Ditching UCLA now is probably the worst thing LiAngelo Ball could do
LiAngelo Ball's collegiate career with UCLA seems to be over before it really even started. According to father LaVar Ball, the 6-foot-6 small forward intends to withdraw from the school in order to prepare for ... well, that's the big question.
Lost in the controversy surrounding LiAngelo's arrest for shoplifting on the Bruins' preseason trip to China - and LaVar's subsequent quarrel with President Donald Trump - is the reality that the merit of LiAngelo's scholarship was dubious to begin with.
LiAngelo committed to UCLA in 2015. Offering him was presumably an investment in his highly touted siblings: older brother Lonzo Ball, whose lone season at UCLA came after LiAngelo's commitment, and younger brother LaMelo Ball, No. 7 on the ESPN Top 100 for 2019. LiAngelo was ranked 41st among 2017 small forwards, making him the least heralded member of his UCLA class by a wide margin.
Leaving UCLA gives LiAngelo several options, each worse for his development than the last:
- Sit out a year and transfer schools
- Head to the G League
- Sign with a pro team overseas
- Train with LaVar in the driveway
That first option is apparently already off the table.
LaVar Ball: "He's not transferring to another school," he told ESPN. "The plan is now to get Gelo ready for the NBA Draft." The plan was always for LiAngelo to spend one season at UCLA and then leave, regardless of whether he was projected to be drafted.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) December 4, 2017
Going to the G League might make the most sense, but that would require a team willing to take him - and the PR headaches his father brings. Is an NBA team willing to disrupt the development of the recent draftees and two-way players already at their minor-league affiliate to accommodate a raw project with debatable upside? Unless the Lakers want to get even more involved in the Ball family circus, the juice probably isn't worth the squeeze.
LiAngelo and LaMelo are both exploring the idea of heading overseas and turning pro, sources told The Vertical's Shams Charania. That would preclude either from playing in an NCAA game ever again.
And playing overseas would present its own drawbacks. Unless it's a homegrown talent coming up through a team's academy system - like Kristaps Porzingis, Nikola Jokic, and Pau Gasol - coaches with a mandate to win have little impetus to prioritize the development of a youngster, especially one with short-term NBA goals. Thunder rookie Terrance Ferguson (a legitimate top recruit in 2016) eschewed college for a pro paycheck while awaiting his NBA draft eligibility, and wound up playing just 15 minutes per game for Australia's Adelaide 36ers.
Ball will struggle to find a serious job playing pro basketball, including the G-League. @Mike_Schmitz projected him in high school as a small-ball stretch 4-man at the mid-major college level. Would make sense for Ball to find a scholarship at a lower level and stay in school.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 4, 2017
A one-year marriage doesn't provide much value to either Ball or a prospective team - whether stateside, overseas, in a U.S. college, or in some far-flung professional circuit. He needs a partnership that will develop his currently limited skills, but there's virtually no reward for any team willing to grant him 30 minutes per night. If his commitment wasn't linked to LaMelo's, there's a strong chance LiAngelo never would have been on a team as well regarded as UCLA.
LiAngelo and LaVar are adults, capable of making (and being held accountable for) their own decisions. But both - especially the former - would be well-served by taking a deep breath, calling Bruins coach Steve Alford, and begging UCLA to take him back. This is that rare situation where a player can exploit the NCAA, earning a free education - on the basketball court and in the classroom - while the school stands to gain little from the investment. For the time being, LiAngelo should follow some of the Ball family's signature advice and stay in his lane.