A week ago, LaVar Ball announced both his younger sons, LiAngelo and LaMelo, signed with Lonzo Ball’s agent. It took no time at all, as of two days ago, both LiAngelo and LaMelo posted pictures on Instagram signing contracts to play professional basketball overseas. Many people thought it would be in China to help make that relationship better over there. In January of 2018, both brothers will report to the Lithuanian professional basketball club Prienu Vytautas. Lithuanian team Vytautas‘ statement on signing LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball to one-year deals: “Our club is excited about the arrival of LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball. We are committed to their long-term success and development as professional basketball players.”
In early November, UCLA basketball players LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were suspended indefinitely. The three players were caught shoplifting in China after they spent a couple days on house arrest. With the help of Donald Trump, the three American players spent no time in prison and returned to America and all charges against the three of them were dropped. “We’re young men, however, it’s not an excuse for making a really stupid decision,” Ball said. The UCLA players haven’t been allowed to play, practice, or travel with the Bruins since. This led to the removal of LiAngelo from UCLA, by his father. "He's not transferring to another school," he told ESPN. "The plan is now to get Gelo ready for the NBA Draft."
LaMelo Ball was supposed to start his junior year of high school this fall but before the school year, LaVar removed him from the school. Instead of enrolling LaMelo into a traditional high school, LaVar will homeschool and train him for the next two years. LaVar didn’t see eye to eye with the new head coach the school hired this past summer, he felt he was going to limit his son which led to the removal. The initial idea was to train and hire tutors for LaMelo for two years and still send him to UCLA. After the LiAngelo incident, he decided UCLA was no longer the plan.
This will help the kids focus solely on the game of basketball, and play instead of just training. You don’t need to graduate from high school in order to be NBA Draft eligible. A prospect only needs to be 19 years old and one year removed from the graduation date of his high school class. Talent evaluators have been skeptical of LiAngelo's NBA prospects, while LaMelo is the No. 15 overall prospect in his class. Both have a realistic vision of playing in the NBA and nothing will stop the Ball family.
