LaVar Ball removed his son, LiAngelo Ball, from UCLA on Monday. According to ESPN’s Arash Markazi, the Bruins are more than fine with that decision.
The Ball family has moved on from UCLA and UCLA has happily moved on from the Ball family. pic.twitter.com/5QtOqGPKnN
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) December 5, 2017
“I talked to someone at UCLA last night and they were happy, to be honest, to move on,” Markazi said in a “Sports Center” interview. “Listen, they wanted this to work out. They loved Lonzo. They loved having him on the team. They wanted it to work out with the family. They have moved on from the Ball family.”
Frankly, this isn’t surprising.
UCLA had to be irritated with Lavar’s antics a season ago, when Lonzo Ball was on the team. Lonzo was a genuine blue chip prospect who was drafted second overall. The same can not be said about LiAngelo.
Of course, if the Ball family is done with UCLA, it also means that LaMelo Ball (himself a top prospect) will not be a Bruin. But both LiAngelo and LaMelo are reportedly looking to play overseas, which eliminates the possibility of LaMelo going to a rival school.
We’re certainly going to be hearing from the Ball family in the coming weeks, months, and years. But it’s easy to see why UCLA is happy to have the group in its rear view mirror.