping to run MLB’s NY Mets from the front offices of its marketing and revenue optimization.
Simply put, Crystal is making bread because she invested in more than hoops. She invested in The Ivy League and that’s something that will stay with her the rest of of her life.
When a person asks Crystal where she attended college - chest out, head held high she can say Columbia University, it’s like that. You think people’s eyes light up when you say you rolled at the Ivy? Try telling someone for fun you went to Columbia University, see their reaction.
Me, E-Woods, I’m not a hater. If you’re from Cali you can be successful out of any school, private, UC, Cal St. Many levels of education can crack open a door a lil.
The questions kids have been sharing with me is E-Woods, “Which school will challenge me and offer the best education, which will bust open that door the most yet still give me competitive play in college?”
Do I tell them west coast? Consensus usually says UCLA, Cal, Stanford, USC offer the best education and strong hoop play. But I’m real to kids so I remind them Pac-12 programs are very hard to get a scholly from. If you get one, how much burn can a player expect to get from them? Real talk?
I love the high academic standards and competitive nature of those programs but in women’s hoops, for example, you best be top 10-25, and expect the coaches to try and out-replace you the second you step foot on campus.100.
Point is? This story offers a suggestion to those that seek the best education in the world and competitive play to try something unique. It’s not the weather that attracts a player to the Ivy League in the eastern part of the US. It’s that learning degree for the ages!
This story, it’s about more than Crystal, it’s my realization that after knowing 100’s of people who’ve gone on to prepare themselves for life at an Ivy and put in the work, it takes pretty high grades and a 3.3 weighted GPA. SAT scores aren’t being used since Covid-19 stopped the ability to do standardized testing.
Why did I decide to write this story?
I care. Prospects need to find the right fit, find a coach that believes in them, and to take away from college an education that will propel them on in life, like it did for Crystal Owusu!
I just talked to my girl who just graduated a top player out of the ACC and is headed to the WNBA bubble in Orlando. This woman from my hometown had major regrets, some strong feelings about who she picked to play for in college.
She didn’t get it right and told me it’s not just about making the WNBA out of college, it’s wisely choosing a fit and coach. It’s the journey that’s just as important as making a name for yourself. She said she’d have been happier playing for a coach just like Columbia U’s Megan Griffith.
#Snap, no she didn’t!
There you go, Coach Megan Griffith is that rare and amazing coach. Why is M-Griffith my personal favorite coach? Meg has that combination of grit and passion for the ages, some off-the-charts person to person skills. She’s like a genius at offenses and game management.
Ultimate compliment, she’s not just a coach. Women that have played for her tell me playing for Coach Meg is like playing for that special someone you can count on to help you succeed on and off the court.
What’s more dope than that? I was told of Coach Meg by one of Cal Storm’s all time best players a few years ago, and also by a WNBA scout.
My head spins at all the talent that has chosen to hit up and call Coach Meg over the last few years. This list has some great up and coming ballers, some the dopest people I’ve ever, ever met:
Vanessa De Jesus, Cailyn Crocker, Reni Johnson, Brooklyn Shamblin, Omamoke Okah, Ashley Chea, Destiny Agubata, Caia Elisaldez, Queen Ruffin, Rylei Waugh, and Andrea Stajic.
Man, I could give you 10-20 more names of the talented upcoming kids I’ve heard that have chosen to engage Meg in recruiting. Here’s a vid that shows how she rolls. Fye!
I’m always getting hit up by kids interested in Ivy League programs. They’re scared to consider them sometimes because they think they’re crazy expensive.
Really? Fill out that FAFSA financial aid form I tell them and most or all of an AN IVY LEAGUE EDUCATION could be paid for.
I strive for honesty, being real. I graduated from UC Santa Barbara, which is a good academic institution but attending the Ivy League?
That’s a twice as powerful starting point out of college than UCSB, so many more doors open into the professional world. Real talk.
This isn’t just a story of Columbia U, it’s a celebration of every person I’ve known that sets their sights high to attend an Ivy as well.
Like Oak Park’s Clark Slajchert. He had some nice offers and options but told me this, “Me choosing the University of Penn program will help me in life and my ambition to succeed in business, networking and building up my work ethic. The ball in the Ivy is good and the education just can’t be beat.”
#go get em C-Slajchert
I asked Clark’s dad, Davis, a graduate of Yale who is a fantastically successful developer and super family man, why he advised his sons Wes and Clark to consider an Ivy, He told me, “Out there on the east coast they really grind. You get in this groove of working hard but also gain an understanding of how the traditional power economy flows from the east.
“I took that knowledge west, raised a family. The choice to start my education in the Ivy was the difference, it served me well.”
E-Woods? I save the best for last, because I salute, salute the amazing, real one extraordinaire, AJ Moye a trainer at the Mamba Academy (now known as the Sports Academy).
Everyone knows AJ, and so many know he’s the best A#1.
AJ as a player and student? Dang, in 98’ he was Mr Basketball in the state of Georgia, and also the scholar athlete regardless of sport for the whole freaking state. He featured a 4.5 GPA and went on to star for Bobby Knight at Indiana and got on the front of Sports Illustrated.
AJ is that premier NBA trainer for dozens of the best ballers in the world but he treats every client like a child of God, like he would want his own kids treated. AJ has some awesome kids. It’s such a blessing that even my guy DeMar DeRozan trains with AJ. 100.
I’m so in awe of AJ because he helps kids that are interested in the Ivy make that connect. An army, legions of people and players have been impacted by A-Moye’s wise advice.
Hear him speak on it, “Kids I work with, many consider a high academic college and hoop program so we’ve come up with a plan to help them keep the grades up, the test scores up. It’s more than just working at training to achieve such things. I appreciate seeing kids step into a situation that could enrich their post college career options and I engage them to be the best version of themselves.
“I’ve been proud to help these kids link to an Ivy League education, I believe in them: Sydney Boyer - Princeton, Wes Slajchert - Dartmouth, Clark Slajchert - Penn, Savannah Lewis - Brown, Mason Hooks - Princeton, Meghan McIntyre - Yale, Roxy Barahman - Yale, Jordan Jones - Cornell, Miye Oni - Yale, Christian Juzang - Harvard.”
Now do you see why I had to write this story people?
It’s a passion to achieve and pursue the highest education. I’ve been seeing McDonald All-American players sign at Ivy League programs lately, they’re seeing education as more important than the blue-blood college programs.
I remember the ever awesome Kayla Padilla of Bishop Montgomery select an Ivy, U of Pennsylvania. Wanting to be a doctor, she told me the Ivy is where it’s at on her quest in life.
Some will say Ivy League may have only a certain socio-economic population. Not true, my girl Kaiyah Corona commuted from Compton to Windward High 3 hours a day in prep to build her academic profile and hoop game. College choice? Dartmouth, business major, to get ahead in life.
The Mamas and the Papas rock band group had an iconic song of the 60’s, California Dreamin’. Yes people flock to Cali but that dope pipeline, that trend I’m noticing?
Just like Crystal got down with the Ivy League and left Cali to go east, it’s something worth looking into. We have only one life, why not set it up big time?
