LaMelo Ball does not have to worry about whether or not having his own signature sneaker will impact his NCAA eligibility, because the youngest Ball brother has no intention of playing college basketball.
LaVar Ball told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman on Thursday that his sons LaMelo and LiAngelo have signed with Harrison Gaines, who is the agent currently representing Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball. The elder Ball says the plan is for both of his sons to sign with the same team overseas.
“I don’t care about the money,” Ball said. “I want them to go somewhere where they will play them together on the court at the same time. The priority is for the boys to play on the same team.”
LaVar pulled LaMelo, who is 16, out of Chino Hills (Calif.) High School recently in favor of homeschooling and private basketball training. LaMelo had verbally committed to play at UCLA like his two older brothers, but LaVar says his youngest son will not be enrolling in college.
“He’s not going to play college basketball,” Ball said.
Sources told Goodman that several teams in Europe and Asia have expressed interest in LaMelo and LiAngelo.
“I don’t know the deals and who is offering what,” LaVar Ball said. “I’m letting Harrison handle all that, but I know there are a few teams interested. I just need to get them playing again.”
Ball decided to pull LiAngelo out of UCLA earlier in the week, noting that the 19-year-old’s suspension stemming from his shoplifting incident in China has dragged out too long.
While LaMelo had done some great things at the high school level and is considered a potential NBA prospect, NBA teams do not anticipate having interest in LiAngelo. There were already rumors that a team in Lithuania was interested in the Ball brothers, but the coach of that team appeared to deny that with a humorous tweet.
