De'Aaron Fox wanted to 'shut LaVar Ball up' when Kentucky played UCLA in Sweet 16
Fox thoroughly outplayed Lonzo Ball on the night, pouring in 39 points in Kentucky's win
One of the most anticipated games of this year's NCAA Tournament was the Sweet 16 matchup between Kentucky and UCLA, as it not only featured two of the most talented teams, but two of the top point guards in the country, in De'Aaron Fox and Lonzo Ball.
Though Ball is expected to be the higher pick, Fox clearly outplayed him in that matchup, as he dropped 39 points to lead Kentucky to an 86-75 victory. The reason why he played so well? He wanted to "shut LaVar Ball up."
In a recent interview with Sports Illustrated ahead of the draft, Fox discussed that game and his relationship with Lonzo, who he says he's still cool with. Check it out:
"Kill mode all the time," is how Fox described his mindset before the UCLA game in March. "Shut Lavar Ball up," is how he explains it a few months later.
He's still cool with Lonzo and his brothers. The elder Ball was just a puzzling wrinkle that added some motivation along the way. "In the last year, he became relevant for some reason," Fox says. "When I knew Lonzo in high school, I'd never seen his dad before. He went crazy this year. I guess when your son a lottery pick, that gives you a lot of confidence."
While Fox definitely outplayed Lonzo, he found, as everyone has in the past few months, that nothing is going to prevent LaVar Ball from speaking his mind. Fox is currently projected to go No. 5 to the Kings and Ball at No. 2 to the Lakers in our latest mock draft.
















