LaVar Ball on Steve Alford staying put at UCLA: 'I feel good about that'

Lonzo Ball and the Bruins fell in the Sweet 16, but his two younger brothers could still play at UCLA.

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The Kentucky Wildcats ended UCLA’s basketball season on Friday night in the Sweet 16. The interest in the Bruins quickly shifted from what had the potential to be a title run, to addressing the rumors swirling of head coach Steve Alford’s interest of coaching at Indiana -- a notion he shut down quickly after the game.

“I am 100 percent absolutely not going to Indiana,” Alford told reporters. 

The father of Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball, LaVar, was not able to make the game after choosing to stay home to take care of his ailing wife. And even though his eldest, Lonzo, declared for the NBA draft just minutes after the game was over, he’s still happy Alford is opting to stay in Westwood to potentially coach both sons who are committed to play for UCLA.

“I feel good about that,” LaVar told ESPN. “He knows my boys. I like his style, and I’m glad he’s staying.” 

UCLA came up just short of an Elite Eight appearance led by Lonzo, who is widely considered to be a top 5 pick in the upcoming NBA draft. He finished with just 10 points and 8 assists, but went 1-for-8 from the 3-point line and wasn’t able to dig his team out of a hole it built in the second half. His father gave him some encouragement to chew on after the game.

“When I talked to him after the game, I told him, ‘You’re going to win. You’re going to lose. It’s OK. No one goes undefeated.’ They went 15-17 last year and went to the Sweet 16. This won’t be his legacy. It’s just a step to get to the ultimate goal -- the NBA.”

LiAngelo Ball is a 2017 prospect who will be a freshman at UCLA next season. LaMelo, just a sophomore, will be on the UCLA campus in 2019.