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LaMelo Ball returning to high school, LiAngelo reportedly aiming for G League

Joshua Blanchard / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty

LaMelo and LiAngelo Ball, the younger brothers of Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball and sons of showman LaVar Ball, are on the move yet again.

Seventeen-year-old LaMelo is leaving his father's fledgling Junior Basketball Association International Tour to play at Spire Institute, a prep school in Geneva, Ohio.

“I’m excited to return to school and rejoin my class on the court for my senior year,” LaMelo said, according to SLAM's Franklyn Calle. “Playing in international competition was a great experience. I learned and matured so much. I appreciated the JBA experience my dad provided for me. I think it helped my development. I can’t wait to play with my peers.”

The 6-foot-5 point guard was once ranked No. 7 in the 2019 recruiting class prior to forgoing his college eligibility. He hopes to showcase his skills against premium opponents as he prepares for the 2020 NBA Draft.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old LiAngelo has notified G League teams that he plans to enter the league's player pool, sources told The Athletic's Shams Charania. The middle Ball, a wing who measured in at 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds at the Professional Basketball Combine, wasn't selected in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Last winter, LiAngelo left UCLA (in the wake of an international incident that reverberated all the way to the Oval Office) and LaMelo left Chino Hills High School to sign with BC Vytautas, a professional team in Lithuania. After a short stint with the European side, both players plied their trade on father LaVar's 28-stop tour of Europe and Asia under the JBA brand.

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