Showing posts with label LiAngelo Ball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label LiAngelo Ball. Show all posts
Thursday, November 16, 2017
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Monday, September 25, 2017
Whole New Ball Game
Love ’em or hate ’em, this much is fact: The Ball family has bum-rushed the world of basketball with such force that they’ve become impossible to ignore. Here, LaVar Ball, the captain of the ship, writes about how their independent brand came together and the motivation behind the movement.
Ownership and independence is everything.
Our family’s movement is about letting other parents and prospects know, “Hey, you don’t have to feel pressured into thinking that there aren’t many options. There’s a different route that you can take in this.”
All we want to do is plant the seed and watch it grow. Show people that it can be done. Show parents that it’s possible: We don’t need the big companies. They need us. And so we should work together.
Big Baller Brand wants to show the next generation that there’s a difference between building wealth and just being rich. This isn’t about getting that early money—just another athlete signing a regular endorsement deal. That would have been the easier route. But we’ve embarked on a mission. We want to go beyond just inspiring athletes. It’s about those small business owners that stay up at night plotting their next move and figuring out how to stay afloat.
We know of the impact that this is having on the industry because we’ve already witnessed a larger conversation rise as a result of Lonzo announcing his ZO2 signature shoe. The dialogue that it has started is a step in the right direction. It shows that we’ve already made progress.
One of the most important things that a parent can do for their kid is to stay involved. In the sports world, many parents have let so many people into their kids’ inner circle that there are meetings happening and yet they’re not even invited to any of them. Your son is the endorser but gets no say in it—yet he’s doing all the work. As parents, we have to understand our value, and the value of our children.
When Zo was a freshman in high school, my wife Tina and I were looking at how these endorsement deals work and we said, “We gotta do our own thing.” We had already been doing our thing with the Big Ballers AAU program. As time went on, we just kept the plan on the back burner until it was time—which was when Zo, LiAngelo and LaMelo were on the same team at the same time. That was the magical season we had in 2015-16, when Chino Hills HS went 35-0.
In April of 2016 our conversations turned into action. We said, “We gotta do something on our own, to represent this brand by ourselves.” By the end of the month, we had our first batch of Big Baller Brand merchandise, all stacked up on the pool table at the house. Then it just grew bigger and bigger. Now we’re stacking them up at the factory.
This movement isn’t about throwing away a bunch of money. When I said, “You’re not a big baller if you don’t buy these shoes,” it was about dedication, discipline and following your goals to earn enough to purchase something you want to own. Not just a dream, but a goal—you can dream all day, but when you have goals, you have a timeline.
When something new comes up, you’re going to get some other people to try it. Some will be successful and some won’t. All I want is for everybody who thinks about doing something similar to what our family is doing to at least have faith in it. Blockbuster used to be the thing every weekend, but then came Netflix. You gotta change with the times. And once the athletes say, “Hey, you know what? I don’t have to do it this way. I am the brand,” then that’s when the game changes.
Let’s say the top five picks in each of the next five drafts say they don’t want an endorsement deal. Or, if they do decide they want to sign an endorsement deal, they immediately ask, “Where’s my signature shoe? Can I get it by next month?” Then what?
I hope prospects and their parents start to visualize this. If you don’t invest in your own, who will?
Ten years from now, people will look back and understand what I was saying.
There’s a difference between being famous, rich and wealthy. Anybody can become famous and get rich. But can you stay rich? That’s the hard part and that’s where wealth comes in.
I’m proud of how my boys have handled it all. Earlier this year the mother of one of Melo’s friends took him to the same mall they’ve been going to since they were kids. Melo walked in and word got out that he was there. Next thing you know, kids are rushing toward him and security was like, “We can’t have this.” They had to step in, back everyone away and Melo had to be escorted out the side of the mall. And that’s when we saw that this movement is going to a whole different level.
The countless hours that Zo, Gelo and Melo have put in to get to this point—no one can ever take that away from them. They’ve invested so much time and effort into their craft. Zo turned the UCLA program around this year, Gelo led the state of California in scoring, and Melo is now under a microscope in ways that no other high school player has ever been before.
Our family has put a lot of work into this movement. We’re happy with the quality of the ZO2s. I would never put my own son in a shoe that’s going to put him at risk of getting hurt.
We just want to inspire people and show them that there’s a different lane you can travel in. It’s OK to step out and do it another way. Only a select few will do it, but folks will start creating their own brands, like we’ve done with BBB, and more and more families will begin feeling comfortable with betting on themselves.
You just gotta have the vision. Without the vision, you have no precision.
Monday, June 26, 2017
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
Ball Bros on night of NBA Draft Lottery
from on You Tube. Thanks to Azn_balla for sharing this on BZ. Respect.
Published on May 16, 2017
Published on May 16, 2017
Video description: The Ball Brothers playing pick-up basketball at the 24 Hour Fitness in Chino Hills on the night of the NBA Draft Lottery.
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
The Ballfather: LaVar Ball and his 3 sons intend to change basketball forever
mar 13, 2017 | ryaN KARTJE |o.c. register | ARTICLE LINK
CHINO HILLS – A storm is raging, the fiercest Southern California has seen in years, but outside of the Chino Hills High gym on a Friday night in February, hundreds stand in line anyway, soaked but undeterred, their barricade of umbrellas snaking around the building. Some have been waiting in the rain for hours. A few poor souls wander desperately, begging for extra tickets. They were sold out before the day began.
They’ve come to catch lightning in a bottle, to gaze upon a preps phenomenon the likes of which this town – and quite possibly the country – has never seen before. A few years ago, Chino Hills High was a complete unknown in basketball circles – a public school, just a decade old, with a tiny gym and a modest following. But that was before the plan took hold and the nation took notice, before the Ball family and their electric offense, before 35-0, the 60-game win streak and the national title.
“Now, it’s a movement,” says Scout.com analyst Josh Gershon. “Everyone knows Chino Hills.”
The Chino Hills High gym is a charming shoebox of a basketball arena, with a couple dozen rows of wooden bleachers and a standing-room capacity of 1,300 – less than half that of local powerhouse Mater Dei. On this opening night of the playoffs, they’ll need every inch. LiAngelo, the middle of the three vaunted Ball brothers, is set to return and a tightly packed crowd buzzes, whispering of another state championship run.
The ball is tipped, and Chino Hills bursts into hyperdrive. Just four seconds in, LaMelo Ball, the youngest Ball brother, serves up a soaring alley-oop. The crowd gasps. This is Chino Hills in all its high-throttle glory, sprinting past defenders and suffocating lanes, dishing passes behind the back and drilling 30-footers.
During LiAngelo’s recent absence, LaMelo scored 92 in one game. “Sportscenter” called. “World News Tonight” ran a story. In a matter of hours, the 15-year-old’s coronation as an internet sensation was underway. At Chino Hills’ next game, grown men waited outside the gym for autographs. The team left out the back door.
With LiAngelo back, there is no hope of denying them. A slow start against JSerra turns into a 21-0 run in mere minutes. Before long, Chino Hills runs away with a 105-74 victory, piling on until the final buzzer.
“Tri-ple dig-its!” the student section jeers. It’s the 16th time they’ve surpassed that mark this season.
At center court, the architect behind this phenomenon leans forward from his seat in the first row, resting his massive 6-foot-6 frame on his knees and chewing gum as vigorously as the Chino Hills offense moves. Even from a distance, LaVar Ball is an intimidating presence. His gaze, intense and unrelenting, rarely leaves the court.
Everyone here knows LaVar, and nearly everyone has an opinion of him. At a recent road win in Rancho Cucamonga, fans lined up just to snap selfies with him – the man who fathered the Ball boys. TMZ invites him on air, begging for more of the incendiary bravado for which he’s come to be known.
Chino Hills may not have seen this coming – the national acclaim, the autograph seekers, the internet celebrity – but this is exactly what LaVar has envisioned since his three sons were born. For years, he told anyone who would listen of his boys’ impending greatness.
“He’s always had a master plan,” Tina Ball, his wife, says.
“Some people want to invest in property, stocks, something,” says LaVar. “I always thought, ‘I’m going to invest in something that’s mine.’”
So ... about this plan? A reporter asks, and before long, he’s off, hurtling past the parental niceties, straight down a rabbit hole of unhinged fatherly ambition. Over the course of two hours, LaVar will declare, among other things, his three sons’ intentions to go one-and-done in college, to play together on the U.S. Olympic team and to challenge Michael Jordan as the G.O.A.T.
He’ll compare himself (positively) to Michael Jackson’s father, and his oldest son, Lonzo, to Magic Johnson “with a jump shot.” He’ll divulge plans for a family docuseries and threaten to upend the status quo of the NBA shoe game.
Surely, this is lunacy. A father’s delusions of grandeur. Just LaVar being LaVar. But, as the team keeps winning and his sons’ celebrity grows, are we just too myopic to see it unfolding before us? In Chino Hills, where some see genius and others only bluster, there is no sure answer.
“Some people call him crazy,” Lonzo says after one UCLA practice. “But everything that he’s said, it’s pretty much come true.”
One thing is certain, and he wields this truth proudly and openly: LaVar Ball is in control. At Chino Hills, where his three sons have jumpstarted a phenomenon and set up a once-unknown program for a second consecutive title run, LaVar has ruffled feathers and asserted his will.
“Some of them understand the takeover,” he says, “and they don’t like it.”
He senses their indignation, but couldn’t care less. The team is winning. His sons are thriving. The plan is working.
“Might as well call Chino Hills, Chino Ball,” LaVar continues, flashing a self-assured grin. “That’s the reality. As soon as my last son graduates, Chino Hills will go from sugar to (expletive).
“When I’m done, they can have it back.”
GROOMED FROM BIRTH
The city of Chino Hills sits at the southwestern corner of the Inland Empire, in the distant shadow of the San Gabriel Mountains. A suburban utopia 35 miles east of L.A., it was once known for rolling hills filled with cattle. When LaVar and Tina Ball first moved to the south side of town, before the city nearly tripled in size and manicured subdivisions sprouted from the landscape, they could still spot loose cows on the hillside nearby.
In that same corner house, LaVar is holding court, as he often does. A bustling stream of visitors comes and goes. For the Ball family, the chaos seems comforting.
“We’re America’s first basketball family,” he declares from across the dining room table, as if it were the tagline to a new E! reality series. It’s hard to know if he’s serious – until he drops the same line a few days later.
Tina stands working over a table piled high with gear from Big Baller Brand, the apparel company they launched last year, as LaVar dives into one of his favorite stories. He’s recalling the moment he saw her for the first time, 6 feet tall and beautiful, on campus at Cal State Los Angeles. As the story goes, he knew right then she fit the Ball plan.
“I keep telling people, I picked her for the genes,” he jokes.
If so, he seems to have picked wisely. Lonzo, 19, has been a dynamo in one season at UCLA, a candidate for Naismith Player of the Year and a likely top-three selection in the upcoming NBA draft. LiAngelo, 18, is a bruising scorer bound for UCLA next season, and LaMelo, 15, just a sophomore but already committed to the Bruins, could be the best of the three.
From birth, LaVar groomed them to be stars. As early as 4, LiAngelo remembers doing pull-ups. At 9, they sprinted up dirt hills in the backyard. Sometimes, they moved the furniture and staged their own athletic events, dubbing them the “Ghetto Olympics.” Family vacations were sacrificed for additional training, and to ward off complacency, LaVar gave away the trophies they won to other family members.
“As kids, he always wanted to train us, too,” LaVar’s younger brother, LaVelle, remembers.
Before they could dribble, LaVar taught his sons the offense they would one day run at Chino Hills, the same frenetic style he and his four brothers played on the courts of South L.A. No shot was a bad one. Faster was always better. The offense is a reflection of LaVar – confident, brash, unforgiving. His sons have never played any other way.
Ceding control, you see, is not in his playbook. He balked at the idea of entrusting his sons to someone else’s AAU team. So he started his own, Big Ballers VXT. When the shoe companies took interest, he refused their advances.
Even at UCLA, his voice is heard. During a preseason trip to Australia, Lonzo attempted to tweak the funky release on his jumper. An awful shooting slump followed, and upon his return, LaVar called UCLA coach Steve Alford. He didn’t mince words: Lonzo was changing back.
“I should’ve never let him change it in the first place,” LaVar says.
Say what you will about fathers living vicariously through their sons – such things have certainly been said about LaVar before – but, for one moment, let us consider those who suggest that LaVar does not fit so easily into that cookie-cutter narrative of fame-crazed fathers and over-burdened sons. His belief in his sons has always been unwavering. Close friends rave that he, most of all, is the source of their unending confidence.
When those who know LaVar heard his recent interview with TMZ – the one in which he suggested Lonzo would be better than two-time MVP Steph Curry – they shrugged, even as many – NBA scouts included – wondered if the Ball brothers might crumble under their father’s expectation.
“People say, ‘Oh, LaVar’s crazy,’” he says, “Well, they thought Tiger Woods’ dad was crazy. They thought Venus and Serena’s dad was crazy. These are all great (athletes). So I’d say we’re on the right path. I want them going for the highest.”
But how high? How far can one push until the narrative – and its burden – swallows them whole? The cautionary tales are in endless supply.
Recently, LaVar has begun thinking bigger, beyond basketball.
“Branding is the ultimate,” he says.
A Ball family docuseries, filmed over the past year, is being shopped to Netflix, Amazon and HBO Sports, according to LaVar’s business partner, who asked to remain unnamed. He claims “a bidding war” is already underway.
Back in the dining room, LaVar holds up a jacket that bears the three B’s logo of Big Baller Brand, each of which represents one of his three sons. In every photo op or video interview, Big Baller Brand makes an appearance. At Chino Hills games, the apparel is everywhere.
“This jacket, it’s $100,” he says. “I have hats for $100, and people buy them.”
Last year, LaVar applied for a trademark of the brand’s name. Now, a Big Baller Brand shoe is “on deck.” He has taken meetings with reps from shoe companies, not to talk endorsement deals, he claims, but to float the idea of co-branding with Big Baller Brand. As is often the case with LaVar, parsing reality from hyperbole can be complicated. But in this future he imagines, shoe companies bend to his favor.
“A reckoning is coming,” he warns, through a grin.
When Lonzo is drafted this summer, he says, he’ll be the first to enter the NBA with his own brand. In a few years, his brothers will follow.
“This,” LaVar says, “is a power move.”
CROSSING THE COACH
On a Friday morning last May, less than six weeks after one of the best seasons in high school basketball history ended with a dominant state title run, Chino Hills coach Steve Baik abruptly announced his resignation.
The news stunned the high school basketball world. Baik had just been named National High School Coach of the Year in March. All but one member of the nation’s best team was set to return.
Baik, who did not respond to requests for comment on this story, said in multiple interviews that he left to be closer to his family. Still, speculation ensued. Many wondered whether LaVar Ball had something to do with it. Baik has since denied that presumption to the L.A. Times.
In the world of big-time high school hoops, where private powerhouses and basketball factories reign, a top prospect attending his hometown school is increasingly rare. At Chino Hills High, where the basketball team had produced just one Division I basketball player before the Balls enrolled, it was no less than extraordinary.
“They like living here,” says Ed Graham, a Chino Hills city councilman, “but I’m still surprised they haven’t been to Mater Dei.”
Don Grant served as Chino Hills coach from 2004-09, navigating the program through its earliest days. He saw Lonzo play as early as the first grade, and even then was sure he’d be special.
Years later, others wondered if the Balls might go elsewhere, but Grant knew better. At Mater Dei, they would be forced into a system. At Chino Hills, the Ball brothers could be the system.
“(LaVar) has incredible confidence in their abilities,” Grant says, “so I don’t think he cared any less where they played.”
Lonzo enrolled at Chino Hills in 2012, a freshman on a team of 13 juniors and seniors. “He did not have it easy,” Tina recalls. But LaVar wasted no time asserting himself with Baik, who had become head coach two years earlier. Baik considered playing two point guards. LaVar said he had only one, Lonzo. Chino Hills won 24 games ... with Lonzo at point.
When LiAngelo joined the team the next summer, Baik questioned whether to start him as a freshman. Two years later, when LaMelo joined at 13 and LaVar’s dream of his boys playing together was about to be realized, they argued again.
As LaVar remembers, “I told the coach, ‘Well you’re going to be known as the one who let the Ball boys get away. We can go anywhere. Trust me.’”
Many took issue with LaVar’s approach. But the team kept winning. The spotlight was bright. Chino Hills mayor Ray Marquez found himself fielding constant questions about the Ball brothers, when visiting city officials across the state. After last year’s run, the school district approved an extra $25,000 to Chino Hills High for gameday security.
Chino Hills High principal Isabel Brenes dismisses the notion that basketball has been a financial windfall for the school – the team’s total revenue last season was less than $50,000 – but she acknowledges “it has given us global exposure.”
After the state championship run, Baik met with him at the house. The two men “had a good understanding,” according to LaVar. Baik confirmed his desires to be closer to his family. LaVar wondered if he wouldn’t be better off leaving while he was on top.
Two weeks after his resignation in May, Baik was hired at Fairfax High. In June, Stephan Gilling, an assistant the prior two seasons, was offered the job at Chino Hills. The defending national champions were to be led by a first-time head coach.
A former star guard at Ayala High across town, Gilling knew Chino Hills. He also knew LaVar. He trained with him growing up, played for him in seventh grade and even called him “a mentor.”
But today, as Gilling walks the sideline and LaVar watches from center court, that relationship has apparently deteriorated.
“LaVar and I really don’t speak,” Gilling says. “We used to speak, but we don’t speak. It’s whatever.”
Gilling says he “understood what he was stepping into,” but the exasperation in his voice is apparent. He bristles at LaVar’s suggestion that he can overrule his coaching decisions. He accuses him of “a lack of respect.” But he has chosen to refrain from discussing this with LaVar. “He’s not going to change,” Gilling says.
Earlier this season, coach and parent clashed in the locker room, after LaVar defied Gilling’s request for him to stay out. Gilling stormed out instead, ordering the team to follow. The Ball brothers stayed behind.
“The boys know I stand on my own two feet,” Gilling says.
Still, as Chino Hills’ success continues, there is no denying who pulls the strings.
“If you’re willing to get on board with him, he’s going to take you for a heck of a ride,” Grant says. “But LaVar is not one to want a backseat driver. You have a choice. You’re either all in or all out.”
Back at the house, the varsity team shoots free throws on the family’s backyard court, where they often get additional training from LaVar. Among them is Eli Scott, the Huskies senior forward. For three years he trained here with LaVar. Last fall, Loyola Marymount offered Scott a scholarship, an offer he says never would have come if not for the Balls.
The team finishes, dispersing into the house, and a fleet of eighth graders takes their place. Scott Cavanias, the principal at Alvarado Intermediate in Rowland Heights, sits on the back porch watching his son, Christian. Lately, Christian has been asking to train four nights per week. He likes how hard LaVar pushes him. Scott calls him “the genius from the hood.”
“Anyone who says what’s happening at Chino Hills isn’t good for the school is out of their mind,” Scott says.
But here is where the line blurs again. As the boys begin to scrimmage, LaVar points out at the court, at one particularly tall eighth grader.
“This one will be on varsity,” he says.
His control, he suggests, goes beyond just the team showcasing his boys. If you don’t train with him, learn his system young, and play on his AAU team, “you don’t play,” he warns.
Gilling denies this. But LaVar is unequivocal: “In order to make Chino Hills, you have to come through me.”
But training with LaVar is not free.
“I tell parents, it’s better for you to pay $10,000 per year, or even $15,000, for him to get a scholarship,” he says. “You’ve got to invest.”
COMFORTABLE IN THE SPOTLIGHT
A sellout crowd of more than 10,000 is on its feet at the Galen Center, as LaMelo Ball rocks back and forth at the top of the key. Chino Hills is tied with Mater Dei at 72, the overnight phenomenon deadlocked with its powerhouse foil, and thousands pull out their phones, hitting record in unison, as if something extraordinary is destined to happen.
But the Ball brothers are ice cold. LaMelo heaves a deep, last-second 3, and it clanks away. He and LiAngelo will combine for 54 points, but shoot just 17 of 65. In overtime of this CIF semifinal, the slump is too much to overcome. For the first time in two years, Chino Hills loses to a team from Southern California.
Just a day later, LaVar lets slip to a Tucson radio station that Lonzo “will only play for the Lakers,” and the machine begins grinding away again. After UCLA nabs a huge road win at Arizona, Lonzo is asked if his father is a distraction. He shakes his head. “I just go out there and play basketball,” he says.
But as LaMelo exits the gym, with a Big Baller Brand hoodie pulled over his head, it’s hard not to wonder how long this can all hold – the system, the plan, and the father pulling the strings.
Soon, Chino Hills will push for another state title, Lonzo will declare for the draft, and LiAngelo will head for Westwood. Next year, no high school player in America will be under a brighter spotlight than LaMelo.
“All eyes is on you,” rapper The Game tells him in the tunnel before he leaves.
His words are prescient. Outside, a crowd lingers near the team bus on Figueroa Street. And as LaMelo emerges, the whispers begin again and hundreds lift up their phones, desperate for just one more glimpse.
Contact the writer: rkartje@scng.com
Sunday, March 12, 2017
Ball Or Fall SC Feature On Lamelo, Lonzo, Liangelo, and Lavar Ball
from
Thanks to Kaz for posting this on BZ.
Thanks to Kaz for posting this on BZ.
Thursday, February 23, 2017
The 3 kids and blustering dad who want to take over basketball
TBT: LaVar Ball on UCLA and his sons back in 2015 from
From
From
CHINO HILLS, Calif. — At 3:30 Friday afternoon, a few hundred people stood in line outside the Chino Hills High School gymnasium, some 50 miles east of Los Angeles, awaiting admission to a 7 p.m. game. They seemed oblivious to the storm that local meteorologists were calling “the worst rain event in the last six years” to hit LA.
The game was still 3½ hours away, and the doors to the gym would not open until about 30 minutes before tipoff.
Thanks to three brothers with otherworldly basketball skills, Chino Hills has become like a miniature version of the Lakers “Showtime” days of Magic and Kareem at the old Forum.
“It’s a show,’’ LaVar Ball said, surveying the scene he helped create as the father of Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball. “This is like the hottest thing going. They’re waiting in the rain to see my boys play this game. It’ll never happen like this again.
“I call this the ‘Ball Era,’ because before Lonzo got here, none of this was like it is now. Nobody even knew about Chino Hills. Now, as soon as you mention Chino Hills, the first thing that comes out of everyone’s mouth is ‘Ball brothers.’ When I said this was going to happen four, five years earlier, people thought I was crazy.’’
The oldest, Lonzo, started the show five years ago. He’s now a freshman at UCLA, where he’s the point-guard engine that makes the fifth-ranked Bruins (24-3) a favorite to go deep into the NCAA Tournament.
Lonzo, who averages 15.4 points, 7.6 assists, 6.1 rebounds and two steals, is projected to be one of the top four picks in the upcoming NBA draft, and not even Phil Jackson could screw up enough to pass on him if the Knicks have the chance to select him.
When told the Knicks could really use a player like Lonzo, LaVar said, “Everybody’s in desperate need of a guy like Lonzo. He’s the only one in the draft that can make everyone else better.’’
LiAngelo is a senior at Chino Hills, the school’s leading scorer for the last four years, and is committed to go to UCLA next year.
LaMelo is a smooth 15-year-old sophomore who’s possibly the most gifted of the three.
“Everyone wanted my boys to go to all these other schools and I said, ‘It ain’t the school that makes the dude, it’s the dude that makes the school,’ ’’ LaVar said. “They thought the boys are not going to get exposure playing at Chino Hills. I said, ‘If you can find a kid in Africa, you ain’t going to have no problem finding my boys off the 71 Freeway.’ ’’
Not when the boys are this talented (to wit, LaMelo scored 92 points on Feb. 8 against Los Osos High). Or when the father is LaVar, who’s hardly afraid of making bold proclamations about his kids.
Last week, as a guest on an LA radio show, LaVar was asked if Lonzo has a chance to be as good as NBA superstar Steph Curry.
“Heck no,’’ LaVar said. “He’s going to be better than Steph.’’
“I think he’s better than Steph right now; he just doesn’t have the credentials,’’ LaVar said now, warming up his engines. “Steph is 6-2, 6-3. My boy is 6-7. ’Zo is faster than Steph and he jumps higher. If Steph had to guard Lonzo one-on-one, he couldn’t hold Lonzo. I can’t wait for the first game they play together in the NBA. Then, when my son beats him, then what?’’
LaVar talks this way about all three of his boys. And, if you’re merely reading the quotes, it’s easy to view him as an obnoxious, pushy gasbag.
But to meet LaVar is to believe LaVar. His positive energy is so infectious that if he told you there would be no traffic at 5 p.m. on a Friday between Santa Monica and downtown LA, you’d believe him.
Rather than recoil from it and view it as adding pressure, the Ball boys embrace LaVar’s bravado.
“I’ve been living with it since I’ve been born,’’ Lonzo said. “Of course, I appreciate it. That’s my dad, man. Who wouldn’t want his son to be the best, you know? I love him and whatever he says, I’m going to roll with it.’’
LiAngelo said his father’s confidence “lets us know that he cares about us.’’
“He’s been talking like that for a long time now,’’ LaMelo said. “We know he’s got our back and we’ve got his back.’’
The boys’ mother, Tina Ball, a 6-foot blonde, has been married to LaVar for 20 years. They met at Cal State Los Angeles, where they both played basketball. Tina calls LaVar “larger than life, and he’s always like that. That’s who he is.’’
“He’s always told them they can be great,’’ she added. “Obviously, you just want your son to strive to be the best at what they’re doing. Someone has to be better than Michael Jordan. Why not you?’’
LaVar Ball’s master plan is working. He speaks freely about wanting three boys. He believes the boys’ size and prowess were inevitable.
“With [my wife’s] size and my size [6-6, 320], we were going to create some monsters,’’ he said.
“Each one of my boys is better at their age than the other one,’’ LaVar continued. “Gelo was better than Lonzo at 15. Now Melo is better than both of them at 15. I make ’em like phones — each one is better.’’
This is LaVar’s description of his three boys:
- Lonzo: “Lonzo is the playmaker. He will do whatever it takes to win. He never has a bad game, because if he only has one assist, he might have eight steals, 12 rebounds, 18 points. Or he might have 12 assists and two points.’’
- LiAngelo: “Gelo is a shooter, a scorer. He can shoot the 3-pointer and he’s got the biggest body where he can post up in the paint. He’s 6-6, 240 playing the two guard. Nobody can guard him.’’
- LaMelo: “Melo is my hybrid. He can play like ‘Gelo, where he’s shooting the ball a lot — as you could tell with the 92 points he scored — or he can run the team like Lonzo, as he’s been doing all year.’’
The night LaMelo scored the 92 points, LiAngelo was out with a leg injury, so LaMelo was flying solo for the first time at Chino Hills.
“It was his stage to do what he does,’’ LaVar said.
LaMelo dedicated the game to a Chino Hills classmate named Lexi Anderson, who was in need of emergency heart surgery. After the game, he tweeted: “92 points #love4lexi.”
His tweet was the catalyst to help launch a GoFundMe page to raise money for Lexi’s medical needs, which include a heart transplant. Five days after the LaMelo tweet, more than 300 people donated $30,246 of a $100,000 goal.
Lonzo called his youngest brother’s 92-point performance “just Melo being Melo,’’ and added how “proud’’ he was of LaMelo raising awareness about his gravely ill classmate.
“He knew that if he went off in that game, it would draw a lot of recognition to not just himself,’’ Lonzo said. “I credit him for putting her first and then going out there and scoring all those points.’’
It wasn’t well received by everyone. LaMelo launched 61 shots in Chino Hills’ relentless shoot-till-you-drop offense, and opposing coach Dave Smith told the Los Angeles Times that LaMelo’s performance was “a joke.”
“When only one kid shoots every shot but one in a quarter, that’s not right. That’s not, as coaches, what we’re supposed to do,” Smith told the paper. “They have a chance to score a layup and they turn and pass the ball out so another teammate can score. That’s not good.”
Stephan Gilling, in his first year as the Chino Hills head coach, has known the Ball family since before LaMelo was born, and he recognized something special immediately.
“When I saw in ’Zo when he was young, he just had this presence and something in his eyes,’’ Gilling said. “He was so confident as a young kid. With him being the first brother, I knew that trait was going to carry on to the next two.’’
Especially LaMelo, who has a smooth, confident style about him that makes it look like he’s loafing. He’s simply so talented, he looks like he can do anything he wants on the basketball court.
On that rainy Friday night against JSerra Catholic, a 105-74 Chino Hills blowout, LaMelo scored one basket when he passed the ball to himself off the backboard for an uncontested layup. On another play, he casually flipped a no-look underhand alley-oop to LiAngelo for a power dunk.
Showtime indeed.
The same way LaMelo does for Chino Hills, Lonzo has taken his version of “Showtime’’ to Pauley Pavilion.
“His decision-making has been on point since Day 1 here,’’ UCLA coach Steve Alford said. “He’s always been pass-first. You’re looking at one of the best assist guys in the country, if not the best assist guy in the country. As far as running the show, nobody does it better than Lonzo.’’
Alford’s son, Bryce, Lonzo’s starting backcourt mate, added, “A guy that has [558,000] Instagram followers and with the hype that surrounds him, he could easily be a cocky dude, a bad dude. But he’s one of the nicest guys I know. For him to be the talent he is and the person he is, that’s what really makes him special.’’
UCLA needs to enjoy Lonzo while his magic lasts, because he’ll soon be gone, to the next level, trying to do special things in the NBA.
“The one-and-done for us — all my boys will be one-and-done — it’s not for the money,’’ LaVar said. “We want the one-and-done for the competition. My boys want to be the best ever.’’
You’ll get no argument on that from the Ball boys.
“This is a really exciting time, because it makes the game fun when it’s your family and your brothers are playing good and you’re doing well,’’ LiAngelo said.
“We’re just doing what we love,’’ LaMelo said. “Basketball.’’
Showtime.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
No. 8 Chino Hills beats No. 3 Mater Dei in Tarkanian Classic final, wins 46th game in a row
Published on Dec 20, 2016 by
Chino Hills won their 46th straight game today and arguably their most impressive of the new season against Mater Dei to win the 2016 Tarkanian Classic championship! This is Chino's second straight major tournament win after they won the City of Palms Classic last year beating out Montverde along the way.
In a California playoff rematch from last season, defending national champions keep streak alive with 84-73 win.
dec
20, 2016 | maxpreps.com | ARTICLE LINK
The greatest show in high school basketball continued Tuesday night in the Entertainment Capital of the World.
No. 8 Chino Hills (Calif.) extended its win streak to 46 games with an 84-73 win over No. 3 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in the championship game of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.
Brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball led the way for Chino Hills by combining for 46 points. Both Elizjah Scott and Onyeka Okongwu notched double-doubles.
Chino Hills (11-0) has become a bit of a foil to Gary McKnight's juggernaut at Mater Dei (11-1), also thrashing the Monarchs by 48 points in the Southern Section Open Division semifinals last February.
The Tarkanian Classic title was on the verge of slipping away from Chino Hills in two earlier games at the event. The Huskies overcame double-digit leads in the second half against Clark (Las Vegas) and Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.).
Chino Hills tops Mater Dei to win Tarkanian Classic
dec
20, 2016 | eric sondheimer | THE L.A. TIMES | ARTICLE LINK
Las Vegas was the site Tuesday night for a championship basketball game between two unbeaten high school teams from Southern California, Chino Hills and Santa Ana Mater Dei.
It was the first meeting between the two schools since Chino Hills won by 48 points in a playoff game last season. The Monarchs were not intimidated this time, engaging in a back-and-forth, fire-away strategy with the running Huskies.
In the end, Chino Hills had too much Ball power, as in LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball. LiAngelo Ball scored 25 points and LaMelo Ball 21 as Chino Hills defeated Mater Dei, 84-73, to win the Platinum Division of the Tarkanian Classic.
Chino Hills is 11-0 and has won 46 consecutive games after going 35-0 last season. Mater Dei dropped to 11-1. LiAngelo Ball and Eli Scott of Chino Hills were named tournament co-MVPs. Scott had 19, 13 and 16 rebounds in his last three games.
Chino Hills led by as many as 10 points in the first half before leading at halftime, 36-31. Mater Dei had issues with turnovers. The Monarchs got as close as three points before Chino Hills pulled away in the second half.
Chino Hills led by as many as 10 points in the first half before leading at halftime, 36-31. Mater Dei had issues with turnovers. The Monarchs got as close as three points before Chino Hills pulled away in the second half.
Justice Sueing had a big game for Mater Dei, scoring 27 points.
Chino Hills looks like a strong contender to No. 1 ranked Chatsworth Sierra Canyon for supremacy in the Southern Section Open Division.
It’s a great start for first-year Coach Stephan Gilling, who has adopted the tactics of former coach Steve Baik with a fast-paced attack. And it shows that Chino Hills hasn’t lost much even though last year’s star, Lonzo Ball, has moved on to UCLA.
DEC 20, 2016 | USA today | ARTICLE LINK
In a matchup of Southern California teams in the top 10 of the Super 25, Chino Hills downed Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 84-23, on Tuesday night to win the Platinum Division of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.
Chino Hills, the defending Super 25 champion, ran its winning streak to 46 games dating to last season.
LiAngelo Ball led Chino Hills (11-0) with 25 points, LaMelo Ball had 21. ONyeka Okongwu had 14, Phaquan Davis added 12 and Eli Scott had 10.
Justice Sueing paced the Monarchs, who lost for the first time, with 27 points and 11 rebounds, and Michael Wang had 17, including 14 in the second half.
The Huskies needed to overcome a 12-point halftime deficit in Monday’s semifinal against Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.), but that was not the case against Mater Dei.
Chino Hills trailed 15-14 early in the first half but went on a 10-2 run for a 24-17 edge and was not behind again.
Mater Dei, though, was not going away. But even Monarchs run was answered by the Huskies.
Chino Hills had a five-point edge at halftime as LiAngelo Ball had 18 at the break; Sueing led the Monarchs with 14.
The teams played at a frenetic pace throughout, which seemingly would work more to Chino Hills’ advantage.
The margin was six points with eight minutes left, but Chino Hills pushed it to 13 at 69-56 capped by a back-to-back threes from Davis. Mater Dei trimmed the lead to nine at about the four-minute mark, but LiAngelo Ball scored to push the lead back to double figures.
Road to the Championship
Tarkanian Classic
Boys
Platinum Division
(Teams: Bingham (Utah), Bishop Gorman, Bishop O’Dowd (Calif.), Cathedral Catholic (Calif.), Chino Hills (Calif.), Clark, Crossroads (Calif.), Denver East (Colo.), Desert Pines, Liberty, Mater Dei (Calif.), Putnam City West (Okla.), Roosevelt (Calif.), Salesian (Calif.), Valor Christian (Colo.), Westchester (Calif.), Windermere Prep (Fla.))
Thursday, Dec. 15
(at Gorman)
Extra –Mater Dei 70, Liberty 40
Friday, Dec. 16
(at Gorman)
Platinum 1 – Roosevelt 66, Valor Christian 55
Platinum 3 – Bishop O’Dowd 62, Putnam City West 57
Platinum 4 – Chino Hills 91, Clark 87
Platinum 5 – Salesian 36, Bingham 32
Platinum 6 – Mater Dei 84, Desert Pines 61
Platinum 2 – Crossroads 42, Cathedral Catholic 29
Platinum 7 – Bishop Gorman 76, Denver East 40
Platinum 8 – Westchester 65, Windermere 43
Saturday, Dec. 17
(at Gorman)
Platinum 11 – Clark 53, Putnam City West 44
Platinum 9 – Valor Christian 74, Cathedral Catholic 57
Platinum 13 – Bingham 73, Desert Pines 52
Platinum 15 – Denver East 72, Windermere 67
Platinum 10 – Roosevelt 64, Crossroads 51
Platinum 12 – Chino Hills 87, Bishop O’Dowd 77
Platinum 14 – Mater Dei 58, Salesian 46
Platinum 16 – Bishop Gorman 96, Westchester 53
Monday, Dec. 19
(at Gorman)
Platinum 18 – Valor Christian 71, Clark 63
Platinum 20 – Bingham 50, Denver East 37
Platinum 17 – Putnam City West 54, Cathedral Catholic 46
Platinum 21 – Crossroads 45, Bishop O’Dowd 34
Platinum 19 – Windermere 69, Desert Pines 57
Platinum 23 – Westchester 50, Salesian 48
(at Orleans Arena)
Platinum 22 – Chino Hills 76, Roosevelt 68
Platinum 24 – Mater Dei 86, Bishop Gorman 79, OT
Tuesday, Dec. 20
(at Faith Lutheran)
Platinum 25 – Desert Pines 83, Cathedral Catholic 67
(at Gorman)
Platinum 28 – Salesian 57, Bishop O’Dowd 55
Platinum 29 – Westchester 46, Crossroads 40
Platinum 30 – Bingham 69, Valor Christian 54
Platinum 27 – Clark 73, Denver East 70
Platinum 31 – Bishop Gorman 66, Roosevelt 64
Platinum 26 – Windermere 71, Putnam City West 68
Platinum Championship – Chino Hills 84, Mater Dei 73
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