LiAngelo Ball's UCLA career would appear to be over. It's over, seemingly, because his father said so.
TMZ first reported on Monday afternoon that Bruins freshman LiAngelo Ball is no longer with the program or even a student at the university because his father, LaVar, removed him. ESPN shortly thereafter confirmed the story by talking with LaVar.
LaVar Ball told ESPN he has pulled LiAngelo Ball from UCLA. "We are exploring other options with Gelo," LaVar said. "He's out of there."
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) December 4, 2017
After a quiet couple of weeks in Westwood, the maneuver by LaVar Ball brings the latest round of publicity and counterblast to him and his family. Ball has built a business (Big Baller Brand) off the family name by being outspoken and riling up controversy on a near-weekly basis over the past year-plus.
Monday's decision by LaVar is the second of its kind in the past two months. In early October, five-star prospect LaMelo Ball was pulled from Chino Hills High. Dad said he would be home-schooling his youngest child.
LiAngelo Ball's jettison of UCLA comes while serving an indefinite suspension, along with UCLA freshmen Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, after the threesome was arrested and charged with shoplifting from multiple high-end retail outlets on the team's overseas trip to China last month. LiAngelo Ball was a three-star prospect, ranked 226th in his class, coming out of Chino Hills High.
On Nov. 15, Steve Alford announced the Bruins trio would remain indefinitely suspended and would have to earn their way back onto the team. LiAngelo Ball made brief remarks of remorse at the press conference that day.
"I didn't exercise my best judgment and I was wrong for that," Ball said during his only public comments since being charged the crime. "Apologies to my family, coaches, teammates and UCLA for letting so many people down. … I made a stupid decision. I'm grateful to be back home and I'lll never make a mistake like this again. I take full responsibility for my actions."
By doing this, LaVar Ball will only enhance the skepticism that LaMelo Ball will never wind up playing for UCLA. That speculation has bubbled up in basketball circles as of late, catalyzed by the fact that LaMelo already has his own shoe and it's not yet known of the business of Big Baller Brand would infringe on LaMelo's NCAA eligibility. He is still scheduled to enroll as a freshman at UCLA in 2019, but Monday's move by LaVar could ultimately wind up putting LaMelo on the same path as LiAngelo and not Lonzo Ball, who flourished in his one-and-done season in Westwood.
