LaVar Ball trying to convince committed recruits to play in his basketball league

LaVar Ball is serious about building his new basketball league into something that can serve as an alternative for young players who need a stepping stone to the NBA, and he has already begun trying to poach recruits from top collegiate programs.

Jalen Carey, a Syracuse commit and one of the top-ranked guards in the Class of 2018, shared a screenshot on social media of a message he received from the Big Baller Brand gauging his interest in playing in the Junior Basketball Association rather than enrolling in college.

Here’s the picture from Jalen’s Snapchat: pic.twitter.com/FvvROFxc77

— Syracuse Basketball (@cusesigel) February 1, 2018

Carey wasn’t the only one who received an invite. Tyler Herro, a Kentucky signee from the Class of 2018 who is ranked even higher than Carey, got the same type of inquiry from BBB.

Big Baller Brand has contacted Kentucky Signee Tyler Herro about joining their new basketball league, the JBA. Herro has told me he has declined the offer. pic.twitter.com/qlnPXFoLPB

— TIPTON EDITS (@TiptonEdits) February 2, 2018

Both players declined the offer, and the Junior Basketball Association is probably going to have to find a more effective way of recruiting players than sending direct messages on Twitter and Instagram. It remains to be seen if the league will ever host actual games, but Ball has already taken steps that prove he is serious about the venture.