There may no longer be any Balls associated with the UCLA basketball program, but that does not mean LaVar Ball questions do not come up in relation to the team’s games.
Ahead of Saturday’s UCLA-Kentucky game at the CBS Sports Classic, Wildcats head coach John Calipari was asked about Ball. Ball’s oldest son, Lonzo, played for UCLA last year, while middle son, LiAngelo, was a freshman on this year’s team before leaving school following an indefinite suspension.
Calipari was able to find a positive to Ball’s outspoken ways when asked how he would deal with a father like that.
“Don’t know. If I were in that situation, I would have to think about it,” Calipari said, via A Sea of Blue. “One thing I do want you all to understand is: the way he presents stuff, maybe I don’t agree with. But what I do love is he loves his sons. He is a father who loves, loves his sons. And you’ve gotta respect that. There are many kids out there who would love to have a father who paid that much attention to him. So, how he presents some things, maybe I don’t agree with. But there are some other people in the country presenting things in ways that I don’t agree with either.”
This seems to be Calipari’s way of giving a political answer that covers him in case he ever recruits a player with a similar parent. Calipari is a master when it comes to handling big-time recruits and players, so he’s not going to say anything that would harm his chances of landing a player with outspoken parents.
