Tyger Campbell Is the Calm as U.C.L.A. Storms Into the Sweet 16

“It was a leap of faith for him to be that young and move to Los Angeles, a huge university where people were telling him he wasn’t going to make it, he would just be an afterthought, even though he was highly recruited,” said his mother, Jennifer Krekeler-Campbell. “He got a lot of pushback. For him to be brave enough and strong enough, and then to endure that year with the knee injury, I’m so proud of him.”

Tyger Campbell was named for Tiger Woods because his mother was watching the golfer win the Mercedes Championships as she was giving birth to him in January 2000. Krekeler-Campbell and Tyger’s father, Tony Campbell, swapped in a “y” to give their son his own style (Tyger’s three siblings are named for sports figures as well).

The signature hairstyle? That’s all Tyger. He hated haircuts as a child, crying incessantly with each one, so finally his father struck a deal with him.

“If you’re going to cry, we’re not going to cut it,” Tony told Tyger. “But you’re going to have to take care of it.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/22/sports/ncaabasketball/tyger-campbell-ucla.html